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SAM LAIDLOW THE HERO OF THE DAY IN KONA
By COMPRESSPORT®
From the ripe age of 4 years old, a young Frenchman has dreamed of racing in Kona and being the best long distance triathlete in the World. Now at 23 years of age and the youngest Pro competitor in Saturday's Ironman World Championship, Sam Laidlow was the hero of the day with a courageous performance that left spectators from around the World on the edge of their seats. Leading from the start until the final 5km of the run, undoubtedly he was flooded with emotions at the finish, embraced in the arms by his Father and Coach.
Picture by: David Pintens
SAM LAIDLOW, 2ND at IRONMAN® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
While he narrowly missed victory, he had the race of his life…a silver medal in his first attempt on the famous Hawaiian island topped off with a race record bike split and finishing it off going inside the course record time, was more than the new young superstar of triathlon could have wished for!
As Gustav Idean(NOR) claimed a brilliant victory it was Laidlow who put on a spectacle from the start. The Norwegian finally passed the brave 23 year old Frenchman with less than 5 miles remaining of the nail biting classic in Hawaii. Laidlow held on valiantly ahead of Kristian Blummenfelt who was forced to settle for third.
Kailua-Kona was in full excitement at 6:25am local time when the cannon sounded to start the first Ironman World Championship for the PRO men at Kona since 2019. Laidlow was quickly out in front and making smooth progress with Florian Angert (GER) and Daniel Bækkegård (DEN) But they were unable to break free, instead heading a huge group of 19 which would exit the water 48 minutes later. Angert officially was first out of the water in 48:15, virtually alongside Laidlow, but they had plenty of company with 19 athletes separated by just 15 seconds
Picture by: David Pintens
Taking his time through T1 amongst the large group, Laidlow soon after, confidently moved into the lead alongside Max Neumann(AU). Quickly opening up a gap by about a minute. Unfortunately with the chase groups forming, came with it several penalties including Arnaud Guilloux (FR) who was handed 5 minutes.
Up at the front Laidlow took over from Neumann who remained close behind, with still just over a minute then to the first chase group as they reached 30 miles on the bike leg. That group still contained the likes of Blummenfelt, Ditlev, Iden, Bækkegård and O’Donnell.
The first big move of the race came as the field approached 50 miles on the leg, as the powerhouse Ditlev blasted forward to eradicate the gap and take over at the front from Laidlow and Neumann.
Anybody who thought Laidlow’s moment in the blazing sun was over was badly wrong. The Frenchman took the lead again and started to take chunks out of the chasing pack. He was simply devastating on two wheels as he really poured it on during the second half of the leg. Laidlow’s lead grew at every split and he was 6:15 clear of Iden into T2 with Blummenfelt and Neumann both 6:21 back.
The bike split for Laidlow was timed at a blistering 4:04:36 more than four minutes quicker than the previous bike course record of 4:09:06 set by Cameron Wurf in 2018.
Picture by: David Pintens
The young Frenchman´s lead remained at more than 6 minutes as he headed out onto the run, with Blummenfelt and Iden running together in second and third. It seemed the matchup everybody had envisioned, was now on. At this stage Iden and Blummenfelt had to be heavily favoured to finish 1-2 for Norway, but there was still work to be done. They were cutting into Laidlow’s lead – it was already down to 5:16 with under four miles covered.
Continuing to go stride for stride, the Norwegian training partners were gradually chipping away at Laidlow’s lead but the Frenchman was putting in an admirable performance at the front. He looked remarkably smooth and still led by just over 3 minutes passing halfway in the marathon. Mile 19 brought fresh drama as Iden stepped on the gas to drop Blummenfelt swiftly – going immediately 30 seconds clear. He now trailed Laidlow by a shade under 2 minutes with just over 7 miles remaining.
Gustav finally claimed the lead on mile 23 as he passed the gritty Laidlow to take up the running – giving the 23-year-old Frenchman a high five, a pat on the back and a thumbs-up as he went past to show his respect for a remarkable performance from his rival.
The Norwegian crossed the line to take the victory in record time, the following 4 finishers also went under the previous record set by Jan Frodeno. Laidlow recovered from the disappointment of losing his lead immediately and hung on superbly for second, an emphatic result for the 23 year old who almost certainly has a very big and bright future ahead of him. There will be no doubt a World Championship victory will be on his radar in the future.
Pictures by: Justin Galant
In his first performance at Kona, alongside brother Max as AG (35-39) and in front of his Parents, Rudy Von Berg (USA) gave a mighty effort to finish 20th. Also a Kona race rookie Arnaud Guilloux(FR) despite his penalty on the bike, made a gutsy performance to finish 38th place. Unfortunately a recent injury forced Pieter Heemeryck(BEL) out of the race before commencing the run.
TRIATHLON ATHLETES SET UP
