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May 10 - 2025 Two flats, 12th place finish and a slot for IRONMAN 70.3 Worlds in Marbella. That was the result in St. George for Magnus Ditlev in Saturday's race, where the highly anticipated battle with Lionel Sanders and Sam Long never really happened. Magnus says: "Not how I was hoping 70.3 St George would go. I had an amazing swim but unfortunately two punctures on the bike left me on the back foot of the race and I was unable to get back into it physically and mentally after that. Happy that I still finished and somehow managed to claim the last slot for 70.3 Worlds." "Hats off to Lionel Sanders for an outstanding performance! So bummed that I didn’t get the chance to battle with you as that was something I really had been looking forward to." On to the next one, the IRONMAN Frankfurt European Championship in Germany in June 30th.

Press release from Magnus Ditlev’s team - March 30, 2025 27-year-old Danish triathlete Magnus Ditlev had a phenomenal Sunday at this year’s first race, IRONMAN South Africa. His goal was clear: victory and a guaranteed qualification for the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice this September. Mission accomplished, thanks to a dominant performance and a finishing time of 7 hours, 44 minutes, and 55 seconds across the 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, and 42.2 km run. Ditlev shattered the course record by over 12 minutes and set a new bike course record by 9 minutes at the 20th edition of IRONMAN South Africa.

Press release - June 8 2024: 4th place in T100 San Francisco puts Magnus Ditlev in a tie for 2nd in the overall World Championship standings A spectacular course with very cold swimming and many elevation changes on the 80 km bike ride made today’s competition in San Francisco in the T100 Triathlon World Tour, a tough challenge. The world championship series race consisted of a 2 km swim, 80 km bike ride, and 18 km run and was the 3rd out of 8 races in the season. It ended with a 4th place finish for Magnus Ditlev, a result that moved him up to a tie for 2nd place in the overall World Championship standings after a 1st place and a 4th place in the two races he has completed. The three best results along with the result in the Grand Final in November count in the overall standings. Sam Long, USA, has competed in three races and tops the overall standings with two 2nd places and an 8th place, while Dutch athlete Youri Keulen, like Magnus Ditlev, has a victory and a 4th place after two races. Top-5 in the World Championship standings after three races: Sam Long, USA, 70 points (3 races, 28+28+14) Magnus Ditlev, Denmark, 57 points (2 races, 35+22) Youri Keulen, Netherlands, 57 points (2 races, 22+35) Kyle Smith, New Zealand, 48 points (2 races, 20+28) Mathis Margirier, France, 45 points (2 races, 25+18) Race Summary It was a solid day in San Francisco for Magnus Ditlev, who recorded the second fastest bike split, positioning himself well before the final 18 km run, despite the course with many sharp climbs not suiting the tall Dane very well. During the run, three guys broke away and built up a lead of over a minute, ending in an ultra-close sprint finish between the trio. Olympian Marten van Riel won by a few centimeters in a thrilling sprint finish over New Zealand’s Kyle Smith, with the German IRONMAN 70.3 world champion, Rico Bogen, taking 3rd place a few seconds later. The three led the last 10 km in a front group, while Magnus Ditlev was in his own group of three athletes with German Mika Noodt and Frenchman Mathis Margirier. Magnus made a surge towards the backend of the race and his two companions fell off the pace approaching the finish line, allowing the Dane to secure 4th place, and thus he now lies in a tie for second place in the overall World Championship standings. "I am overall satisfied with both my shape and my performance. It's always frustrating to finish fourth, and I had hoped to contend for the win, but the course didn't really suit the big guys like Sam Long and me, as we spent a lot of energy on the climbs compared to the smaller guys, and so we couldn't really utilize our strong cycling. There was a strange dynamic on the bike with the many descents and sharp turns, so I did what I could," says the Danish triathlete, who is ranked second in both the world rankings and the World Championship series. Broken hand and altitude training leading up to the race A broken hand less than two months ago in Singapore, which meant missing the second World Championship race of the year and thus an involuntary training break, led Magnus Ditlev to decide to start in San Francisco. The Dane came directly from a 5-week altitude training camp in Colorado, and his shape is where it needs to be with only a month to one of the season's big goals, where Magnus Ditlev will attempt to win the Challenge Roth on the full Ironman distance for the 3rd year in a row - last year even with a world record for the distance. "It has been fantastic to come down from 2,600 meters altitude, and my shape feels really good, so I am optimistic about Roth in a month. When I look at how I performed on the flat sections, the feeling is really good, and I am happy to be able to compete at the top on a day and a route that doesn't suit me particularly well. The swim was quite strange, and you don't swim particularly well with all that neoprene on your hands and feet due to the cold. On the run, the conditions were perfect, but again I ended up in an annoying dynamic where Noodt and Margirier didn't want to take the lead but instead drafted behind me in the headwind sections. However, I could feel that I was the strongest in the group, and even though my sprint is pretty good, I decided not to rely on a sprint. So, I pushed with 4-5 minutes left of the 18 km run, and Margirier was the first to drop, and when I increased the pace again, Noodt also had to let go. A 4th place is still much better for my position in the World Championship standings, where I am now in second place," reports Magnus Ditlev about a race that commentators called one of the most insane races in history with three athletes sprinting for the win after over three hours of competition. "It was almost like a short-distance race, so it was a lot of fun to be a part of, and even though it's not what I do best, I love racing when it's so close," he says. More altitude training and then defending the title in Roth Tomorrow, Magnus Ditlev returns to altitude for a week and then home to Denmark a week later, where the final preparations for one of the year's highlights will take place: On July 7, Magnus Ditlev will attempt to defend the legendary Challenge Roth title on the Ironman distance in Germany for the 3rd consecutive year. Last year, he even set a world record for the 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride, and 42.2 km run with a time of 7 hours, 24 minutes, and 40 seconds. About the World Championship Series T100 Triathlon World Tour: 8 events in total: March 10, Miami - Winner: Magnus Ditlev April 14, Singapore - Winner: Youri Keulen June 8, San Francisco - Winner: Marten van Riel July 28, London September 28/29, Ibiza October 19/20, Las Vegas November 16/17, Dubai November 29/30, in the Middle East, Grand Final The overall World Championship standings after two races can be found in this link. How to Win the World Championship: The three best results in the World Championship series plus the result from the Grand Final at the end of November count in the overall standings, meaning you need to complete 4 out of the 8 races to count in the World Championship standings. The competition covers 100 km: 2 km swimming, 80 km cycling, and 18 km running. Points are awarded in each of the eight races, and each athlete’s three best results in the series plus the result in the Grand Final make up the overall World Championship tally. The first seven races give 35 points to the winner, then 28 for 2nd place, 25 for 3rd place, and so on down to 20th place: 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point. At the year's last race, the Grand Final, 55 points are awarded to the winner, then: 45, 40, 35, 30, 27, 24, 21, 18, 16, 14, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4 to the 20th place. The overall world champion also wins a bonus of 210,000 US Dollars, while there are also large cash prizes for the remaining 19 athletes who get four scoring competitions.
Press release - March 9 2024: In unbearable heat in Miami, Danish triathlete Magnus Ditlev remained cool as an ice cube in Antarctica as he steadily biked his way into contention during the 80 km cycling leg after trailing the front group by 1 minute following the 2 km swim. Eventually, he ran to an impressive victory, the first for a Dane in the new 100 km-distance and the first in the new T100 Triathlon World Tour series, where an overall world champion will be determined in November after 8 intense battles worldwide. Ditlev completed the 2 km swim, 80 km cycling, and 18 km run in 3 hours, 9 minutes, and 8 seconds—34 seconds ahead of American Sam Long and 1 minute ahead of Frenchman Mathis Margirier. Along the way, he posted the fastest cycling time of all athletes with a time of 1:41:45—averaging over 47 km per hour. With this victory, Magnus Ditlev leads the new World Tour series with 35 points, while second-place Sam Long has 28 points, and Frenchman Mathis Margirier sits third with 25 points. The second Danish competitor in the series, Daniel Bækegård, finished eighth. Each athlete's four best scoring competitions count towards the overall standings. "I'm thrilled to win here in Miami. It's both the first race of the season and the first in the new World Tour series, which I now lead, so it's truly a fantastic victory on a very hot and tough day where we all suffered. I had devised a really good cooling strategy with my team, and it worked perfectly today, where I was in control all day despite the heat and humidity," said Magnus Ditlev in Miami. The best vie for the World Championship title in the new World Tour triathlon series The top 16 in the world rankings (Magnus Ditlev is ranked second) are invited to the new series along with 4 wild cards, making it 20 of the sharpest triathletes on the planet competing for both individual victories and the title of world champion after 8 100 km races: 2 km swim, 80 km cycling, and 18 km run. Magnus Ditlev was approximately a minute behind the leaders after the 2 km swim, and the strong Dane, whose cycling prowess is his greatest asset, steadily closed the gap on competitors on the racetrack in Miami, which is typically used for Daytona racing. The heat was a constant source of exhaustion on the scorching racetrack, and it literally meant keeping a cool head and executing one's game plan without overheating. This is exactly what Magnus Ditlev did to perfection—first during the 80 km cycling leg, where the tall Dane controlled his pace and cooled down to achieve the day's fastest cycling time, and especially during the final 18 km run, where cooling became an even greater factor as the temperature on the tarmac exceeded 40 degrees—without any shade to seek. The last to succumb to the Dane's relentless pace was double Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee, who broke after about 12 km of running. Ditlev could cruise to victory with a solid margin of 34 seconds and roar his joy at the finish line. Close to victory before Dane Ditlev has been close to victory at this distance, with a 2nd place in the US Open in 2022 and a 3rd place at the European Open in Ibiza last year. This is his first victory at the distance—even after it has become an official World Championship series sanctioned by the International Triathlon Union, World Triathlon. About the T100 Triathlon World Tour: 8 events in total: March 10, Miami - Winner: Magnus Ditlev April 13/14, Singapore June 8/9, San Francisco July 27/28, London September 28/29, Ibiza October 19/20, Las Vegas November 16/17, Dubai November 29/30, in the Middle East, Grand Final How to win the T100 World Championship: Points are awarded in each of the eight races, and each athlete's four best results in the series constitute the overall World Championship standings. The first seven races give 35 points to the winner, then 28 to the runner-up, 25 to 3rd place, and so on down to 20th place: 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point. At the year's final race, the Grand Final, 55 points are awarded to the winner, followed by: 45, 40, 35, 30, 27, 24, 21, 18, 16, 14, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4 for 20th place. The overall world champion also wins a bonus of 210,000 US Dollars, while there are also significant cash prizes for the remaining 19 athletes who achieve four scoring competitions.

November 15 2023: Magnus Ditlev is among the first 5 and a total of 15 nominees for the most prestigious Danish sports award: Danish Athlete of the Year 2023, for his world best time at the full iron-distance at Challenge Roth in June (7:24:40) and for the first Danish Podium at the IRONMAN World Championships in 16 years, with his 3rd place finish in Nice.
