Patrick Lange wins Ironman Kona World Championship, course record falls again

German Patrick Lange broke the course record to win a third Ironman Kona World Championship — his first in six years — and become the second-oldest man to win the title.

Lange, 38, clocked an unofficial 7 hours, 35 minutes, 53 seconds in the 140.6-mile race (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) on Hawaii’s Big Island. He prevailed by 7:46 over Magnus Ditlev of Denmark.

Lange broke the course record of 7:40:24 set by Norwegian Gustav Iden the last time Kona held the men’s world championship race in 2022.

“I always said that my best day is yet to come,” Lange said. “Nobody believed in me, and this is the day. This was the perfect day.”

The men’s course record has been lowered at the last five editions in Kona dating to 2017. Going into the 2017 race, the course record was 8:03:56.

Lange was in 13th place after the 112-mile bike, trailing defending champion Sam Laidlow of France by 9:06.

Lange unleashed a 2:37:34 marathon, just off the run course record of 2:36:15 set by Iden in 2022.

Laidlow shattered his own bike course record of 4:04:36 from 2022 by covering the 112 miles in 3:57:22. Seven total men went faster than the previous bike record.

But Laidlow struggled early on the run and briefly stopped around the 11-mile mark, shortly before Lange passed him.

Laidlow faded all the way to 18th place in 8:02:01, a time that would have been the course record as recently as 2017. He ran his marathon in 3:12:49.

Lange claimed his third Ironman Kona title after winning back to back in 2017 and 2018. He is the second-oldest Ironman men’s world champion ever after Australian Craig Alexander, who won the last of his three titles in 2011 at an older 38.

Last year, Laidlow became at age 24 the youngest Ironman men’s world champion in history, prevailing in Nice, France.

The Ironman World Championship had been held exclusively in Hawaii from its inception in 1978 through 2019.

Starting last year, organizers split the men’s and women’s races with one in Nice and the other on Hawaii’s Big Island, alternating years, through 2026.

That change was made so that the two fields can “have a focused” race experience.

On Sept. 22, German Laura Philipp won the Ironman women’s world championship in Nice.

2024 Ironman Kona World Championship Results

1. Patrick Lange (GER) — 7:35:53 CR
2. Magnus Ditlev (DEN) — 7:43:39
3. Rudy Von Berg (USA) — 7:46:00
4. Leon Chevalier (FRA) — 7:46:54
5. Menno Koolhaas (NED) — 7:47:22
6. Gregory Barnaby (ITA) — 7:48:22
7. Cameron Wurf (AUS) — 7:51:26
8. Kieran Lindars (GBR) — 7:51:55
9. Kristian Høgenhaug (DEN) — 7:53:37
10. Matt Hanson (USA) — 7:54:50
18. Sam Laidlow (FRA) — 8:02:01
32. Lionel Sanders (CAN) — 8:22:06
35. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) — 8:29:58
DNF. Gustav Iden (NOR)