Magnus Ditlev was running in second place during the marathon when he was shown a red card and disqualified for littering just outside a designated aid zone - while pouring ice water down his back in the blistering heat. What followed was an hour of uncertainty before the disqualification was eventually overturned. Ditlev, who had his sights set on victory, ultimately finished 8th after a tough and mentally exhausting day.

Despite the setback for the Dane, the race became a major Nordic success. Fellow Dane Kristian Høgenhaug used a strong swim to break away solo on the bike and held on for second place behind pre-race favorite Kristian Blummenfelt, with another Norwegian, Casper Stornes, rounding out the podium. For much of the early marathon, it was Denmark vs. Norway vs. Germany, with three Danes—Høgenhaug, Ditlev, and Daniel Bækkegård—leading the race through the first 2 km, chased closely by a Norwegian trio of Blummenfelt, Stornes, and Gustav Iden. In the end, the ‘national team battle within the battle’ went to Norway ahead of Denmark and Germany.

“It was a really strange race overall with a lot of weird situations, and the dynamic kept shifting. I took an elbow to the face just before the swim start and had to adjust my goggles after 100 meters. I swam okay, but it never really felt great, although I was happy to be in the main group with Rudy, Blummenfelt, Iden, and Lange,” Ditlev explains.

“Out on the bike, the dynamics were really odd. Every time I tried to break away, Blummenfelt and Iden would shut it down, and we could only watch as Høgenhaug rode further and further up the road. I didn’t get a proper gap until late in the ride heading into T2, but the bike never became the weapon I had hoped for,” he says.

“I started the run with a mission to chase down Høgen, and my early pace would have resulted in a 2:30 marathon. But then the red card happened, and it put me in a super difficult place mentally. For about an hour, I didn’t know whether I was disqualified or not. That kind of adrenaline spike when you’re kicked out of a race you’re trying to win—it comes with a cost. I struggled mentally from that point on and had a rough second half of the marathon,” Ditlev reflects.

“I’m proud I fought my way to the finish line, but I’m very disappointed with how the race unfolded. I know it’s the athlete’s responsibility to follow the rules, but I thought there was some leeway when they placed the ice at the very end of the zone. Now I know better. It’s tough to go from fighting for the win to being told you’re out of the race, but I’ll learn from this and be more aware in the future. Now, all focus is on the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice on September 14, where I hope to be in the battle for the win,” says Ditlev, after taking some time to process Sunday’s rollercoaster of a race.

The day was packed with drama from start to finish as temperatures kept rising. Germany’s Jonas Schomburg led after the swim and pushed hard through the first 30 km on the bike, but disaster struck on a cobbled section when his handlebars came loose. He tried to repair them with the help of a mechanic, but the time lost was too great, and he was forced to abandon the race.

Høgenhaug, who had built up a lead of over 8 minutes after four hours of solo riding, also suffered a mechanical issue just a few kilometers from T2 when his chain dropped. Although he quickly got it back on, he received a one-minute penalty at the start of the run for outside assistance, which significantly reduced his lead - especially with Ditlev, Blummenfelt, Stornes, Iden, and others charging hard behind him.

But the biggest drama of the day centered on Ditlev. Roughly 7 km into the run, after reducing Høgenhaug’s lead by 2–3 minutes, he was shown a red card by an official for littering just outside an aid station. Ditlev protested loudly and was clearly frustrated, but the rules allow an athlete to finish the race and file a post-race appeal.

He spent the next hour debating whether to drop out and save energy for another race or to continue and hope the appeal would succeed. Around 40 minutes later, the livestream reported that the red card had been annulled, though Ditlev didn’t receive confirmation on course until nearly an hour later.

What started as a strong run turned into a battle for survival, and Ditlev came close to pulling out multiple times. But his team on the ground in Frankfurt convinced him to keep going, and he eventually crossed the line in 8th place, earning just over 4,000 points in the IRONMAN Pro Series. Unfortunately, despite his win at IRONMAN South Africa in March, this result likely puts him out of contention for the overall Pro Series title.

Ditlev’s next race will be the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice on September 14.

IRONMAN Pro Series standings (best 3 full-distance and best 2 70.3 results count) - click here.