Huge Redemption Win for Magnus Ditlev at Ironman Florida – and World’s Fastest Ironman Time and Bike Split
World records were absolutely smashed in Florida by Magnus Ditlev, from a 7:19:17 overall time to a 3:51:15 bike split.
Mel Sauve
Following the race in Kona, where he led until the closing eight kilometres and looked poised for his first-ever Ironman World Championship victory, Magnus Ditlev shared on Instagram: “It’s been a tough two years for me dealing with sickness and disappointing results.” However, it’s clear the Great Dane is not done in his pursuit and demonstration of…well, absolute greatness.
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Just 28 days later, at Ironman Florida, he took the victory in absolutely dominant fashion, setting a world-best time of 7:19:16 along the way and reminding the world of his strength in full-distance racing. He’s now already secured his 2027 Kona slot, and the journey toward victory on the sport’s biggest stage continues.
In terms of how the race unfolded, Andrew Horsfall-Turner led out of the water in 47:41, followed by Emil Holm and Ben Kanute, with defending champion Rudy Von Berg seven seconds back and Ditlev just 10 seconds down. (An impressive swim for him!) The other pre-race favourite, Sam Long, exited the water 3:58 down.
Ditlev, known for his power on the bike, wasted no time taking control of the ride, breaking clear by 33.7km with a 1:16 advantage over the chase pack by that point. He went on to smash his own Ironman Florida bike course record with a remarkable time of 3:51:15, shaving 7:47 off his previous mark of 3:59:02 set in 2023. He entered T2 with more than 10 minutes over his competitors. Long rode 3:59:58 and arrived in T2 second.
What a ride for Ditlev! This is certainly one his competitors, and the sport at large, will take note of.
Ditlev then backed up that world-record bike split with his fastest-ever Ironman marathon, running 2:33:30 and securing the win in an overall time of 7:19:17, marking a new world record for the fastest ever full-distance time (and 15:25 faster than Von Berg’s previous course record).
Von Berg secured second place, while Matt Hanson, at 41 years old, ran his way from 18th off the bike all the way into third with the fastest marathon of the day (2:28:06), passing Long in the closing kilometres. Long finished fourth.
What a day – absolutely one for the history books!