IRONMAN World Championship 2018 Preview

3 Oct 2018

Patrick Lange and Daniela Ryf will both be defending their titles at the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii next weekend.

The 2017 world champions will head an elite field of professional triathletes at Kona, and will be followed by a field of 2,500 age-group athletes also registered to compete.

Germany's Lange will be looking for his second IRONMAN world title, having won last year's race in a course-best time of 8:01.40.

He will face tough competition from fellow German triathlete Sebastian Kienle and Canadian Lionel Sanders, who led a large part of last year's race until being passed by Lange in the 23rd mile of the marathon run.

British hopes are with David McNamee, who finished third in 2017, while Tim Don also competes after missing out last year with a broken neck. Don has worked incredibly hard to return to full fitness, and won the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 Costa Rica triathlon just eight months after suffering the potentially career-threatening injury.

In the women's field, three-time champion Daniela Ryf will again face strong challenges from last year's podium finishers Lucy Charles and Sarah Crowley.

British triathlete Charles, the runner-up in 2017, won the IRONMAN African Championship in April and finished second in last month's 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in South Africa. It was Ryf who won that title too, the fourth of her career.

This year's event marks the 40th anniversary since it was first held in 1978. The triathlon features a 2.4-mile open water swim, a 112-mile bike race and a 26.2-mile marathon.

How can I watch the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship?

The 2018 IRONMAN World Championship will be held on Sunday, October 13th in Kona, Hawaii.

The triathlon is streamed via www.ironman.com and www.facebook.com/IRONMANnow and the website also has live tracking and real-time updates. Coverage will start from around 5pm UK time (remember Kona is 11 hours behind BST).