– Defending champions, Germany’s Patrick Lange and Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf, headline elite field in the world’s most iconic single-day endurance event – Robust field of elite competition, including former World Champions and up-and-coming talent will look to challenge for the title on Saturday, October 12
KAILUA-KONA, Hawai`i / TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 11, 2019) – Triathlon’s top professional talent has returned to Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i to toe the start line of the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship, taking place on Saturday, Oct. 12. The most iconic single-day endurance event in the world will bring together a star-studded and highly competitive professional field, headlined by multi-year defending champions Patrick Lange (DEU) and Daniela Ryf (CHE).
“The stage is set for an impressive professional race at this year’s Vega IRONMAN World Championship,” said Andrew Messick, President & Chief Executive Officer for The IRONMAN Group. “With a fiercely competitive field, we are looking forward to a fantastic race that could be determined in the in the final miles of the race with a spirited finish on Ali`i Drive.”
The women’s professional field will be led by four-time reigning IRONMAN World Champion and owner of the course best time, Daniela Ryf (SUI), who continues to add to her impressive resume. Fresh off earning her fifth IRONMAN® 70.3® World Champion title this past September in Nice, France, Ryf also came away with victories at the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship in Texas, IRONMAN Austria, and IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside this year.
Up for the challenge will be a host of strong contenders, including last year’s other podium finishers Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) and Anne Haug (GER), as well as three-time IRONMAN World Champion, Mirinda Carfrae (AUS). Charles-Barclay, who finished runner up to Ryf for the second straight year and set a dominating new swim course best time last year completing it in 48:14 – a record untouched since 1991. Charles-Barclay opened 2019 with a repeat victory at the Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship and a win at IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire in June. Haug will be looking to solidify her position as one of triathlon’s best by bettering her third-place finish from a year ago and is in good form following a win at the KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen and a third-place finish at the IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai earlier this season. Carfrae showcased that she was still amongst the elite in Kona, placing fifth in her return after spending a year away following the birth of her daughter in 2017. With wins this year at Subaru IRONMAN 70.3 Mont Tremblant and Subaru IRONMAN 70.3 Victoria presented by Jim Pattison Subaru, combined with a strong second-place showing at IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa and IRONMAN 70.3 Coeur d’Alene, Carfrae will be looking to challenge the best for a podium position in Kailua-Kona.
“In the end it doesn’t matter how many titles you win, it is the performance that matters,” said Daniela Ryf. “Last year I had a fantastic performance and I am really proud; I will always remember that race when I overcame getting stung by a jellyfish and finished really strong. When not everything goes perfect and you overcome it, that is what makes me really proud.”
The women’s professional field only just begins there, as other seasoned and decorated competitors join this elite group. Top American finisher in 2018 Sarah True (USA) – who earned her ticket to Kona with a hard fought second place finish at Subaru IRONMAN Mont Tremblant in August, will be looking to improve upon her fifth place finish at the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship – while Sarah Crowley (AUS) will look to land on the podium again following her third place finish at the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship. Heather Jackson (USA), a 12-time IRONMAN 70.3 Champion and multi-time Top 5 finisher at the IRONMAN World Championship, will aim for the podium again and is coming off of an impressive win at IRONMAN Vitoria. Kaisa Sali (FIN) finished seventh in last year’s IRONMAN World Championship and Linsey Corbin (USA), fresh off a dominating victory at IRONMAN Wisconsin where she secured her spot in the 2020 IRONMAN World Championship, will be looking to better her top-ten performance in Kailua-Kona in 2019.
“It’s IRONMAN. IRONMAN should be hard. By virtue of the distance by virtue of these conditions,” said Sarah True when asked about her 2019 season and chances on Saturday.
Below is the pro women’s start list for the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship:
BIB
LAST
FIRST
COUNTRY
F1
Ryf
Daniela
SUI
F2
Charles-Barclay
Lucy
GBR
F3
Haug
Anne
GER
F4
Carfrae
Mirinda
AUS
F5
TRUE
Sarah
USA
F6
Crowley
Sarah
AUS
F7
Sali
Kaisa
FIN
F8
Abraham
Corinne
GBR
F9
Corbin
Linsey
USA
F11
Jackson
Heather
USA
F12
Lester
Carrie
AUS
F14
Bartlett
Nikki
GBR
F15
Bilham
Emma
SUI
F16
Brandon
Lauren
USA
F17
Cheetham
Susie
GBR
F18
Hufe
Mareen
GER
F19
Huse
Sue
CAN
F20
McCauley
Jocelyn
USA
F21
Philipp
Laura
GER
F22
Piampiano
Sarah
USA
F23
Bleymehl
Daniela
GER
F24
Siddall
Laura
GBR
F25
Spieldenner
Jennifer
USA
F26
Steffen
Caroline
SUI
F27
Thoes
Svenja
GER
F28
Annett
Jen
CAN
F29
Derron
Nina
SUI
F30
Frades
Gurutze
ESP
F31
Kessler
Meredith
USA
F32
Kunz
Martina
SUI
F33
Liepold
Kristin
GER
F34
Mack
Danielle
USA
F35
Morrison
Kimberley
GBR
F36
Pedersen
Camilla
DEN
F38
Seymour
Jeanni
ZAF
F39
Simmonds
Imogen
SUI
F40
Smith
Lesley
USA
F41
Stage-Nielsen
Maja
DEN
F42
Steurer
Bianca
AUT
F43
Visser
Els
NLD
F44
Watkinson
Annah
RSA
F45
Withrow
Kelsey
USA
The men’s group is equally stacked with top contenders, including reigning two-time IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange (GER). Lange will seek to further his success in Kona following a monumental year that saw him become the first IRONMAN World Championship winner to break the eight-hour barrier as he set a course-best time of 7:52:39 in 2018. Most notably, fellow countryman and two-time IRONMAN World Champion Jan Frodeno (GER), returns to the start line to challenge for the title after missing the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship following a stress fracture in his hip.
“It was an interesting and obviously a hard year, having been around the sport for a while and be on the sidelines watching a race that made history was not my favorite way to spend the day,” said Jan Frodeno. “The beauty about IRONMAN is that all the predictions that come in during the week around data and who has done what and how is the wind going to be. The most fascinating thing for us athletes is just to get to the start line and see how it all unfolds, but like the others have said a very good race to watch.”
During Thursday’s professional triathlete press conference Patrick Lange was asked if he thinks about winning three-in-a-row.
“Of course, it is in the back of my mind, the chance for Jan [Frodeno] and I to be the first German to win three times. But at the end of the day you have to get to the finish line first and execute the best race you have in your tank on Saturday, that is my focus right now and everything that happens after, happens after.”
Another German contender fans will be watching is Sebastian Kienle (GER), the 2014 IRONMAN World Champion, who will be looking to redeem himself following an early exit from the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship. Kienle has enjoyed a strong 2019 and is coming off a victory this year at the Mainova IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt. Olympic Champion Alistair Brownlee (GBR) will make his first appearance at the IRONMAN World Championship, and appears primed for a compelling performance at triathlon’s marquee event following a win at the first edition of IRONMAN Ireland in Cork in June and a second straight runner-up finish at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France. Last year’s second place finisher Bart Aeronaut (BEL), who also finished in under eight hours with a time of 7:56:41, will be returning for a shot at the title, while Scotland’s David McNamee (GBR) – who placed third in the past two editions of the IRONMAN World Championship – will look to continue his success in Kona and defend his podium spot against the star-stunned field.
Adding further to the competition will be Cameron Wurf (AUS), who set a new Ventum bike course best of 4:09:06 beating the previous best of 4:12:54 he set himself in 2017. American Matt Russell (USA) appears prepared to shine again following his stunning sixth place finish at the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship and impressive victory at the ViewSPORT IRONMAN Lake Placid victory in July. 2018’s top American finisher Tim O’Donnell (USA) will look to lay down a solid performance, as will fellow Americans Andy Potts (USA) and Ben Hoffman (USA).
Below is the pro men’s start list for the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship:
BIB
LAST
FIRST
COUNTRY
M1
Lange
Patrick
GER
M2
Aernouts
Bart
BEL
M3
McNamee
David
GBR
M4
Frodeno
Jan
GER
M5
Kienle
Sebastian
GER
M6
O’Donnell
Tim
USA
M7
Currie
Braden
NZL
M8
Russell
Matthew
USA
M9
Skipper
Joe
GBR
M10
Potts
Andy
USA
M11
Wurf
Cameron
AUS
M12
Weiss
Michael
AUT
M14
Hoffman
Ben
USA
M15
Nilsson
Patrik
SWE
M16
Reed
Tim
AUS
M17
Sanders
Lionel
CAN
M18
Cunnama
James
RSA
M19
Boecherer
Andi
GER
M20
Beals
Cody
CAN
M21
Bakkegard
Daniel
DEN
M22
Llanos
Eneko
ESP
M24
Brownlee
Alistair
GBR
M25
Fontana
Daniel
ITA
M26
Hanson
Matt
USA
M27
Hogenhaug
Kristian
DEN
M28
Leiferman
Chris
USA
M29
Phillips
Mike
NZL
M30
Sapunov
Daniil
UKR
M31
Stein
Boris
GER
M32
Svensson
Jesper
SWE
M33
Trautman
Matt
RSA
M34
Van Berkel
Jan
SUI
M35
Alonso-McKernan
Clemente
ESP
M36
Amberger
Josh
AUS
M38
Clarke
Will
GBR
M39
Clavel
Maurice
GER
M40
De Elias
Mario
ARG
M42
Drachler
Tobias
GER
M43
Dreitz
Andreas
GER
M44
Duelsen
Marc
GER
M45
Frommhold
Nils
GER
M46
Gambles
Joe
AUS
M47
Koutny
Philipp
SUI
M48
Loeschke
Franz
GER
M49
Lukas
Kramer
GER
M50
Peterson
Kennett
USA
M51
Plese
David
SVN
M52
Schumacher
Stefan
GER
M53
Silvestrin Souza
Frank
BRA
M54
Starykowicz
Andrew
USA
M55
Tollakson
TJ
USA
M56
Van Berkel
Tim
AUS
M57
Viennot
Cyril
FRA
During the 2019 season, IRONMAN announced that the Hawaiian word `Ohana, which in the Hawaiian culture represents a specially bonded extended family, would be the theme for the 2019 IRONMAN season, culminating at the IRONMAN World Championship. Throughout the season and race week of the Vega IRONMAN World Championship, `ohana was prevalent throughout the industry and the professional athletes shared why `ohana is important to them.
“Family is very important to me, I met my husband (Tim O’Donnell) in the sport and we have grown together through this sport over the last decade and now we have our little one Izzy following us around and she is definitely soaking up all the atmosphere this year,” said Mirinda Carfrae.
“Triathlon is a family sport; everyone is the same. I think that is why triathlon is special with professional athletes racing with age-group athletes and that makes it so special,” said Daniela Ryf. “You have a bond between the professional athletes and the age-group athletes that is amazing. The pros are being supported by [age-group athletes] with them cheering for us, that makes it unique as you don’t get that in another sport. If I can be supportive and motivate other children to start triathlon that makes me very happy and it’s nice to give something back.”
The 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship will offer a $650,000 total professional prize purse which will be distributed to male and female first through tenth-place finishers.
In addition to the competitive professional field, approximately 2,500 athletes are registered to compete in this year’s Vega IRONMAN World Championship ranging in age from 18 to 86 have earned their championship opportunity by having finished among the best at one of more than 40 qualifying IRONMAN events worldwide.
The 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship will enjoy over 20 hours of comprehensive live race-day coverage globally via IRONMAN Now™ on Facebook Watch (www.facebook.com/IRONMANnow) and through regional television coverage, including NBC Sports in the United States, on local and regional stations, ARD and HR Fernsehen in Germany. This year’s IRONMAN World Championship live coverage continues to give viewers a front row seat to everything from the early morning body marking to the final hour finish-line celebration. Last year’s coverage had nearly 20 million total views on Facebook Watch with the expectation for that to grow even further in 2019.
