Justin Metzler revealed that IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene has been his focus for quite some time now, as the American looks to take on a strong domestic field over the full distance this weekend.

Having finished second at the race in Idaho two years ago, Metzler believes that the only direction is up and is ready to put it all on the line come Sunday to chase the win against some formidable opponents.

“I am feeling very confident”

Stating his ambitions ahead of the race, Metzler shared that whilst his season didn’t start off great having recovered from a significant achilles injury, he is now ready to show the world what he is capable of.

“I kicked the season off with St George in May and I really wasn’t ready for that, coming off my first major injury which was a partially torn achilles tendon that I was diagnosed with in December 2022.

“I really couldn’t get proper run training in until April, so St George wasn’t an accurate reflection of where I was at, but I did take some positives from the way things went with my swim and my bike.

“Since then though I have managed to get all my training in uninterrupted, all my long runs, I think I got four runs in over 20 miles in the lead up to Coeur d’Alene.

“Overall, I am feeling very good and very confident. The training block has gone pretty much exactly to plan leading in.”

Keeping it in-house

Sharing some other developments that have come about since picking up an injury, Metzler said that he is now coaching himself, as well as his wife Jeanni, and is more confident than ever in his form.

“Another big development is that I have gone the self-coaching route, having started coaching Jeanni at the beginning of the year. Now we have everything in-house and I feel like I have done everything I possibly could in this training block to put me in this position.”

Metzler added that his previous experience at Coeur d’Alene has been spurring him on in training as he built up for this years event, with his past performances pivotal to the direction of his professional career.

“Coming second here in 2021 was a pivotal moment in my career, but you know, when you’re second, you are always looking to make the next move, and when you’re second there is only one more spot to go and I’ve been thinking about this race for a long time.

“Ironman really is my focal point right now. I think I have done everything I want to do over the middle distance, but think I have so much potential in Ironman and so much more in Ironman than I do in 70.3 so I am hoping for a big race.

“I’ll be coming with guns blazing, ready to show up with the best that I can.”