Jan Frodeno congratulated the robber of his Roth record mark as the first to finish. The German triathlon Olympic champion quickly cooled down the exhausted Magnus Ditlev with water and took a selfie together. In a memorable race, the 1.95 meter tall Dane beat the Frodeno time of 2016, which is considered the world record, by an incredible eleven minutes at 7:24:40 hours. “It’s crazy. I didn’t expect to be so quick,” said Ditlev.
Patrick Lange, who was beaten again, also bowed to the new record man, saying: “Magnus Ditlev is really the king of Roth. He’s just such an incredibly strong athlete, so I just have to be satisfied with second place.”
Kienle: “I always have to laugh”
Lange had the masses cheering him on the last few meters in the arena in Roth and so, also because of a toilet break, did not break the seven and a half sound barrier in a very narrow time of 7:30:04 hours. That “of course” annoyed him a bit when he looked at the scoreboard. Third was the American Ben Kanute. Sebastian Kienle had nothing to do with finishing at the front of the race in 14th place at his last Roth appearance as a professional.
It was still emotional at the finish: with his little son in his arms, he waved to the audience before the three former German Hawaii dominators Kienle (winner 2014), Frodeno (2015, 2016 and 2019) and Lange (2017 and 2018) came together Posted a photo for the souvenir album. “I always have to laugh when athletes say they have to realize something first,” said Kienle. But that’s exactly what he has to do now.
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Great triathlon sport was also offered to a total of around 300,000 spectators along the route for the women. Anne Haug missed the hoped-for home win hat-trick in second place after another impressive run to catch up. The 40-year-old, who was more than 20 minutes behind the five-time Ironman World Champion on the running track, couldn’t get close to Daniela Ryf.
The 36-year-old delivered a show of power and also won in record time: Ryf needed 8:08:21 hours and thus replaced the former triathlete Chrissie Wellington from Great Britain, who also needed 8:18:13 hours in Roth in 2011. “It feels very special,” said three-time Roth winner Ryf. This record was the last thing she hadn’t achieved. Laura Philipp was third in her Roth debut.
“That means a lot to me”
The conditions for the record hunt were perfect. The rising sun was reflected in the smooth water of the Main-Danube Canal in the morning, and at 21.7 degrees Celsius even the pros were allowed to swim in wetsuits: more buoyancy, more speed. Ryf had already predicted it on Thursday: If you want to win, you will also set the world record.
For the men, Frodeno, who was working as a commentator this time, needed 7:35:39 hours in Roth in 2016. The new triathlon star Kristian Blummenfelt from Norway finished in Cozumel, Mexico in 2021 after a splendid 7:21:11 hours. The race is viewed critically because of the strong current and swim times of less than 40 minutes. In the scene, Roth stands for the best times in the world. Which Ditlev and Ryf impressively demonstrated.
On the bike, Ditlev shared the lead with French Vice World Champion Sam Laidlow, both of whom stayed below the four-hour barrier. After a few kilometers on the running track, however, Ditlev increased the pace, Laidlow had to give up and fell further and further behind with calf problems.
Lange pushed from behind. With around 18 kilometers to go, he passed Laidlow, and both of them gave each other a quick high-five. Now only Ditlev was in front of him, like a year ago. But he couldn’t get close again, even though Ditlev high-fived spectators in the Rother Triathlon Arena with flowers in his hand and enjoyed the last steps to the finish with a view of his record time: “That means a lot to me.”