KAILUA-KONA — For more than a few moments after crossing the finish line, Patrick Lange was in shock.
KAILUA-KONA — For more than a few moments after crossing the finish line, Patrick Lange was in shock.
Fresh off blasting through the 140.6-mile Ironman World Championship course in record fashion — finishing the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run in 8 hours, 1 minute and 40 seconds — he simply couldn’t believe the feat he had just accomplished.
The champagne spray helped it sink in. After eight hours of battling on the Big Island, Lange was the world’s best.
“It’s everything I ever dreamed of. Oh my god,” Lange said. “I cannot believe it.”
Lange is proof that nice guys do not finish last, as apologies are becoming part of his post-race ritual. A year ago, he made sure to find Ironman legend Mark Allen at the finish line after breaking his run course record. This year, it was Australian Craig Alexander he made sure to apologize to over the microphone after besting his previous course record of 8:03:56, which was set in 2011.
“They are legends of the sport. They are my idols,” Lange said of his post-race ritual. “I would like to have someone do the same to me when they break my record.”
If he keeps up his current pace, Lange will be making a few more apologies in Kona in the years to come.
“I always, since I was a child, dreamed of this. I really had to fight. I had to fight so hard,” Lange said. “Having the course record here — it’s just incredible.”
Lange made his move on the marathon, passing a hobbled Lionel Sanders around Mile 23 and never looked back. Sanders gutted out the rest of the race, finishing second.
“I love the battle. I love the fight. This race provided probably the best fight I’ve ever been involved in. It hurts to get passed 23 miles into the marathon, but I love that,” Sanders said. “It was a very humbling experience. I tried to go with (Lange) for a second and it lasted about a second.”
David McNamee (8:07:11), of Great Britain, rounded out the podium. He became the first British male athlete to make the podium in Kona.
Lange’s title continued the trend of German dominance at the event. Every champion since 2014 boasted a German flag next to their name.
Two of those former German champions were among the favorites for this year’s race, but settled for off-podium finishes. Jan Frodeno, the two-time defending champion, was reduced to a walk early on in the run due to an injury. He battled to the finish line, finishing in 9:15:44. Sebastian Kienle — who won the event in 2014 — finished fourth.
On the women’s side, it wasn’t nearly as dramatic, although that was likely just Daniela Ryf making it look easy.
Ryf reeled off her third consecutive Ironman World Championship, clocking a time of 8:50:47. The Swiss star became the first female pro to capture three consecutive titles since recently inducted Ironman Hall of Famer Chrissie Wellington did it from 2007-09.
“It was the hardest I’ve ever had to fight for a win,” said Ryf, who took the lead late on the bike and was never threatened on a dominant run.
Great Britain’s Lucy Charles took the silver, while Sarah Crowley, of Australia, was third. Heather Jackson was the top-placing American in Kona, finishing fourth.
To go with the record-setting performance by Lange, three athletes finished under the record mark on the bike. Cameron Wurf made history with a time of 4:12:54 on the trip to Hawi and back, although three athletes finished under the previous mark of 4:18:23 set by Normann Stadler in 2006.
Josh Amberger was first out of the water and came close to breaking the course record in the swim. His 47:09 on the 2.4-mile dip in Kailua Bay was a little off the long-standing 46:41 record Lars Jorgensen posted in 1998. Lange was just 14 seconds off the mark he set last year on the 26.2-mile run.