Historic Day Sees Germany’s Patrick Lange Crowned IRONMAN World Champion

It was a race for the ages in Kailua-Kona, as Patrick Lange (DEU) broke the tape with a new course best time of 7:35:53 and was crowned the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Champion, taking home $125,000 USD in prize money. In a race that saw incredible movement throughout, it was Lange who executed his race perfectly to seal his third IRONMAN World Championship title, six years on from his last victory in Kona. Magnus Ditlev (DNK) and Rudy Von Berg (USA) completed the podium, the Dane finishing nearly eight minutes behind Lange in 7:43:39, still good for one of the fastest finish times ever in Kona. Meanwhile Von Berg crossed the iconic Ali`i Drive finish line in 7:46:00 the fastest time ever for an American at the IRONMAN World Championship.
 
Lange who dedicated the race to his late mum commented at the post race press conference, “When I was running along Ali’I Drive about five kilometers into the run it really struck me…I got goosebumps all over my body, even though it was really hot. That was the moment where I definitely felt her…She died in 2020 from cancer…When I was with her in hospice, and when I had my last talk to her she said, ‘I really wish you to be on that top step, I really want you to kick butt one more time,’ and I’m really proud that I did this for her.”
 
A total of 54 professional men and nearly 2,400 age-groupers entered Kailua Bay to begin their iconic 140.6-mile (226-kilometer) journey.
 
Within the first two minutes of the swim, three disctinct groups formed with Sam Laidlow (FRA) leading a 22-strong pack, with the likes of Menno Koolhaas (NDL), Patrick Lange (DEU), Magnus Ditlev (DNK) and Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) in tow. At the turnaround point, Laidlow put down a surge in an attempt to string the group out into single file behind him. As the pack headed back to shore, Koolhaas took charge and led a group of 20 athletes out of the water, all within 30 seconds of each other.
 
Koolhaas was followed closely by Laidlow, Kieran Linders (GBR), Antonio Benito López (ESP), Lange, and Gregory Barnaby (ITA) as the athletes raced through T1. Thanks to a speedy 2:04 transition, it was British athlete Lindars who was first on the bike, with Benito López and Laidlow hot on his tail.
 
Out on the FulGaz Bike Course it didn’t take long for Laidlow to ride away from the rest of the field, opening up a gap on Ditlev in second. During the early stages Blummenfelt looked to be riding strong in third before stomach issues broke his momentum, allowing the large chase pack featuring the likes of Lange, Benito López, Barnaby, Rudy Von Berg (USA), and Matthew Marquardt (USA) to bridge up to the Norwegian and swallow him into the group. One of the fastest movers out on course was Robert Kallin (SWE), with the Swede pushing hard on the climb up to Hawi and bringing the second chase pack of athletes, including Leon Chevalier (FRA), with him.
 
As they reached Hawi, the halfway turnaround point of the bike course, Laidlow had a +2:33 lead on Ditlev, and a nearly five-minute lead on the chase pack of 15 riders.
 
Kona rookie Kallin continued his strong ride through the second half of the course, eventually overtaking Ditlev as the athletes rode back towards town. Another athlete having a strong ride was Trevor Foley (USA), who looked like he could take out the fastest bike split of the day before an unfortunate crash in the final few kilometers brought an end to the young athlete’s day.
 
Instead, it was Laidlow who yet again re-wrote the history books, with the Frenchman completing the 180km course in 3:57:22, taking an incredible seven minutes off his own bike course best time from 2022, entering T2 with a nearly six-minute lead on Kallin in second, with Ditlev a further minute behind. Von Berg started the run +7:44 down on Laidlow, with Lange +9:06 behind the leader.
 
Lange completed the bike in 13th but was on the hunt immediately, coming out of transition in 11th and then rocketing himself into second place after just 5km of the run and eating into Laidlow’s lead by two minutes. After 18km, Lange had overturned that nine-minute deficit to storm into the lead, running at sub 2:30 marathon pace over the first half of the HOKA run course.
 
With Laidlow struggling after putting so much into the bike, Chevalier moved into second by the 19km mark and it wouldn’t be long before Ditlev, who was executing a brilliantly paced run, would also pass Laidlow.
 
Ten kilometers later, Chevalier would become the second Frenchman to lose pace on the run, succumbing to the heat and allowing Ditlev to take second place before Von Berg charged past into third.
 
Lange was imperious throughout the run, his pace proving too hot for the rest of the field as he secured the fastest marathon of the day in 2:37:34. The German’s experience on the Big Island paid dividends, with Lange setting a new course best time of 7:35:53, shattering Gustav Iden’s (NOR) previous best time by almost five minutes.
 
Top five professional men’s results: 

 
Full results for the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlon can be found at www.ironman.com/im-world-championship-kona-results.   
 
News and Notes 

• Despite Menno Koolhaas (NLD) being the first professional athlete out of the water in a time of 47:02, it was Australian age-grouper Sam Askey-Doran who secured a new swim course best of 45:43, breaking Jan Sibbersen’s (DEU) longstanding time of 46:39, set six years ago.
• For the second time in back-to-back efforts in Kona, Sam Laidlow (FRA) earned the fastest bike split of the day, breaking his own course best time by seven minutes, clocking a time of 3:57:33. The bike course saw seven professional athletes ride under the previous bike course best from 2022.
• On his way to setting a new course best time of 7:35:53, Patrick Lange (DEU) ran the fastest marathon of the day in 2:37:34. In the fastest IRONMAN World Championship of all-time, 16 professional athletes broke the magical eight-hour barrier.
• Lange’s victory saw him receive the maximum 6,000 IRONMAN Pro Series points, moving him into the overall lead. With just two events remaining, Lange currently has a 770 point lead over Matt Hanson from the United States.
• The IRONMAN Pro Series standings reshuffled further with South Africa's Brad Weiss moving from fifth to third, Matthew Marquardt to fourth, and Gregory Barnaby from 15th to fifth. With one race each yet to count for Marquardt, Barnaby, and sixth placed Kristian Høgenhaug, some damage to the standings may yet be done as the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series has two events left.
• With Lange’s win today in Kona and compatriot Laura Philipp’s win in Nice, German athletes sit on top of the world with victories at both the men’s and women’s 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons.
• Lange secured his third IRONMAN World Championship title (2024, 2018, 2017), six years on from his last – the longest time between victories at a VinFast IRONMAN World Championship event.
• Lange enters significant company with his third IRONMAN World Championship victory, joining 10 of the most respected IRONMAN triathletes of all time – Paula Newby Fraser (8), Mark Allen (6), Natascha Badmann (6), Dave Scott (6), Danniela Ryf (5), Chrissie Wellington (4), Craig Alexander (3), Mirinda Carfrae (3), Jan Frodeno (3), Peter Reid (3).

For more information about the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Kaulia-Kona, Hawai`i, please visit www.ironman.com/im-world-championship-kona. For more information on the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and global event series, visit www.ironman.com.