New bike course record and 2024 IRONMAN Hawaii qualification at IRONMAN Florida

November 4 - 2023

Press release, November 4 2023: 

26-year-old Magnus Ditlev experienced a rollercoaster of a day at the IRONMAN Florida. He performed well in the swim and bike segments, even setting a new bike course record for the 180 km bike leg, finishing as the only participant under 4 hours (3:59:03 / 45.3 km per hour). However, during the run, the Danish athlete faced leg problems after approximately 10 km, requiring him to dig deep and fight through the challenges.

Remarkably, he still secured the 5th position and staged a significant comeback during the final, painful kilometers of the race, completing the marathon in 2:52 despite the considerable issues. He even managed to overtake Swedish competitor Jesper Svensson in the last few kilometers.

Magnus Ditlev, already qualified for the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii through his 3rd place finish at this year's IRONMAN World Championship, needed to validate his qualification by completing an IRONMAN. Essentially, the Danish athlete only had to finish the race to secure his spot in the 2024 championship.

Although his goal was victory, and Magnus Ditlev was in a good position for much of the race, it was crucial to mentally adjust and switch to warrior mode when faced with challenges. The primary focus of the day was to finish and validate the qualification for the Hawaii championship, so that planning for next season's competitions becomes easier without the need for an early qualifying race in the spring.

Three slots (qualification spots) for Hawaii were available for the top-placed male athletes (who were not already qualified), and these were claimed by Rudy von Berg (USA), Kacper Stepniak from Poland, and Matthew Marquardt from the USA, securing the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions.

Magnus Ditlev completed the race in 7 hours, 48 minutes, and 53 seconds.

Splits:
3.8 km swim: 50:54
180 km bike: 3:59:03 (new bike course record)
42.2 km run: 2:52:41

Ending 2nd on the World Rankings in 2023
Even before today's race, Magnus Ditlev was assured of finishing the year in 2nd place on the world rankings, where the three best results of the year count. Only the Norwegian Olympic gold medalist and full and half IRONMAN world champion Kristian Blummenfelt finished higher. Ditlev finished as the overall 3rd last year.

Simultaneously, the Danish star is ranked as the number 1 cyclist, deservedly so with two sub-4h performances on the bike in Ironman races this year.

Swimming:
Magnus Ditlev had a solid swim, staying with the front group through both laps. In the transition zone, he put on aero sleeves and socks, losing some planned time. However, he quickly made up for the lost time in the initial kilometers of the 180 km bike.

Cycling:
With approximately a minute and a half behind the lead group from the start of the bike leg, Ditlev pushed heavy watts and had already taken the lead after 35 km.

He chose to stay in the group and catch his breath. The group of over 10 men was reduced shortly after, as Ditlev increased the pace again, leaving 6 men remaining.

The Danish athlete attempted to shake off his competitors several times, but none of them dropped off, setting the stage for a foot race where the marathon would determine the outcome.

Running:
Magnus Ditlev led the group into the transition zone, with the fastest transition closely followed by Von Berg. The two ran side by side, just as they did at the World Championship in Nice two months ago.

However, it didn't take long before Ditlev had to reduce his speed due to leg problems. The pain worsened over the next 20 km, requiring him to use significant mental resources to stay in the race and finish well, even though the victory was out of reach.

In the final 10 km, Magnus Ditlev regained some speed in his legs and managed to overtake Jesper Svensson in the last couple of kilometers, securing the fifth position.

Selected Results - Magnus Ditlev:

2023:
IRONMAN Florida, November: 5th place (and Hawaii 2024 qualification)
IRONMAN World Championship, Nice, September: 3rd place
Challenge Roth, Germany, June: 1st place in a new unofficial Ironman world record: 7:24:40
PTO European Open, Ibiza, May: 3rd place

2022:
IRONMAN Cozumel, Mexico, November: 1st place in 7:50:41.
IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, St. George, USA, October: 3rd place.
IRONMAN World Championship, Hawaii, October: 8th place in 7:56:38.
PTO US Open, Dallas, September: 2nd place.
Heat victory and maximum points in debut in Collins Cup, August: 1st place overall with Team Europe.
Challenge Roth, Germany, July: 1st place in 7:35:48 (9 seconds from Jan Frodeno's race record and Danish record.)
IRONMAN Texas, USA, April: 2nd place in 7:58:12.

2021:
Clash Daytona, USA, December: 2nd place.
IRONMAN 70.3 in Cascais, Portugal, October: 1st place.
Challenge Budva-Montenegro, Montenegro, October: 1st place.
Challenge Family, The Championships in Samorin, Slovakia, August: 2nd place.
IRONMAN 70.3 St. George North America Championships in Utah, USA, May: 3rd place.

ABOUT MAGNUS DITLEV: