KAILUA-KONA — As a three-time champion and the course record holder in Kona, Daniela Ryf is already in rarefied air.
The dominant Swiss star enters Saturday’s Ironman World Championship with a resume growing so rapidly it may soon be able to span the length of the 140.6-mile course.
To go with her Kona crowns, Ryf has four Ironman 70.3 world titles to her name and has kept record book keepers employed by consistently clocking times at races around the globe that rewrite history.
A fourth consecutive victory in the race would land her in an exclusive club that includes Hall of Famer Paula Newby-Fraser and her countrywoman Natascha Badmann as the only female racers to win in Kona more than three times in a row.
In her fifth trip to the Big Island — which includes three wins and one runner-up finish — Ryf will be looking to improve on her 8:46:46 course record she set in 2016.
And unlike last year, when Ryf was dealing with some early season injury issues, she looks fit as ever heading into race day.
“This race is so tough and you have to respect it. But you can’t be afraid,” Ryf said. “You can’t make any mistakes. I feel like I had great prep, but I know a lot can happen. It’s a long race.”
Ryf isn’t braggadocious in her demeanor and each statement on her career has a sense of gratitude behind it.
“The last few days have made me realize how much this race and this island have changed my life,” Ryf wrote on social media. “I feel very grateful to be able to race here fit and healthy and to have another opportunity to show my best on Saturday.”
However, what should be scary for the rest of the field is that she feels like her potential hasn’t been fully tapped yet.
“I still feel like there is more to be achieved,” Ryf said. “I still want to show more, to get better and show something I haven’t yet achieved.”
Call it anticlimactic, but outside of a trip, crash or major mechanical failure, the women’s race is Ryf’s for the taking.
Lucy Charles and Sarah Crowley — Ryf’s podium companions from a year ago — will be in the field, looking to shake up expectations, as well as three-time Ironman World Champion Mirinda Carfrae, who is returning after a year hiatus due to child birth.
A darkhorse contender is former Olympic triathlete, Sarah True. She was second on the podium in her full-distance debut at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt, behind Ryf, who finished a whopping 26 minutes ahead.
Tight pack for men
The story is very much the opposite on the men’s side, where Germany’s Patrick Lange seeks to defend his title but isn’t going overboard in his expectations after breaking the course record a year ago.
“You can go into the race with high expectations but it puts a lot of pressure on your shoulders. I think it’s better to start with low expectations and push within your limits,” Lange said. “That works the best for me. I expect nothing really, and will hopefully surprise myself.”
The most notable name when it comes to the men’s race is one not on the start list. Jan Frodeno — who won the race in 2015 and ’16 — will not be on the start line after pulling out due to stress fracture in his hip.
Frodeno is the only triathlete in the world with both an Olympic gold medal and an Ironman World Championship. He was a serious contender to take back his Kona crown this year. Last year, he was hobbled by a back injury down the stretch, relinquishing his title to Lange.
“I feel sorry for him that he’s not here,” Lange said at a press conference earlier this week. “But look down that row – it’s still tough competition and that drives me, day in, day out, to try and win this race again.”
Another former champion in the field hungry for success in Sebastian Kienle, who won the race in 2014.
When asked if the memories of being at the top of the podium have motivated him in training sessions, the 33-year-old German pro responded with a swift, “No.”
“Actually, it’s more remembering the feeling of 2017, probably two hours after the race, laying in the hotel room and feeling very sorry for myself, thinking about what could I have done better in the race and in training,” Kienle said. “It’s nice to have it under my belt, but I think nothing is more dangerous to success in the future than success in the past. If you are living in that past, you are never going to have success in the future.”
Lionel Sanders, last year’s runner up, does not hide the fact that his second place finish a year ago still stings. He posted an Instagram video training on the treadmill, looking at a photo of the exact moment Lange passed him on the final miles of the race.
“I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Sanders said. “When you look at the picture, I remember my brain said go, go, go! And my body said — absolutely nothing left. Sorry!” Tim WrightHe also remembers the feeling at the finish line.
“I haven’t seen Patrick since then … He was there waiting at the finish line and we slapped five. I remember the energy that we both had, and I remember thinking, ‘I wish you would just punch me in the face right now,’” Sanders said. “I had no negativity inside of my performance and neither did he. And it felt like we were feeling the same energy. But there’s no way to describe it other than just please punch me in the face. I would have said, ‘again, again again.’ It was all about the battle, the effort.”
The battle begins at 6:45 a.m. in Kailua Bay for the pro men’s field for the 2.4-mile swim. The women kick off at 6:40 a.m.
The age-group men follow at 7:05 a.m., followed by the women 15 minutes later.
