IRONMAN World Champ Patrick Lange’s Texas title defence in the balance

Patrick Lange faces a race against time if he is to defend his IRONMAN Texas title on April 26.

The 38-year-old German, who won a third IRONMAN World Championship crown in brilliant style in Kona last year, opened up his season with a never-nearer 17th at 70.3 Oceanside, a race won by Lionel Sanders.

But now part of the reason for that low-key performance has come to light – and it also throws into doubt whether Lange will be able to line up in Texas.

‘Compromised run form’

Writing on Instagram, Lange explained: “Just after arriving in Oceanside for the 70.3, I felt a slight pull in my adductor during one of the final hard run sessions.

“By the next day, it had turned into a sharp pain that I could even feel while walking. Thanks to daily treatment on-site, I was able to toe the start line, though with a bad gut feeling and compromised run form.

“Cold conditions and just a generally rough day didn’t help, and the discomfort worsened the day after the race.”

‘Time isn’t exactly on my side’

He added: “Since arriving in Texas, the pain has intensified. I got an MRI to be safe and thankfully, it showed no structural damage. The diagnosis: adductor longus tendonitis.

“Right now, swimming is the only type of training I can do, and I’m doing everything I can to get on top of this. Time isn’t exactly on my side, and it’ll be tight to get back to full strength in two weeks. But hope dies last.

“This kind of rollercoaster comes with pro sports and I’m grateful I haven’t had to deal with too many injuries throughout my career. I’ll keep you posted.”

Lange is one of a number of star names on the Texas start list, though Sanders isn’t among them anymore as he went down with a cough after that Oceanside victory and decided the timings were too tight.