IRONMAN Kona official start list LATEST with French star ruled OUT

We are closing in fast on triathlon’s 2024 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, and now it all feels very real with the official start list in place.

A galaxy of long-course stars will assemble on the ‘Big Island’ to do battle for the most famous prize in the sport, and what a beauty it should be. The official start list had 55 names on it, including a number of former champions – a tantalising mix.

That number diminished by one, sadly, on Thursday with French star Arthur Horseau ruling himself out of the big race.

Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden – champions in 2021 and 2022 respectively – are back after their Paris 2024 bids and ready to do battle on the most iconic course in triathlon on Saturday October 26.

Reigning champion Sam Laidlow will provide the stiffest of opposition, after his breakthrough second behind in Iden in 2022, followed by that spectacular success in home soil in Nice last year.

Two-time Kona king Patrick Lange once again bids to complete a hat-trick of IRONMAN World Championship victories after finishing second on the French Riviera in 2023, while the fearsome Dane Magnus Ditlev looks to improve on his third place.

These superstars are just the tip of the iceberg in a deep field which also includes Canadian superstar Lionel Sanders – who has a best of second place back in 2017.

The British interest comes via David McNamee – third twice in Kona in the past – and recent IRONMAN Frankfurt sensation Kieran Lindars.

IRONMAN Kona World Championship start list

The official start list for Kona in 2024 is as follows:

Bib NumberAthleteCountry1Sam LaidlowFRA2Patrick LangeDEU3Magnus DitlevDNK4Gustav IdenNOR5Kristian BlummenfeltNOR6Rudy Von BergUSA7Leon ChevalierFRA 8Arthur HorseauFRA9Bradley WeissZAF10Gregory BarnabyITA11Robert WilkowieckiPOL12Clément MignonFRA14Matt BurtonAUS15Rasmus SvenningssonSWE16Stenn GoetstouwersBEL17Trevor FoleyUSA18Antonio Benito LópezESP 19Michael WeissAUT20Sam AppletonAUS21Denis ChevrotFRA22Pieter HeemeryckBEL23Daniel BækkegårdDNK24Reinaldo ColucciBRA 25Steven McKennaAUS27Matt HansonUSA 28Arnaud GuillouxFRA29Jackson LaundryCAN 30Chris LeifermanUSA31Robert KallinSWE32Matthew MarquardtUSA33Paul SchusterDEU34Jonas HoffmanDEU35Kristian HøgenhaugDNK36Andre LopesBRA37Braden CurrieNZL 38Mathias PetersenDNK39Lionel SandersCAN40Thor Bendix MadsenDNK 41Nick ThompsonAUS42Tristan OlijNED43Mike PhillipsNZL 44Jason PohlCAN45Tomasz SzalaPOL46David McNameeGBR47Kieran LindarsGBR48Menno KoolhaasNLD49Kacper StepniakPOL50Finn Große-FreeseDEU 51Ben HamiltonNZL52Leonard ArnoldDEU53Ben KanuteUSA 54Cameron WurfAUS55Dylan MagnienFRA56Igor AmorelliBRA

When is the IRONMAN World Championship?

The big race takes place in Kona, Hawaii on Saturday October 26. We’ll provide full details of how to watch live as soon as they are confirmed.

What are the distances?

Triathlon distances vary dependent on what the race is, but the Ironman/full distance is the Holy Grail for most athletes.

They start with a 2.4-mile swim, before moving onto the bike for a ride which lasts a brutal 112 miles. Then they finish off by running a marathon. In Kona, this all happens with the added problem of absolutely brutal heat.

Written by

Graham Shaw

Graham has been involved with TRI247 & RUN247 since the summer of 2021. Since then he has provided strategic direction for all news and is passionate about the growth of triathlon as a fan sport.

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