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Complete domination was the name of the game as Jan Frodeno and Daniela Ryf claimed their leafy crowns at the Ironman World Championship after leading all day.
The pre-race favourites lived up to expectations to deliver devastating performances that left their competitors in their wake.
Both athletes carry the distinction of being the first athletes to hold the Ironman World Championship, Ironman 70.3 World Championship and Ironman European Championship titles simultaneously. It is commonly considered a challenging feat to stay strong through the latter half of the racing season and do well at all three of them, let alone win them all.
Frodeno makes history as the first Olympic gold medallist to win in Hawaii. After a successful career racing Olympic distance in the ITU, he transitioned to ironman racing last year and quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with as he blended his top-end speed with gritty endurance. He has not been off the top step on the podium since last year’s third-place finish in Kona.
After rising third out of the water at Kailua Bay, Frodeno made a rapid transition to get onto the bike course first. The lead on the bike was contested heatedly in the first few miles, with defending champion Sebastian Kienle only one minute behind from the swim and riding to join his fellow German in front on the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway.
Frodeno took the front position in the final few miles and entered the run course with a 30-second lead. That gap only continued to grow, and he made the final turn onto Ali’i Drive uncontested. He walked through the last few metres of the finish chute, savouring the moment. His wife, Olympic gold medallist Emma Snowsill, met him at the finish line.
“Besides this and the Olympic title, I think nothing else matters. I’ve said it often, this is the Wimbledon of our sport,” he said. “I had good run form but it was brutal.”
Ryf also hails from an ITU background and represented Switzerland in two Olympic Games. She rose to long-course acclaim last year when she raced and won eight times in the span of four months, only bowing to last year’s Ironman world champion. She has been undefeated since then and has extended her winning streak in convincing fashion.
