Iden Proves Inevitable, Shatters Course Record in Kona
On a record breaking day in Kona, there was the feel of inevitability in the air. Despite Sam Laidlow leading this race from the gun, and having an over three minute lead midway through the marathon, lurking behind him in second and third sat the Norwegian duo of Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt. It seemed like we would just bide time until one of them would hit the front of the race and wind up claiming their first win in Hawaii. Pre-race, it seemed like Blummenfelt was the favorite, given that he had won the 2021 IRONMAN World Championships in St. George.
It was, instead, Iden who would be rewarded for his patience. Making his closing move when the wind shifted as the pair hit the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway with just under 7 miles left to run, Iden closed a two minute gap to Laidlow over the next few miles, cruising to a course-record shattering victory in 7:40:24. His time beat the prior record by 11 minutes. Iden also claimed the run course record. Laidlow held on for second place, and also now owns the bike course record as his consolation. Blummenfelt finished third.
Following the race, Iden talked about his move for the win: “Kristian pushed coming out of the Energy Lab, and I waited until the wind switched. I think it was a good strategy for a rookie.” And, immediately deadpanning his thoughts on the old adage about being able to win here: “Apparently you can’t win here as a rookie.” To wit, both men’s and women’s champions were rookies, as was the entire men’s podium.
Laidlow, meanwhile, was ecstatic with his second place finish. “To only be within two minutes of the winner and to beat the Olympic champion is unbelievable.” Emotionally, he talked about how long he’s thought about a day like this: “I’ve been dreaming about this since 4 or 5. To be able to lead here until 34 or 35K of the marathon was a dream.” Talking about how he tried to lead the race wire-to-wire: “It’s just my style of racing. I’ve been especially inspired by Jan [Frodeno], and the way he races and dominates. I’m only just getting started.”
Blummenfelt required medical attention after the race. Following the podium celebration, he made mention of how hard the day was. “That was a brutal run. I knew Gustav would be fast, and he was. He was just flying. I tried to be as tactical as I could, hoping I would have something left. I got a gap at an aid station, and I guess he was just letting me believe.”
Blummenfelt also paid kudos to Laidlow: “We let Sam go because he thought it would be between me and Gustav. And then we saw it was over 5 minutes and we were very, very surprised. And he kept running so well. Kudos to him — he earned second place.”
With the calm winds, the day offered the fastest racing Hawaii has ever seen. The overall, bike, and run course records fell. The top four finishers all broke the prior course record. All top 10 finishers were under 8 hours, which also included multiple men who had penalties on the bike course.
As the Race Unfolded
The men’s world champion would be crowned on the traditional Saturday date for the race, which dawned without cloud cover and warmer temperatures than Thursday, and with zero wind to speak of.
That being said, it was very similar water conditions to Thursday, with an outbound current with what was described as “texture” on the water. As the men entered the waters of Kailua Bay, most of the pre-race favorites lined up on the inside right, closest to the pier. The cannon fired without issue this morning, and the swim start was absolutely frantic. Sam Laidlow went to the front, starting on the far left, similar to how Lucy Charles-Barclay did during Thursday’s race.
The men’s pack merged at 250 meters as Laidlow came left, while the right side with Kristian Blummenfelt, Daniel Bakkegard, Florian Angert, Gustav Iden, and Tim O’Donnell moved left. They all came together in a long line with Laidlow still holding on the front. After 500 meters, the group was beginning to splinter. Cameron Wurf, Joe Skipper, and Lionel Sanders were all just staying within touch of the pack but beginning to fall off. At the front of the pack, the group was nearly going to split as Max Neumann looked to stick with very front of the pack and O’Donnell was dropping off, with Blummenfelt just behind O’Donnell. Iden was also stuck in traffic with a chance he was going to get dropped off.
Despite Laidlow’s best efforts to make a split stick, the group came back together after 10 minutes. Angert then took the lead of the swim train, and it was his push from roughly 800 meters to the turn that finally created multiple swim packs. Those dropped off during this push included Tim van Berkel, Magnus Ditlev, Ben Hoffman, and Rudy Von Berg.
On the way back in, the first chase pack lingered about 100 meters off the back of the leading swimmers. The remaining swimmers, however, were well off the back. The inbound swells were keeping the groups more together than they had been on Thursday, though, with nobody effectively able to make a break stick. The last 200 meters were frantic in the lead pack as they attempted to make their way through to the stairs.
Coming out of the water, it was Angert and Laidlow leading, bringing along Josh Amberger, Collin Chartier, Iden, O’Donnell, Blummenfelt, Braden Currie, and ten others all together in 48:18. Pieter Heemeryck led the chase pack in 49:34 with Bradley Weiss, van Berkel, Patrick Lange, Von Berg, Ditlev, and Hoffman in it. Matt Hanson, meanwhile, led the group containing Lionel Sanders, Kienle, and Skipper at 52:58.
In the early miles of the bike it was Neumann who immediately took charge of the race, trying desperately to break the 20 person lead pack up. After 5 miles he’d already opened 20 seconds on Laidlow. Blummenfelt, meanwhile, went to the front of the big group — considering the number of penalties awarded on the bike on Thursday, it seemed like many took the mindset that the best place to ensure you wouldn’t get a penalty was by being in the lead. Sanders, meanwhile, was moving backwards — by far the slowest of all the pros through this section of the course.
After 10 miles, Laidlow came past Neumann and an exchange of words was had before hitting the Queen K, which looked like a “let’s work together to create a gap.” Angert, meanwhile, had also pushed forward, attempting to bridge upward by coming past Blummenfelt and the rest of the group but remained almost a minute behind Laidlow. Appleton now led the chase group, with Blummenfelt, Currie, Jesper Svensson, Bakkegard next on the road. Andre Lopes led the next chase pack, another minute arrears, with Chartier, Lange, Hoffman all in that group. Sanders was now nearly 7 minutes down and riding by himself.
The packs started to sort themselves out more after another 5 miles. Laidlow and Neumann were trading pole position and pulled hard. Angert, Ditlev, Blummenfelt, Iden, O’Donnell, Bakkegard, Svensson, Smith comprised the first chase group, sitting one minute behind. Currie led the next large group, with Appleton and Amberger and eight others. The third chase pack at 2:30 down which had the likes of Lange, van Berkel, and Hoffman amongst it.
After a quarter of the bike, the leading duo remained unchanged, although they had put another 15 seconds into the Blummenfelt and Iden led chase pack, which had gained Kristian Hogenhaug and Appleton in the process. Chartier now led the second chasing group, which now had Amberger, Currie, Von Berg, Hoffman, and more, another minute behind. Position penalty earners on this early segment of the ride included Angert, Mathias Petersen, and Arnaud Guilloux. Leon Chevalier also got a one minute stop-and-go penalty.
As the bike turned off the Queen K and headed to Hawi, Magnus Ditlev put a stamp of authority on the race, closing all the way up through both chase groups and the leading pair of Laidlow and Neumann, passing his way into the lead. Blummenfelt and Iden sat 4th and 5th on the road, just under 30 seconds behind. Kyle Smith, O’Donnell and Svensson were then next on the road, another minute behind. Bakkegard and Hogenhaug were next, 2:25 off the lead. The biggest mover forward at this point of the race was Cam Wurf — storming 9 places up and now 4:29 back. The largest chase group, though, saw 15+ men sitting 5:15 down, and included Chartier, Chris Leiferman, Hoffman, and Sebastian Kienle. Sanders had paired up with van Berkel and Buckingham, but was now more than 8:30 off the lead. A notable dropout, however, was Currie, who had been sick earlier in the week but still gave it a go.
Laidlow was the first to the turnaround, at 3:05:54 race time. However, hot on his heels were Ditlev, Neumann, Blummenfelt, and Iden, all within 15 seconds. Smith, O’Donnell, and Svensson were 2:30 off the pace. The 10 man big pack sat 5:10 down now, but contained some spectacular firepower — Wurf, Andreas Dreitz, Joe Skipper, Lange, Kienle, and Von Berg. The big story, though, was that Lange had picked up a five minute penalty during this stretch of road. Also notably dropped off that group during the climb to Hawi were Hoffman and Chartier.
Coming down from Hawi, Laidlow continued to drive the tempo on the front and separated himself from the others by 25 seconds. He also seemed to be moving around on his bike a fair bit — showing how hard he was working. That pace also seemed to extend to the four chasers — the leading five had put a minute into the chasing trio of Svensson, O’Donnell, and Smith. Bakkegard was in no man’s land, 4:37 off the pace and by himself. Wurf led the largest train of athletes, 5:36 behind. Lange had paid dearly for his penalty and dropped over 20 slots in the process, and appeared not to have a group to ride with back to town.
Shortly after the 120 kilometer mark, Laidlow stormed into a nearly full minute lead. Blummenfelt took control of the front chasers and decided to push the pace in an attempt to bridge to Laidlow. Iden followed, while Ditlev, who had previously sat on the front, sat up in order to fall into a legal draft distance behind Iden, slotting in in front of Neumann. Although the gamesmanship amongst the four chasers seemed to let Laidlow slip away, the leading group was putting the screws to the rest of the field, — they’d gained another minute on everyone else behind. Bakkegard had slid further back, looking to join up with the Wurf train, which was only 90 seconds away from catching O’Donnell, Svensson, and Smith.
Continuing on the Queen K, it was Iden’s turn to pull on the front of the chase group, and immediately almost snapped the elastic to his chase pack. Instead of continuing in pursuit of Laidlow, though, Iden sat up to wait for the rest of the group. The indecisiveness of leadership in the chase group allowed Laidlow to extend his lead out to 2:37. However, it was revealed at this point that Ditlev had earned himself a position foul earlier in the bike that he would need to serve shortly before T2. Further back, Wurf’s group had caught the O’Donnell trio. Immediately, that group then whittled down further, leaving just Wurf, O’Donnell, Chevalier, Kienle, Svensson, and Robert Kallin. Together they’d held the gap to the front chasers to 3:20.
Coming over the top of the scenic overlook on the Queen K (and the highest point remaining on the bike course), Laidlow kept drilling the pace, taking another 90 seconds on the first group of chasers — and the rest of the field, for that matter, as the Wurf group continued to match the pace of the Blummenfelt / Iden group. Desperate to create distance prior to serving his penalty, Ditlev came through the front of his four man group and broke away. Passing the airport, and Laidlow was still stomping on the pedals. He was now over 5 minutes up the road on Ditlev, who had gotten a 15 second gap in those few miles on Iden, Blummenfelt, and Neumann. The Wurf group now sat 8:00 behind Laidlow, with Skipper the last man within 10 minutes of the lead.
Coming into T2 and Laidlow (assuming a finish) now owned the bike course record, riding 4:04:36. The trio of Iden, Blummenfelt, and Neumann was 6:15 behind Laidlow. Wurf was next, 8:37 down. Chevalier led the remnants of the Wurf pack, with O’Donnell, Kienle, and Kallin all there, 9:00 off the lead. Serving his penalty in the final tent before transition, Ditlev fell all the way to 11th, 10:25 down on Laidlow — a critical blow to his chances at victory.
Through the opening mile, the fastest man on the road was Neumann — almost 30 seconds per mile faster than anyone, including Blummenfelt and Iden, who he passed for second on the road. Chevalier had passed Wurf for fifth, while O’Donnell and Kienle were preparing to also move past the speedy cyclist. Ditlev, meanwhile, was nearly matching the pace of Neumann in an attempt to regain positional footing following his penalty.
As the run pushed onto Ali’i Drive, Laidlow had a 5:40 lead on the trio of Neumann, Iden, and Blummenfelt, matching each other stride for stride. O’Donnell and Kienle had moved past Wurf, and Ditlev had cruised into 9th place and running faster than everyone not named Neumann, Iden, or Blummenfelt. Rounding out the top 10 was Kallin, with Svensson and Skipper about to move him out of that position.
Making the turnaround on Ali’i, and Laidlow was beginning to cede time in earnest to the Norwegians. Iden and Blummenfelt had distanced themselves from Neumann and were now 5:16 off the lead. Neumann trailed that pair by 5 seconds. Chevalier was a solo fifth, 2:30 behind Neumann. O’Donnell and Kienle were running together, a minute behind Chevalier. Wurf had rebounded and was running better in 8th, but he was about to be relinquished of that position by the charging Ditlev, and Skipper had indeed taken over the final top 10 spot.
As the run headed back towards town, the air of inevitability began to creep in — Laidlow was starting to really give up time. Iden and Blummenfelt had taken a minute off their deficit and sat 4:15 from the lead. Neumann also looked like he’d be able to catch Laidlow in the next five or so miles, 4:46 back. Kienle had broken away from O’Donnell, and now had Ditlev nipping at his heels. Wurf and Skipper had also separated away from the other runners and looked to solidify their top 10 positions.
Coming up Palani Road, Iden looked to be the stronger of the two Norwegians, as he’d open small gaps on Blummenfelt that would require another surge in response. Laidlow had lost yet another 15 seconds of his lead in the process. Ditlev continued to mow down the field after his penalty time-out, having passed by Kienle for 6th. Onto the Queen K Highway once again, and Laidlow bled more time to the Norwegians, now only 3:22 in front. Iden and Blummenfelt continued to trade the workload in the chase, while Neumann held steady in 4th. Chevalier was sliding backwards in fifth — over 4 minutes behind Neumann now, with Ditlev and Kienle only 30 seconds behind him. Skipper had also made big in-roads and was 8th on the road, with O’Donnell 9th and Wurf still managing to hold down 10th.
Halfway through the run, and Laidlow’s lead was now down to under three minutes for the first time since the mile 90 mark of the bike. Blummenfelt and Iden still ran stride for stride, with Blummenfelt now looking the stronger of the two. Neumann kept the gap to the Norwegians at one minute. Chevalier was about to lose his 5th place to the duo of Kienle and Ditlev, who were running together much like Blummenfelt and Iden were. Skipper held tight in 8th, whereas Wurf had re-passed O’Donnell for 9th on the road. Clement Mignon, though, was about to make his presence known, having made up 2.5 minutes on that pair over the past few miles and in 11th.
Entering the infamous out-and-back at the Natural Energy Lab, and Laidlow put the lead back above three minutes, now 3:05 above Iden and Blummenfelt. Neumann matched the pace of Laidlow in front, which meant he started to close the gap to Iden and Blummenfelt. Ditlev and Kienle had made the move on Chevalier, taking fifth and sixth, respectively. Chevalier held 7th somewhat comfortably, as there was a more than 2.5 minute gap back to Joe Skipper. Further back and Mignon did indeed make the pass on O’Donnell for 10th.
Making the turnaround in the Energy Lab and Laidlow’s lead was down to 2:50 with 9.7 miles left to run. Iden and Blummenfelt continued to trade the lead position of their pursuit, and Neumann solidified his 4th place standing, 1:20 back of the chasers. Ditlev and Kienle were still together in 5th and 6th. Chevalier was still in 7th, but Skipper had dug deep and made up that 2.5 minute gap over this three mile section and now was just 20 seconds behind Chevalier.
On the return back onto the Queen K, and it was showtime: Blummenfelt took a small lead over Iden at an aid station, but once the tailwind kicked in Iden blitzed past Blummenfelt and took off after Laidlow in earnest. Iden seemed desperate to close to Laidlow as soon as he could, as with 7 miles left there was a two minute gap to make up. Laidlow, for what it’s worth, was taking full gallons of water from aid stations trying to cool himself off, looking to cling to the lead that he’d held for nearly the entirety of the race. Barring a meltdown, Neumann would be top 4, with over a six minute gap back to Ditlev and Kienle, with the former looking like he would be in trouble soon.
With 5 miles to run, Iden’s effort had paid off — Laidlow’s lead was now just a minute. And half a mile later, it was only 22 seconds. Iden finally tasted the lead at mile 22.4, giving a thumbs up to Laidlow as he passed. Laidlow gave Iden a high five in return, then attempted to respond to the pass, but after 30 or so steps had to drop back to preserve his place on the podium; he could not respond. The next battle on the road was for the final podium position, as Blummenfelt was merely 55 seconds ahead of Neumann. Further back, Ditlev had indeed melted down, as both Kienle and Skipper passed him, and was in danger of losing 7th to Chevalier and Mignon. Wurf was also in danger of losing his 10th place to Lange, who had rebounded well from his damaging bike penalty.
Finishing up their final miles on the Queen K for the day, Iden had opened up what appeared to be an unassailable lead of nearly a minute. Laidlow, meanwhile, had to start worrying about Blummenfelt, who was 1:45 behind and running 30 seconds per mile faster. Neumann’s destiny for fourth seemed set, as he was 1:10 behind Blummenfelt and losing time to the third place man. Skipper was about to pass Kienle for fifth, and Mignon and Chevalier had Ditlev well in their sights. Coming off of Palani and Iden’s lead was comfortable, but the big question was whether Laidlow would be able to hold off Blummenfelt, who appeared to be sprinting down the hill and trying to claw back the position for a Norwegian 1-2.
Iden took a Norwegian flag from the crowd and offered high-fives up and down the chute, claiming the world title in a course record shattering 7:40:24 — 11 minutes faster than the prior record held by Jan Frodeno. Iden also beat the prior run course record by three minutes in 2:36:15. Laidlow managed to hold off Blummenfelt for second, two minutes behind Iden. Rounding out the podium was Blummenfelt, another minute behind Laidlow. Blummenfelt required immediate medical attention following the finish, being carted off on board a stretcher. Neumann did indeed take fourth. Skipper, who was originally not going to race in Hawaii due to the expense, taking fifth. In his final Kona, Kienle took sixth, and in his fastest race time here.
To put the conditions and class of field in perspective, the top four finishers now own the fastest four finishes in Kona of all time. All of the top 10 finishers were under 8 hours, including Ditlev, Mignon, and Lange who all served five minute penalties.
Men’s Top 10 Finishers
1. Gustav Iden 7:40:24
2. Sam Laidlow 7:42:24
3. Kristian Blummenfelt 7:43:23
4. Max Neumann 7:44:44
5. Joe Skipper 7:54:05
6. Sebastian Kienle 7:55:40
7. Leon Chevalier 7:55:52
8. Magnus Ditlev 7:56:38
9. Clement Mignon 7:56:58
10. Patrick Lange 7:58:20
All Photos: Aaron Palaian
