Born in August 1985 in the city of Bad Wildungen in central Germany, Partick Lange is truly one of his nation’s – and the sport’s – finest competitors.

Patrick was the first individual to break the vaunted eight-hour time in Kona during his victory at the IRONMAN World Championship in 2018 – his second world title after securing a maiden victory a year earlier in Hawaii.

That victory earned him huge recognition back home as he was named the 2018 German Sportsman of the Year. Patrick was following in the footsteps of fellow triathlon great Jan Frodeno – who had won the title in 2015 – as well as Lange’s boyhood hero, motorsport great Michael Schumacher who won the award in both 1995 and 2004.

Lange’s strengths come on the bike and in the run – he was a successful duathlete and won the German National title on three consecutive occasions between 2010-2012.

Patrick is always a threat to run down his opposition no matter what the course, particularly excelling in hot conditions. No surprise then that he was able to produce those two masterclasses in Kona. Across the globe he owns numerous course records over the final discipline with the capability of running a sub-2:40 marathon to close out full-distance races.

Unfortunately the start of his 2022 campaign didn’t go to plan as he faced a spell on the sidelines after being injured in a bike crash during an early-season training camp. That caused him to miss the delayed 2021 IRONMAN World Championship in St George.

Career record and results

In 2008 Patrick earned his first top-10 finish in the professional ITU ranks as he finished ninth at the Brno European Cup in the Czech Republic. In the same year he was part of the German team which won the Military World Championship in Otepää, Estonia before winning the aforementioned German Duathlon Title on three successive occasions.

2013 was a breakthrough year for Lange on the German triathlon scene as the took victory in Mussbach, Bamberg and Römerman Ladenburg and added a further honour with the overall title at the Rhein-Neckar Triathlon Cup. 2014 would see him repeat his achievements at Römerman Ladenburg and at the Rhein-Neckar Triathlon Cup, with the addition of the HeidelbergMan title.

After victory at the Place V-Card Triathlon Viernheim in 2015 and 2016, Patrick began to focus on the IRONMAN series, taking the Texas title with a course-record run of 2:40:01. He then secured a bronze medal in Kona on his IRONMAN World Championship debut. The German had seemingly found his sweet spot.

IRONMAN 70.3 Rügen success in 2017 was followed by a maiden world title over the full distance in addition to victories at the Yas Marina Triathlon, Erdinger City Triathlon and Frankfurt City Triathlon.

A series of further podium finishes in 2018 were punctuated by victory at the Waldecker Edersee Triathlon and a second world title in Hawaii. IRONMAN 70.3 Asia Pacific glory followed in 2019 before the global COVID-19 pandemic put paid to the majority of the 2020 campaign.

Lange didn’t miss a beat when competitive triathlon returned in 2021, earning high profile victories at Challenge Roth and IRONMAN Tulsa.

2022 saw the German again finish on the podium at Challenge Roth with a second place finish, before he claimed tenth at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona and then went on to win IRONMAN Israel, with the fastest ever run split in a long distance triathlon, clocking 2:30:31.

Patrick Lange at Kona

Patrick debuted on the IRONMAN World Championship stage in 2016 after earning his spot at Kona thanks to a scintillating performance at IRONMAN Texas. He exited the water a minute behind eventual winner Jan Frodeno, but struggled to keep pace with those around him on the bike – dropping a considerable way down the field ahead of the run.

A blistering marathon split to close brought him through the pack – his time of 2:39:45 breaking the run course record on the way to an unlikely bronze medal.

A year later, Lange returned looking to upgrade the colour of his medal and he didn’t disappoint. His day followed the same pattern – a strong swim coupled with middle-ranging bike split set up his race before another sub-2:40 marathon saw him glide past the likes of Lionel Sanders and Sebastian Kienle to take his first victory on the ‘Big Island’.

Lange was back again in 2018 hoping to retain the coveted title, and he delivered something magical. A solid swim leg was coupled with a vastly improved bike split to set up an exhilarating marathon with seven or eight big names in contention. The German had other ideas, once again displaying his almost unrivalled running prowess to take victory by over four minutes. In the process he became the first individual to complete the IRONMAN World Championship course in under eight hours.

A further trip to Kona in 2019 ended in disappointment for Lange as he tried to win third successive world title. Flu-like symptoms scuppered his preparation for the event, forcing his withdrawal early in the bike leg after a competitive swim.

In 2022, Lange managed a tenth place finish, with an impressive 7:58 performance in the heat and humidity of the Big Island.

Patrick Lange family

The son of Carmen and Wolfgang Lange, Patrick celebrated his second Kona victory by proposing to his girlfriend Julia Hoffman at the finish line.

In an interview with Helen Murray in June 2019, Patrick described how he met Julia, revealing: “I met Julia in Mallorca, when she did her first ride in sneakers and from that moment, I knew she was really talented, she rode 120 hilly kilometres in trainers!”

Patrick Lange gear

Patrick has partnered with numerous sponsors over recent years and ERDINGER Alkoholfrei and Canyon listed as his main sponsors on his official website.

Lange is supported by HYCYS, Ceramic Speed, iQathletik and Radiologie Nordhessen as major partners with a plethora of other sponsors including Adidas, Audi and Garmin.