American star Sam Long has announced he is adding one more race to his season schedule, as the 27-year-old looks to secure qualification to next year’s IRONMAN World Championship in Kona before taking a well-deserved break.

The PTO World #6, who welcomed his first child with partner Lara Gruden at the beginning of August, decided not to chase a slot in Nice this year and focus fully on the PTO Tour and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Finland.

Bidding to earn his ticket for a first trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, having only raced the IRONMAN World Championships once previously in St George, Long will now line up in a week’s time at IRONMAN Maryland.

“Living life with a relentless spirit”

Having enjoyed great success in domestic races so far this season, with three consecutive wins over the middle distance in St George, Panama Beach and Boulder, Long has high hopes for his second attempt at a full-distance race in Maryland, after withdrawing from IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene with a mechanical in June.

Announcing his decision on Instagram, Long said that he was “living life with a relentless spirit” and had decided “on one more race, Ironman Maryland on September 16th”, where his goal was simply to “get a Kona slot.”

For the American, securing qualification to Kona would be the crowning moment on an overwhelmingly successful season. Since splitting with coach Dr Dan Plews and taking charge of his own training, the Boulder native has gone from strength to strength and re-established himself as one of the top contenders in most middle-distance fields.

His three wins in America across the IRONMAN 70.3 distance were followed by the disappointing withdrawal in Couer d’Alene, but Long quickly bounced back, finishing fifth at both the PTO Tour US Open and PTO Tour Asian Open, before capping August off with 12th at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships.