‘I’m kind of all in on this one’: Race welcomes the world to St. George as Ironman pros hold press conference

ST. GEORGE — The much anticipated and long-delayed 2021 Ironman World Championship is almost here.

The pre-race favorites among the pro men in Saturday’s 2021 Ironman World Championship, St. George, Utah, May 5, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Fourteen of the best male and female triathletes in the world were introduced in a press conference at the Electric Theater Thursday morning.

They are among over 3,000 athletes registered to run in Saturday’s championship, which will start off with an early morning 2.4-mile swim at Sand Hollow Reservoir, transition to a 112-mile bike ride through Hurricane and Washington City and then finish with a 26.2-mile run in and around downtown St. George.

The most iconic single-day endurance test in the world will challenge the top competitors in the world here in Greater Zion.’

Due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s Ironman World Championship was rescheduled and relocated from its traditional venue in Kona, Hawaii, which will still host the 2022 race on Oct. 6. This Saturday will be the first time ever that the annual event is not being raced in Hawaii.

“I think there’s a favorite,” Norwegian Gustav Iden said. Iden won the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St. George last September.

“And to be honest, I think it’s not me this time. It’s Kristian (Blummenfelt),” he added. “In my mind, I’m giving out the percentages to everyone, and I think I gave Kristian a 30 percent chance of winning.”

Gustav Iden at the finish line, Ironman 70.3 World Championship, St. George, Utah, Sept. 18, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Blummenfelt, Iden’s teammate from Norway, joined his countryman at the press conference.

The other pre-race favorites in the men’s professional group are Sebastian Kienle of Germany, Alistair Brownlee of Great Britain, Lionel Sanders of Canada and Cameron Wurf of Australia.

American Sam Long said he will not be running this fall in Hawaii at the 2022 championship.

Sam Long and Gustav Iden at the finish line, Ironman 70.3 World Championship, St. George, Utah, Sept. 18, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

“I’m honestly more excited about this race than Kona,” Long said. “So I’m kind of all in on this one. I just love the community here and I love the people.”

Long finished second in September’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship and also earned a silver in the 70.3 North American Championship last May after a thrilling race to the finish line against Sanders.

Both of those races were in St. George, where Long feels home away from home.

“It’s my first Ironman World Championships,” Long said. “So it’s pretty cool to go from being like a cheerleader to being one of the guys up here. You should work hard to make your idols your rivals and that’s true for all these individuals up here.”  

Repeat champ leads women’s field

The pre-race favorites among the pro women in Saturday’s 2021 Ironman World Championship, St. George, Utah, May 5, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

The women’s professional group is led by four-time Ironman World Champion Daniela Ryf of Switzerland, who won the race four years in a row from 2015-2018.

“It’s going to be a good battle out there,” Ryf said at the press conference. “It’s always hard to say in front who’s going to win. Of course, I would like it to be me but I know there’s stiff competition.

“And I believe it will be the woman with the strongest legs,” Ryf added. “And who this is, we don’t know yet. We’ll find out on Saturday.” 

The other pre-race favorites among the professional women are Anne Haug from Germany, who is the defending champion after her victory in 2019.

Americans Skye Moench and Heather Jackson expect to have a good race. Two athletes from Great Britain — Kat Matthews and Ruth Astle — and Sweden’s Lisa Norden round out the seven favorites. 

The men’s pro group jumps into the water at Sand Hollow Reservoir Saturday morning at 6:15 a.m. with the women’s pro group scheduled five minutes later.

Five minutes after that, the handcycle/physically challenged group begins their race and then the age-group first wave is slated to hit the water at 6:45 a.m.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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