Three more men’s slots for the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona on 10 October are all that remain – and they are up for grabs at IRONMAN Kalmar a week on Saturday (15 August).
In this article we take a look at who’s already qualified, who still needs to punch their ticket – and who will be missing.
Already qualified
It has to be said that pretty much all the big names are already there – as you would expect for this stage of the season.
The rules state champions before 2024 were granted a five-year exemption and needed only to enter and complete a qualifying race to validate their slots – think Sam Laidlow from 2023 for example, though he would have done more than enough anyway given his IRONMAN Lanzarote win in May.
But due to a subsequent rule change those who won in 2024 onwards are granted just a one-year exemption. That was fine for reigning champ Casper Stornes but 2024 winner Patrick Lange had to seal his place at what will be his Kona farewell with a runner-up spot to Laidlow in Lanzarote.
Definitely missing out
In terms of those missing out but who would likely have impacted the race, two names stand head and shoulders above the rest – Jelle Geens and Rico Bogen.
A debut on the Big Island remains a dream for brilliant Belgian Geens and it’s not for lack of trying. But a difficult long-distance debut at IRONMAN Texas and ongoing issues with a Grade 2 femoral shaft stress reaction means that has had to be put on hold for 12 months.
Taking in his last chance at Kalmar has been deemed too big a risk and he will instead focus all his energies on going for a third straight 70.3 World title.
Bogen was the last man to win the 70.3 Worlds before Geens, back in 2023, and he made everyone sit up and take notice when a superb third behind former IRONMAN World Champions Laidlow and Kristian Blummenfelt at Challenge Roth in July.
But he is content to bide his time in terms of Kona and stick to middle distance over the coming months.
The other high-profile athlete not heading to Hawaii to compete is Lionel Sanders.
He’s won three of his four 70.3s in the last couple of injury-hit seasons but at full-distance he’s been outside the top 30 in his last two visits to Kona and was 45th at Texas back in April so hasn’t been able to get close to qualifying this time around.
We also need to mention Leon Chevalier who has two top fives to his name in the IRONMAN World Championship but this season has been a struggle.
Still in with a chance
In terms of Kalmar then, who are the most likely to grab those final three spots?
Germany’s Finn Große-Freese and Jonas Hoffmann, together with Finland’s Henrik Goesch, are among the highest-ranked athletes in the field still seeking qualification, meaning a strong performance in Sweden could prove decisive in their pursuit of a Kona slot.
And Gregory Barnaby (ITA), the IRONMAN Pro Series winner a couple of years ago, has finished in the top 10 at the IMWC previously and is also on the lookout for a berth.
The places will likely go down further than third as plenty of the Kalmar favourites – including American duo of Matthew Marquardt and Trevor Foley, Germany’s Jonas Schomburg and short-course star Pierre Le Corre of France are already Kona-bound.
IRONMAN World Championship 2026 men’s qualifiers so far
| Athlete | Nationality | Qualification route* | Race qualified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florian Angert | GER | QS | IRONMAN South Africa |
| Leonard Arnold | GER | QS | IRONMAN Switzerland |
| Antonio Benito Lopez | ESP | QS | IRONMAN Frankfurt |
| Marius Bjerkeset | NOR | QS | IRONMAN Switzerland |
| Kristian Blummenfelt | NOR | FC5 | IRONMAN New Zealand |
| Jon Saeveras Breivold | NOR | QS | IRONMAN Austria |
| Mattia Ceccarelli | ROU | QS | IRONMAN Austria |
| Magnus Ditlev | DEN | QS | IRONMAN Frankfurt |
| Almog Elazary | ISR | QS | IRONMAN Cozumel |
| Trevor Foley | USA | QS | IRONMAN New Zealand |
| Frederic Funk | GER | QS | IRONMAN Lake Placid |
| Jumpei Furuya | JPN | QS | IRONMAN Western Australia |
| Nathan Guerbeur | FRA | QS | IRONMAN Frankfurt |
| Arnaud Guilloux | FRA | QS | IRONMAN Brazil |
| Matthew Hanson | USA | QS | IRONMAN New Zealand |
| Benjamin Hill | AUS | QS | IRONMAN Cairns |
| Wilhelm Hirsch | GER | QS | IRONMAN Brazil |
| Brock Hoel | CAN | QS | IRONMAN Texas |
| Arthur Horseau | FRA | QS | IRONMAN Cozumel |
| Kristian Høgenhaug | DEN | QS | IRONMAN Lake Placid |
| Gustav Iden | NOR | FC5 | IRONMAN Texas |
| Ben Kanute | USA | QS | IRONMAN Arizona |
| Youri Keulen | NED | QS | IRONMAN Brazil |
| Menno Koolhaas | NED | QS | IRONMAN Arizona |
| Sam Laidlow | FRA | FC5 | IRONMAN Lanzarote |
| Patrick Lange | GER | QS | IRONMAN Lanzarote |
| Pierre Le Corre | FRA | QS | IRONMAN New Zealand |
| Damien Le Mesnager | FRA | QS | IRONMAN Lanzarote |
| Kieran Lindars | GBR | QS | IRONMAN Texas |
| Sam Long | USA | QS | IRONMAN Arizona |
| Vincent Luis | FRA | QS | IRONMAN Texas |
| Cameron Main | GBR | QS | IRONMAN Western Australia |
| Matthew Marquardt | USA | QS | IRONMAN South Africa |
| Jordi Montraveta Moya | ESP | QS | IRONMAN Lanzarote |
| Jack Moody | NZL | QS | IRONMAN New Zealand |
| Caleb Noble | AUS | QS | IRONMAN Western Australia |
| Sebastian Norberg | SWE | QS | IRONMAN Cozumel |
| Tristan Olij | NED | QS | IRONMAN South Africa |
| Jamie Riddle | RSA | QS | IRONMAN Frankfurt |
| Michele Sarzilla | ITA | QS | IRONMAN Cozumel |
| Jonas Schomburg | GER | QS | IRONMAN Texas |
| Jack Sosinski | AUS | QS | IRONMAN Cairns |
| Dominik Sowieja | GER | QS | IRONMAN Lake Placid |
| Kacper Stepniak | POL | QS | IRONMAN Frankfurt |
| Casper Stornes | NOR | RC | IRONMAN WC Automatic Qualifier |
| Jan Stratmann | GER | QS | IRONMAN Frankfurt |
| Rasmus Svenningsson | SWE | QS | IRONMAN Chattanooga |
| Nick Thompson | AUS | QS | IRONMAN Western Australia |
| Mikel Ugarte Ramos | ESP | QS | IRONMAN South Africa |
| Marten Van Riel | BEL | QS | IRONMAN Texas |
| Rudy Von Berg | USA | QS | IRONMAN Texas |
| Jason West | USA | QS | IRONMAN Lake Placid |
| Cameron Wurf | AUS | QS | IRONMAN Chattanooga |
