Previewing the 2019 IRONMAN World Championships in Kona

Germany’s Patrick Lange and Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf are the defending champions and top contenders at this year's IRONMAN World Championships, but they aren't the only ones to look out for.

Courtesy of IRONMAN

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — When the most elite athletes in the world enter the crystal clear waters of Kailua Bay on Oct. 12, they’ll be doing more than gazing in awe at the giant, breathtaking sea turtles who consider that domain “home” and swim gracefully as the early morning sun crests over the western mountains of the Kailua-Kona community. For more than 2,500 competitors, there will be nothing sweeter than crossing the IRONMAN World Championship’s famous Ali’i Drive finish—after they freestyle 2.4 miles in ever-changing currents, bike 112 miles while trying to juggle 45 mph head- and crosswinds, and battle a 26.2-mile marathon through sweltering lava rock.

If there’s two athletes who know all-too-well what’s required to overcome the race’s brutal atmospheric elements, it’s last year’s world champions: Germany’s Patrick Lange and Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf.

“There’s no race that’s unpredictable as Kona,” says two-time victor Lange, who in 2018 became the first-ever IRONMAN athlete to break eight hours in Kona, finishing in seven hours, 52 minutes, 39 seconds and breaking the overall course record that he set in ’17. “Even though I’m aware of the fact that last year’s performance will be hard to outdo, I know that I still haven’t become the best athlete I can be,” Lange says.

Swiss sensation Ryf scripted a tale of her own on the Big Island in 2018. Despite being stung by a jellyfish during the swim, Ryf become a four-time world champ with an 8:26:16 finish that crushed her 2016 overall course record by over 20 minutes—a record previous clasped in the hands of Australia’s Mirinda Carfrae since 2013.

“It’s not about record-setting,” says Ryf of last year’s world championship. “I am very happy that I was able to show what I can [do], and that it ended up in record-setting is, of course, wonderful.”

Don’t let the name Mirinda Carfrae slip aside—the three-time world champion finished fifth last year, after choosing to put aside 2017’s competition to focus on the birth of her first child. Carfrae’s hungry for another spot on the podium of athletic greatness, as she returns from a fractured arm bone injury she suffered in early September.

“Looking back on last year, I have to be proud of what I was able to accomplish, only 14 months after welcoming our baby girl into the world,” Carfrae says. “I had very high hopes for Kona [this year] but things changed a little when I was out on a run, tripped and broke my radius. My bike and run program has stayed on track, which is a massive positive … but as they say, ‘You can’t win the race in the swim, but you can certainly lose it.’”

One of Carfrae’s biggest supporters lies in last year’s top American finisher, Tim O’Donnell. Tim also happens to be Mirinda’s hubby.

“[Mirinda] has had some insane performances over the years, but we’ve never made the podium, in Kona, together,” O’Donnell says. “I want us to do that this year, especially with our two-year-old daughter, Isabelle, cheering us on.”

American sensation Heather Jackson made her world championship pro debut in 2015 and was the first U.S. women to cross the finish. In 2016, Jackson eyeballed the triathlon world after becoming the first stateswoman to podium at the world championship in a decade. Then, after finishing fifth in 2017 but not in the top handful last year, Jackson—a former hockey player—accomplished an incredible feat a mere five weeks post-Kona. Not only did she win November’s IRONMAN Arizona and shatter her personal record by more than 20 minutes, Jackson snagged the crown for the best IRONMAN time for American women (8:39:18).

“I went into the race overcooked from training and I just never came around in the final couple of weeks,” Jackson says of her ’18 race. “I’m hoping I’m back as a dark horse. I’m certainly not the most talented swimmer, biker and runner on paper, but I’m a fighter. If I can get myself in the right position at the pointy end of the field, then anything can happen on that day.”

Approximately 95,000 professional and age group athletes attempted to qualify for the 2019 IRONMAN World Championship through more than 40 global IRONMAN events. This year's race will sport a competitor field representing 75 countries, regions and territories, from six continents. Geographically, athletes from the United States stand atop the participant numbers, 659, with the largest amount coming from California (92), Texas (61), Hawaii (57), Colorado (52) and Florida (50). Internationally, the pack is headed by Germany (279), followed by Australia (193), United Kingdom (162) and Canada (99).

As long as there’s still room for improvement, that’s my main driver,” Lange concludes. “It’s a world championship [and] I can definitely say that everyone toeing-up the start line will give his best and fight ‘til the very end … including myself.”

2019 historical facts and stats, provided by IRONMAN

• 73% of participants (1,783 athletes) are male

• 27% of participants (669 athletes) are female

• 44 is the average age of registrants this year

• 6 athletes will be celebrating their birthday on race day

• Japan’s Hiromu Inada, 86, is the oldest male participant, while Denmark’s Valentin Carboniero, 20, is the youngest

• The U.S.’s Dexter Yeats, 74, is the oldest female participant, while France’s Pauline Anouk Chloé Dauvergne, 18, is the youngest

• 10 new IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 races were established in 2018 More than 5,000 volunteers will help make the IRONMAN World Championship a success.