October 2nd 2018

Pro Field Set For 2018 IRONMAN World Championship Brought To You By Amazon

Defending champions, Germany’s Patrick Lange and Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf, headline elite field in the world’s most iconic single-day sporting event; 40th Anniversary celebration of the original IRONMAN event showcasing ultimate test of body and mind.

Triathlon's top professional talent will assemble at the start line in Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i for the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon, taking place on October 13. The most iconic one-day endurance event in the world will bring together a highly regarded and competitive professional field, headlined by defending champions Patrick Lange (DEU) and Daniela Ryf (CHE).

"This is a monumental year for IRONMAN as we celebrate four decades of racing at the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawai'i," said Andrew Messick, President & Chief Executive Officer of IRONMAN. "We look forward not only to honoring the historic professional performances from years past, but also showcasing the ever-growing international triathlete talent that will be on full display."

The women's professional field will seek to dethrone three-time IRONMAN World Champion Daniela Ryf (CHE), who continues to add to her impressive resume. In addition to earning her fourth IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion title this past September in South Africa, Ryf also came away with victories at the Mainova IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt and Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Gdynia in Poland.

Up for the challenge will be a host of strong contenders, including last year’s other podium finishers Lucy Charles (GBR) and Sarah Crowley (AUS), as well as the highly anticipated return of three-time IRONMAN World Champion, Mirinda Carfrae (AUS). Charles, who finished second a year ago, is coming off two impressive showings in Africa with a win in April’s Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship and a second-place finish at the 2018 Isuzu IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in September. Crowley will be looking to improve upon her third-place finish from a year ago and is in good form following a win at the 2018 IRONMAN Hamburg triathlon and a third-place finish at the 2018 Mainova IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt. Carfrae rejoins the ranks of the elite in Kona after spending a year away for the birth of her daughter. With wins this year at IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa and IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta combined with a strong second-place showing at the 2018 Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship in Cairns, Carfrae has been at full force on her comeback trail.

The women’s field only just begins there, as other seasoned and decorated competitors join this elite group. Heather Jackson (USA) is a ten-time IRONMAN 70.3 Champion and multi-time Top 5 finisher at the IRONMAN World Championship, while Kaisa Sali (FIN) finished fifth in last year’s IRONMAN World Championship and earned first-place finishes at the 2018 IRONMAN Switzerland and 2018 Mazda IRONMAN 70.3 Monterrey triathlons. Susie Cheetham (GBR) finished second at the 2018 Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship, just minutes after fellow British racer Lucy Charles, and joins newcomer Teresa Adam (NZL), who earned a victory at the 2018 Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship in Cairns, as others to watch.

Below is the pro women's start list for the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon:

BIB	LAST	FIRST	COUNTRY REP
F1	Ryf	Daniela	CHE (Switzerland
F2	Charles	Lucy	GBR (United Kingdom)
F3	Crowley	Sarah	AUS (Australia)
F4	Sali	Kaisa	FIN (Finland)
F5	Cheetham	Susie	GBR (United Kingdom)
F7	Jackson	Heather	USA (United States of America)
F8	Jahn	Kirsty	CAN (Canada)
F9	True	Sarah	USA (United States of America)
F11	Carfrae	Mirinda	AUS (Australia)
F12	Hufe	Mareen	DEU (Germany)
F14	Lester	Carrie	AUS (Australia)
F15	Siddall	Laura	GBR (United Kingdom)
F16	McCauley	Jocelyn	USA (United States of America)
F17	Piampiano	Sarah	USA (United States of America)
F18	Corbin	Linsey	USA (United States of America)
F19	Adam	Teresa	NZL (New Zealand)
F20	Vesterby	Michelle	DNK (Denmark)
F21	Blatchford	Liz	AUS (Australia)
F22	Smith	Lesley	USA (United States of America)
F23	Genet	Manon	FRA (France)
F24	Robertson	Jodie	USA (United States of America)
F25	Abraham	Corinne	GBR (United Kingdom)
F26	McBride	Rachel	CAN (Canada)
F27	Pallant	Emma	GBR (United Kingdom)
F28	Frades	Gurutze	ESP (Spain)
F29	Frederiksen	Helle	DNK (Denmark)
F30	Huetthaler	Lisa	AUT (Austria)
F31	Stage Nielsen	Maja	DNK (Denmark)
F32	Annett	Jen	CAN (Canada)
F33	Deckers	Tine	BEL (Belgium)
F34	Kessler	Meredith	USA (United States of America)
F35	Haug	Anne	DEU (Germany)
F36	Brandon	Lauren	USA (United States of America)
F37	Burke	Melanie	NZL (New Zealand)
F38	Lundstrom	Asa	SWE (Sweden)
F39	McKenzie	Beth	USA (United States of America)
F40	Konschak	Katja	DEU (Germany)
F41	Svensk	Sara	SWE (Sweden)
F42	Angela	Naeth	USA (United States of America

The men's group is equally stacked with titleholders and contenders, including last year's IRONMAN World Champion, Patrick Lange (DEU). Lange will seek his second win in Kona, where he holds a course-best time of 8:01:40 from his win in 2017, as well as the marathon run-course best time of 2:39:45, set in 2016 when he finished third. Also competing for the title is Lionel Sanders (CAN), who led the race last year through mile 23 of the marathon before giving way to Lange and ultimately earning second. Sebastian Kienle (DEU), the 2014 IRONMAN World Champion, placed fourth in the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship and will be looking for another title after just missing the podium last year. Meanwhile last year’s third-place finisher David McNamee (GBR) looks to follow the trajectory of Lange, moving from a third-place finish to becoming a world champion the following year.

Adding to the competition will be James Cunnama (ZAF), who placed fifth at the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship and Javier Gomez Noya (ESP), an Olympic silver medalist and two-time IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion. Fans will also be keeping an eye on Tim Don (GBR), who was unable to race last year after a pre-race accident left him with a broken neck just days before the event. After a grueling road to recovery, Don has made a remarkable comeback, placing first at the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 Costa Rica triathlon, only eight months after the accident. Americans Andy Potts and Ben Hoffman look to rejoin the top 5 after both finished in the Top 10 in 2018.

Below is the pro men’s start list for the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon:

BIB	LAST	FIRST	COUNTRY REP
M1	Lange	Patrick	DEU (Germany)
M2	Sanders	Lionel	CAN (Canada)
M3	Kienle	Sebastian	DEU (Germany)
M5	McNamee	David	GBR (United Kingdom)
M6	Cunnama	James	ZAF (South Africa)
M7	Gomez Noya	Javier	ESP (Spain)
M8	Nilsson	Patrik	SWE (Sweden)
M9	Amberger	Josh	AUS (Australia)
M10	Currie	Braden	NZL (New Zealand)
M11	Van Lierde	Frederik	BEL (Belgium)
M12	Tutukin	Ivan	RUS (Russian Federation)
M14	Potts	Andy	USA (United States of America)
M15	Buckingham	Kyle	ZAF (South Africa)
M16	Aernouts	Bart	BEL (Belgium)
M17	McMahon	Brent	CAN (Canada)
M18	Raña	Ivan	ESP (Spain)
M19	Wurf	Cameron	AUS (Australia)
M20	Van Berkel	Tim	AUS (Australia)
M21	Weiss	Michael	AUT (Austria)
M22	Amorelli	Igor	BRA (Brazil)
M23	Hanson	Matt	USA (United States of America)
M24	Skipper	Joe	GBR (United Kingdom)
M25	Clavel	Maurice	DEU (Germany)
M26	Van Berkel	Jan	CHE (Switzerland)
M27	Costes	Antony	FRA (France)
M28	Koutny	Philipp	CHE (Switzerland)
M29	Stein	Boris	DEU (Germany)
M30	Starykowicz	Andrew	USA (United States of America)
M31	McKenzie	Luke	AUS (Australia)
M32	Butterfield	Tyler	BMU (Bermuda)
M33	Clarke	Will	GBR (United Kingdom)
M34	Hoffman	Ben	USA (United States of America)
M35	Collington	Kevin	USA (United States of America)
M36	Duelsen	Marc	DEU (Germany)
M37	Petersen-Bach	Jens	DNK (Denmark)
M38	Viennot	Cyril	FRA (France)
M39	Phillips	Mike	NZL (New Zealand)
M40	Degasperi	Alessandro	ITA (Italy)
M41	Wild	Ruedi	CHE (Switzerland)
M42	Dreitz	Andreas	DEU (Germany)
M43	O'Donnell	Tim	USA (United States of America)
M44	Brown	Cameron	NZL (New Zealand)
M45	Guillaume	Romain	FRA (France)
M46	Chevrot	Denis	FRA (France)
M47	Vinhal	Thiago	BRA (Brazil)
M48	Plese	David	SVN (Slovenia)
M49	Chrabot	Matt	USA (United States of America)
M50	Molinari	Giulio	ITA (Italy)
M51	Reed	Tim	AUS (Australia)
M52	Schildknecht	Ronnie	CHE (Switzerland)
M53	Millward	Callum	NZL (New Zealand)
M54	Cochrane	Simon	NZL (New Zealand)
M56	Baldwin	Nick	SYC (Seychelles)
M57	Don	Tim	GBR (United Kingdom)
M58	Russell	Matt	USA (United States of America)

The 2018 IRONMAN World Championship will offer a $650,000 total professional prize purse which will be distributed to male and female first- through tenth-place finishers.

In addition to the competitive professional field, approximately 2,500 age-group athletes are registered to compete in this year’s IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon. This year the event will host the largest international athlete field in race history, representing 82 countries, regions and territories, from six continents. Athletes ranging in age from 19 to 85 have earned their championship opportunity by having finished among the best at one of more than 40 qualifying IRONMAN events worldwide.

Race week coverage of the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon will be available on www.ironman.com and www.facebook.com/IRONMANnow. Comprehensive coverage will capture the week's activities including every aspect of the race. For live tracking, real-time results and instant notifications, fans can follow both the professional and age-group athletes on the IRONMAN Tracker app available for download from Google Play and the iTunes App Store. In addition, NBC will air the IRONMAN World Championship special on Saturday, November 24 (check local listings for details).

Originally from: http://eu.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2018/10/kona-pro-field-announced.aspx#ixzz5T57lmj2G