COMPETING at the Ironman World Championship is considered as one of the toughest challenges in life – and the 2024 edition gets underway TODAY!
Consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.22-mile marathon in that exact order, the Ironman Triathlon is considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
Sam Laidlow will be hoping to defend his crown[/caption]
And the event often has a time limit of 16 or 17 hours to complete the race, course dependent, meaning that competitors have no time to feel sorry for themselves.
French phenomenon Sam Laidlow made history in 2023 when he became the youngest male winner of the competition with a time of 8:06:22 at just age 24.
While this year’s women’s race which took place on September 22, 2024, was won by German star Laura Phillip.
SunSport has all the information on the huge men’s event below.
When is the Ironman World Championship 2024?
- The men’s Ironman race will get underway on Saturday, October 26
- It is scheduled to start at 5:24pm UK time – 6:25am local time.
- Kaliua Pier in Kona, Hawaii is the starting point of the race and then the athletes will continue to make their way around the beautiful island.
- French icon Sam Laidlow is the defending men’s champion.
How can I watch the Ironman World Championship 2024?
- The men’s Ironman World Championship will be broadcast LIVE on the official website – proseries.ironman.com.
- DAZN will also be showing the action.
- But for fans who are not subscribed to any of the above, Ironman’s official YouTube channel will have live coverage.
- Furthermore, the Ironman tracker app is available to download on any compatible mobile phone or device.
Which pros are competing?
Several stars are competing at this year’s Ironman World Championship, including the two-time winner Patrick Lange.
- Sam Laidlow (champion)
- Kristian Blummenfelt
- Gustav Iden
- Magnus Ditlev
- Patrick Lange
- Lionel Sanders
- Rudy von Berg
- Daniel Bækkegård
- David McNamee
- Kieran Lindars
- Braden Currie
What is the course?
Athletes will start with a 2.4-miles swim before moving onto the bike for a brutal 112-mile ride.
Once the ride is complete, contestants then run a 26.22-mile marathon in the Hawaiian heat.
What has been said?
Ironman legend Mark Allen believes that the course record could be broken this year.
Allen said: “This year in particular, you have the fact that the race is two weeks later than normal. This time of year is a pivotal time of year in terms of temperature difference.
“Even a couple of weeks can make it a little bit cooler, a couple of weeks later can make it so that you’re further away from the windiest time of year.
“Generally earlier in October is more windy than later in October. The fastest time that I did in Kona was when the race was October 30th, this year it’s October 26th.
“That was probably the least windy year that I had. So all of that put together, I think that this year probably has one of the best chances of that record being broken.”
