Get the popcorn triathlon fans – if the legend that is Mark Allen is correct, the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona will be essential viewing.
It is two years since professional men got to race on the Big Island, and the last time they did it resulted in record-breaking results with Gustav Iden setting a new race best time of 7:40:24. That clipped more than 10 minutes off the previous mark set by Jan Frodeno back in 2019 – astonishing stuff from the brilliant Norwegian.
The podium from 2022 – Iden, fellow Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt and 2023 defending champ Sam Laidlow – all return this year and they are just part of a star-studded cast which six-time Kona king Allen expects to deliver fireworks.
We are now under two weeks out from race day on October 26, and Allen believes there are many reasons to expect a thrilling spectacle on the most famous course in long-distance triathlon.
He believes that Iden’s record – almost 30 minutes faster than the time Allen clocked to win his epic ‘Iron War’ with Dave Scott in 1989 – is immediately under threat, thanks to a myriad of factors which continue to push the boundaries of athletic performance.
Why are triathletes racing so much faster?
He told TRI247: “His [Iden’s] record will fall at some point, it may be this year, it might not be a couple of years. But you have to ask yourself where the improvements are coming from, are they because guys are just 30 minutes more fit than let’s say I was when I raced Dave [Scott]? Gustav goes 7:40, was he a half-hour more fit than Dave and I when I went 8:09? I would argue not. Was he more fit than I was? Maybe, but I don’t know. So what are the factors that influenced that race? Let me go down the laundry list.
“Obviously bike technology – that gives people a lot more time. Even bike positioning has changed just since two years ago. If you compare the bike positions that you’ll see in Kona this year compared to two years ago, they’re completely different. So aerodynamics has evolved to a point which is massive – even where and how you’re placing bottles on the bike, you’re gaining 5 or 10 watts based on that. Stuff that we couldn’t even comprehend back when I was competing.
“The materials of the clothing that they wear saves watts on the bike. The nutrition that the athletes have now is much more absorbable – they’re able to get in more calories per hour. Nobody in my era was incapable of going faster, it’s just that we couldn’t get in the nutrition fast enough to fulfil the potential of our fitness.
“And now, with the nutrition that they have available, they’re able to get in more calories per hour, which means they can sustain a higher power output on the bike, they can sustain a faster pace on the run before they start running out of gas. That’s another element.
“Then you’ve got the start time, which is early. The men go off at whatever, around 6:30. In the past we went off at 7 o’clock. Not only are you racing half an hour cooler, but you’re getting up and back from the place where the winds can pick up. And a half-hour can mean the difference between no wind and 30 to 40 mile-an-hour wind. So that’s another element that actually enables to the athletes to go faster.
“And then you add on top of that, the road surface has been continually upgraded and it’s infinitely smoother than it was say when I was competing. That’s another time saving. And then we go to the swimskins, and they’re saving time there. And you’ve got the super shoes.
“This year in particular, you have the fact that the race is two weeks later than normal. This time of year is a pivotal time of year in terms of temperature difference. Even a couple of weeks can make it a little bit cooler, a couple of weeks later can make it so that you’re further away from the windiest time of year. Generally earlier in October is more windy than later in October. The fastest time that I did in Kona was when the race was October 30th, this year it’s October 26th. That was probably the least windy year that I had. So all of that put together, I think that this year probably has one of the best chances of that record being broken.”
‘Dudes are gonna be frothing’
All of those factors are not the only thing that Allen believes will result in a spectacular showdown on October 26 – there is the long wait for this day caused by the Kona/Nice IRONMAN World Championship split.
“You figure on top of all that, the dudes are gonna be frothing – they have not raced there in two years. You have all that pent-up anticipation, preparation, it’s gonna be a testosterone fest out there.
“My guess is there’s gonna be some epic risk taking and some iconic blow-ups. It would make it that much more exciting if there are these incredible lead changes and somebody actually races smart and they come from behind or whatever. So I’m super-excited about this year.”
