Magnus Ditlev tops again at Challenge Roth, shattering Jan Frodeno’s course record

A year ago Magnus Ditlev was running alongside the man many consider to be the greatest triathlete of all time, only to see Jan Frodeno pull out of Challenge Roth a few kms into the run due to an Achilles injury. Ditlev would go on to win the race (pictured above), finishing just nine seconds short of Frodeno’s course record.

Today the Dane returned to Challenge Roth and shattered that course record, finishing the race in a stunning 7:24:40. Only Kristian Blummenfelt’s 7:21:12 set at Ironman Cozumel is faster. That course featured a down-current swim, which has led many to argue that it shouldn’t be considered in the “world best” list.

Ditlev was among the lead group out of the water, trailing American Ben Kanute by 11 seconds. It wasn’t long before Ditlev was showing his prowess on the bike, though, trading the lead with Kona bike course record holder Sam Laidlow through the first stages of the bike. The two would storm clear of the rest of the field, with the Dane hitting T2 a second up on the Frenchman. The pair were about 12 minutes up on Germany’s Patrick Lange and Kanute.

The two speedy bikers ran together through the first 8 km of the race, but Laidlow would start to fade and by the 15 km point was three minutes down. By the 25 km point of the marathon Laidlow was out of the picture as Lange and Kanute moved ahead into the final two podium positions.

There was no touching Ditlev, though, who ran a 2:37:09 marathon to go along with his 3:57:45 bike and 46:47 swim splits to finish the race in 7:24:40.

Lange would run a 2:30:27 marathon to finish the day in 7:30:04, with Kanute rounding out the podium in 7:37:01. Daniel Baekkegard would end up taking fourth in 7:39:59, with Joe Skipper taking fifth in 7:44:10.

Canadian Jason Pohl would take seventh in an impressive 7:46:59, one spot ahead of Laidlow, who struggled in to the finish in 7:48:05.