Sam Laidlow has told fans he is struggling to return to full fitness and is still feeling the effects of his epic blowup at the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona.

The Bedfordshire-born French triathlete watched victory snatched away from him in Hawaii by Germany’s Patrick Lange and admits he has not been the same since.

Laidlow – “a really bad start to the year”

In a downbeat Instagram post, Laidlow revealed that he keeps breaking down in training and that he is battling “some illnesses and some health issues” as he tries to build towards his 2025 campaign.

Laidlow, who announced his race schedule for the coming year just last month with IRONMAN South Africa on March 30 his first big target, wants to win back his IRONMAN world title this year. He claimed the title on home soil in Nice in 2023 before blowing up on the run in Hawaii last October.

Sam said: “This last month and a bit has been flipping terrible. Some illnesses and some health issues. It’s just been a really, bad start to the year. Hopefully we can turn it around and have a great season.

“But it’s been over a month where pretty much every day I go for a run and I have to come to a stop after about five minutes. Same in the pool. Same on the bike. We don’t really know what’s up.

“I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of it but in reality I haven’t really been myself since Kona.”

Vowing to come back strong

Laidlow’s 2024 season ended early after Kona when he suffered a hamstring tear which forced him to miss the T100 Grand Final in Dubai. But he has vowed to come back strong and make it back to the top despite his latest setback.

Laidlow said: “My goal isn’t to spread a load of negativity and tell you how bad my life is, because that’s not the case.

“I just feel that I owe some honesty to the people that follow me and to show that we’re all just human. This month has been pretty sh*t but we’ll make it back to the top.”