A Tale of Two Bogens
Rico Bogen's record-breaking Ironman debut and Bianca Bogen's European title made for an unforgettable weekend.
Mel Sauve
Triathlon has produced many successful siblings. The most famous are undoubtedly Great Britain’s Brownlee brothers. We all remember watching them in their era of dominance in triathlon racing, collectively winning a total of five Olympic medals. Further down memory lane, we remember Chris and Matt Lieto, Andreas and Michael Raelert, and the Wassner twins, Rebeccah and Laurel.
This past weekend, the sibling excellence extended to the Bogens: Rico and his sister Bianca.
Many had their eyes on Rico in Roth as the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Champion, and back-to-back T100 San Francisco winner, took on the full distance for the first time. He led out of the swim, complete the fastest bike ride setting a new course record, and gave everything he had left in the marathon to cross the finish line in third place, stopping the clock at 7:27:53 and setting a new fastest-ever full-distance time on debut. It is undoubtedly a sign of his potential as he continues to build his experience over the full distance.
We also had a chance to chat with his coach Philip Seipp in Roth, who hinted that fans can expect to see more long-course racing from Rico going forward.
And as for the sibling side of things? More than 1,000km north or Roth, Rico’s sister Bianca completed a perfect weekend for the family.
Racing at the Ironman 70.3 European Championship in Jönköping, Sweden, Bianca captured the European title in 4:06:51, claiming her first victory of the 2026 season and securing qualification for the 2027 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga. Locked together with Marjolaine Pierre for much of the run, Bianca gradually pulled away over the closing kilometres to win by 37 seconds.
The siblings’ success comes as little surprise given their upbringing. Both were introduced to endurance sport from an early age, regularly accompanying their parents to running races and triathlons before eventually pursuing competitive swimming. Both later made the transition to triathlon.