Kona Coverage: Daniela Ryf runs to fifth place in what could be final Kona appearance
The five-time Ironman world champion may have raced on the Big Island for the last time
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
With 10 world championships to her name (five Ironman and five 70.3 crowns), Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf has nothing left to prove in the sport of triathlon, but she doesn’t let that stop her from trying. She fell short of a sixth Ironman world title on Saturday in Kona, but she still gave her all right to the finish line, which she crossed in fifth place in a final time of 8:40:34. Ryf has given fans of the sport so much to cheer for in the past decade, and in what could be her final race in Kona, she showed the world of triathlon exactly why she will be missed whenever she decides to call it a career.
Always getting faster
In a post-race interview in Kona, Ryf spoke to the level of her competitors on the Ironman circuit, noting that everyone has gotten so much faster in recent years. “I don’t think I got [any faster] in the last bit,” she said. “It’s the other women catching up a lot.”
That was put on display in Kona on Saturday, with Lucy Charles-Barclay setting a new overall course record of 8:24:31 (breaking Ryf’s best of 8:26:18) and Anne Haug breaking the marathon course record with a blazing 2:48:23 split.
Lucy Charles-Barclay smashes course record to win first Ironman World Championship
Although she would, of course, loved to have won another world title on Saturday, Ryf has chosen to look at the ever-improving women’s field in a positive light.
“I enjoyed it a lot when I was alone [at the front of the race] winning by 20 minutes,” she said. “But, I think for the sport, it’s much more interesting if it’s a battle that’s much closer.”
Ryf also disclosed that she caught COVID at the beginning of August, which impacted her ability to fully prepare for the 70.3 worlds in Lahti and Kona. At the end of June Ryf had what might have been the race of her life when she set a new world best at Challenge Roth, where she finished in 8:08:21, breaking Chrissie Wellington’s previous world-best time by almost 10 minutes.
Not done chasing
While many people would be absolutely thrilled with a fifth-place finish in Kona, for a five-time Ironman world champion like Ryf, she didn’t show up hoping to cross the line in any position other than first. After a 54:11 swim put her in 18th place out of the water, she went to work on the bike, slowly picking off athletes in front of her. At one point, she made it up to third place, but after 90 kilometres of riding, she faded back to sixth.
Although it looked unlikely that she would run down Charles-Barclay after T2 (by the time Ryf hit the marathon course she was 11:30 back of the lead), Ryf didn’t take time to feel bad for herself. Instead, she gritted her teeth and ran to a 3:02:11 run split (the seventh fastest of the day) and climbed to fifth place.
“I couldn’t suffer as much [as I used to] today,” she said. “I remember how much pain I used to have on this course, just coming back from Hawi and just hammering. Today my body was just not able to do it.” Despite that physical wall on Saturday, Ryf said she will “definitely […] try to raise the bar again.” However, she noted that her days racing in Kona may be over.
“I haven’t decided anything final, but it feels to me that I did reach my potential here, and I also feel that I’ve done what I wanted here,” Ryf said. “I don’t think I’ll be racing here in 2025.” (With Ironman’s new world championship scheduling, the women will be competing in Nice, France, in 2024 and the men will be in Kona.)
If Ryf is, in fact, done with Kona, it is a sad day for the Big Island, but she’s sure to put on a show for fans of the sport in 2024, no matter where she ends up racing.
With files from Kevin Mackinnon
