Haug and Ditlev set Ironman bests in Roth Challenge triumphs

Germany's Anne Haug and Magnus Ditlev of Denmark set new Ironman world best marks with victories at the famous triathlon event in Roth.

Haug bettered the women's mark by almost six minutes to 8 hours 2 minutes 23 seconds after 3.8 kilometres swimming, 180km cycling and a marathon run of 42.195km in front of a German home crowd.

Ditlev shaved more than a minute of his previous record when he clocked 7:23:24 hours in the men's race. Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway recorded 7:21:12 in 2021 in Mexico but due to a strong current in the swimming part this result is not accepted as a record.

There is no official Ironman world record because all courses are different. Roth is considered a fast course while times at the most famous race in Hawaii are normally slower due to often windy conditions.

Ditlev won the Roth Challenge the third year in a row, and Haug also has three top spots, following earlier success in 2021 and 2022.

Haug's time showed that the women are getting close to going below eight hours, ad she was over the moon to have claimed the women's record for the first time in her career.

"The world best was always a dream of mine. It makes my career quite perfect now that it has worked out," she said.

The men's race had originally promised to be a big duel between Ditlev and German twice world champion Patrick Lange, but Lange retired early in the bike session with a bruised rib caused when he was hit by an opponnent in the swim.

"It is a tough defeat. It hurts even more that I couldn't perform at my favourite race," the 2021 winner and twice runer-up Lange said.