7 hours, 23 minutes, and 24 seconds. That’s how long it took Magnus Ditlev to complete 3.8 km of swimming (46:23), 180 km of cycling (3:59:25), and a marathon (2:34:18) to win the coveted Challenge Roth for a third consecutive year.

In doing so, Magnus Ditlev shaved 1 minute and 16 seconds off his own full distance world record from last year, following an incredible performance where the Dane led the race from the 10 km mark on the bike.

Today, it was Magnus Ditlev - and then everyone else. Throughout the day, it was a race against himself for the Danish triathlete at today’s 40th-anniversary event of Challenge Roth.

It was a race against last year’s time. A race to improve once again at Challenge Roth, not just to win the race for the third year in a row, but to win with yet another new world record – just as he did last year.

He stayed with the front group during the 3.8 km swim, clocking in 20 seconds faster than last year. With slightly better weather conditions, the stage was set for another Magnus Ditlev show. He took the lead in the race after just 10 km on the bike and never looked back. He continued to increase his lead while riding solo at the front, and despite the rain and wet roads that made cycling tricky, he finished the 180 km bike leg in under 4 hours for the second consecutive year, entering the transition to running shoes with a 6-minute lead over his closest competitors.

Out on the marathon course, the Dane ran well in lightly overcast weather, with a first half-marathon time of 1:16 setting him up for a very fast run. At the finish line, Ditlev improved his personal best marathon time by 3 minutes, clocking 2:34:18 for the 42.2 km.

“I felt really good all day. I felt better on the bike this year, even though I rode alone the whole way and it rained, and I felt really good on the run. I ran the first half-marathon quickly, and my coach told me I was two minutes ahead of my time from last year, so the last 21 km were a battle against myself. I am very happy and proud of my performance,” he said in an interview at the finish line.

And the mission was accomplished: With a fantastic solo marathon finish, the tall Dane set a new personal record of 2:34:18, crossing the finish line a full 14 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Tom Bishop, with Rudy Von Berg taking third place, 36 seconds further back.

Result link - Challenge Roth 2024 - click here.