Hayden Wilde will bid to crown a glittering year by claiming IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship glory on home soil in New Zealand early on Sunday (or later today, Saturday, in the UK/Europe/US).
The 27-year-old Kiwi superstar has been absolutely brilliant in 2024, with the high point being that epic battle for Olympics gold with Britain’s Alex Yee at Paris 2024.
Hayden looked booked for glory when he surged clear early on the run, but he had to settle for silver when Alex produced one final, incredible effort to pass him in the dying strides.
Since then Wilde has continued his red-hot form, winning the WTCS Grand Final in Torremolinos along with the supertri Championship Series title.
In the last couple of weeks Hayden has tuned up for 70.3 Worlds with wins in Phuket and at Tinman back home in New Zealand, and now all roads lead to the epic showdown in Taupō on Sunday December 15. He is likely to start a hot favourite after the start list was announced on Tuesday.
Defending champion Rico Bogen (DEU) meanwhile will line up for his second 70.3 World Championship triathlon in just his third year as a professional triathlete. Bogen won the prestigious title on debut last year in Lahti as a 23-year-old and will be hoping to make it back-to-back victories in Taupō.
Bergere renews Wilde rivalry
Wilde is not the only short-course star in action here, with Paris 2024 bronze medallist Léo Bergère (FRA) also gunning for glory. Bergère, who has won every IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon he started, will be hoping to continue his winning streak and get revenge on his Kiwi rival who pipped him to the post at the Paris Olympic Games. Fellow Paris 2024 Olympic Games representative and recent T100 Las Vegas winner Jelle Geens (BEL) will also be one to watch.
Those supporting from the sidelines in Taupō will have two local heroes to cheer for, with Kyle Smith (NZL) joining Wilde on the start line. Smith knows what it takes to win in Taupō, having claimed the 2023 and 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 Taupō titles.
Start list – Pro Men
The start list right now looks like this – it is of course subject to change:
| Bib Number | First Name | Last Name | Country |
| 1 | Rico | Bogen | DEU |
| 3 | Mathis | Margirier | FRA |
| 4 | Keulen | Youri | NLD |
| 5 | Marc | Dubrick | USA |
| 6 | Josh | Amberger | AUS |
| 8 | Hayden | Wilde | NZL |
| 9 | Leo | Bergere | FRA |
| 11 | Matt | Hanson | USA |
| 12 | Matthew | Marquardt | USA |
| 14 | Gregory | Barnaby | ITA |
| 15 | Kristian | Hogenhaug | DNK |
| 16 | Kyle | Smith | NZL |
| 18 | Casper | Stornes | NOR |
| 19 | Braden | Currie | NZL |
| 20 | Jason | West | USA |
| 21 | Ruben | Zepuntke | DEU |
| 23 | Antony | Costes | FRA |
| 24 | Jelle | Geens | BEL |
| 25 | Mitch | Kibby | AUS |
| 26 | Ari | Klau | USA |
| 27 | Nick | Thompson | AUS |
| 28 | Caleb | Noble | AUS |
| 29 | Sam | Osborne | NZL |
| 30 | Harry | Palmer | GBR |
| 31 | Federico | Scarabino | URY |
| 32 | Henri | Schoeman | ZAF |
| 33 | Armando | Matute | ECU |
| 34 | Wilhelm | Hirsch | DEU |
| 35 | Colin | Szuch | USA |
| 36 | Kacper | Stepniak | POL |
| 38 | Mike | Phillips | NZL |
| 39 | Strahinja | Trakic | SRB |
| 41 | Ben | Hamilton | NZL |
| 42 | Thomas | Davis | GBR |
| 43 | Hunter | Lussi | USA |
| 44 | Eduardo | Perez Sandi | MEX |
| 45 | Justus | Nieschlag | DEU |
| 46 | Max | Stapley | GBR |
| 47 | Jack | Moody | NZL |
| 48 | Thomas | Bishop | GBR |
| 49 | Nicholas | Quenet | ZAF |
| 50 | Kurt | McDonald | AUS |
| 52 | Johannes | Vogel | DEU |
| 53 | Michael | Arishita | USA |
| 54 | Jannik | Schaufler | DEU |
| 55 | Gregory | Harper | USA |
| 56 | Dieter | Comhair | BEL |
| 58 | Joao | Ferreira | PRT |
| 59 | Calvin | Amos | AUS |
| 60 | Nicholas | Free | AUS |
| 61 | Marty | Andrie | USA |
| 62 | Martin | Ulloa | CHL |
| 63 | Christoph | Mattner | DEU |
| 64 | Matthew | Ralphs | ZAF |
IRONMAN Pro Series reaches its conclusion
Four out of the top 10 in the men’s IRONMAN Pro Series standings will be racing in Taupō. Matt Hanson (USA) currently sits in second place but having completed his full complement of scoring races can only add a maximum of 691 points in Taupō and needs 770 to overturn series leader Patrick Lange (DEU). Lange, who will not be racing in Taupō, concluded his highly successful season of racing at the IRONMAN World Championship triathlon in Kona, Hawai`i where he claimed his third IRONMAN World Championship title and moved into first place of the IRONMAN Pro Series standings.
Matthew Marquardt (USA), Gregory Barnaby (ITA), and Kristian Høgenhaug (DNK), fourth, fifth, and sixth in the standings respectively, all still have one IRONMAN 70.3 score to add to their totals, with Barnaby and Høgenhaug also opting to race IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia to bolster their chances of being crowned the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series champion.
Other top contenders in the VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship men’s race are 2023 top finishers Mathis Margirier (FRA) and Youri Keulen (NLD). Margirier finished fourth in Lahti last year, while Keulen finished sixth.
