London, UK: Patrick Lange has secured a German ‘double double’ by winning the Ironman World title in Kona and this month’s Professional Triathletes Organisation Athlete of the Month award, just a month after his compatriot Laura Philipp did exactly the same.
The 38-year old defied the race favourites and broke the course record to win his third title in just six years – the longest gap between victories. Not bad for someone who had previously described himself as ‘the guy next door who wins world titles’.
Lange beat off competition for the monthly award from:
- Taylor Knibb – who made it 3 wins from 3 in the T100 series with a flawless performance at Lake Las Vegas.
- Jelle Geens – on debut in the T100 and had his breakthrough long distance performance to defeat the previously undefeated Marten Van Riel.
- Julie Derron – who backed up her second in Tokyo and second in Ibiza with a second in Lake Las Vegas and is now making a name for herself as one of the best middle distance athletes in the world.
The German memorably said in the post race interview after his Kona win: “I always said that my best day was yet to come and nobody believed in me but this was the day, it was the absolutely perfect day. This is for my Mum.”
Explaining why he dedicated the victory to his late mother, he revealed: “When I was running along Ali’i Drive, about 5km into the run, it really struck me. I got goosebumps all over my body, even if I was really hot. And that was the moment where I definitely felt her.”
“She died in 2020 from cancer. And when I was with her in the hospice, when I had my last talk to her, she said, I really wish you to be on that top step. I really want you to kick butts one more time. That was a big ‘why’. And I’m really proud that I did this for her.”
Lange had first talked in depth about the impact of his mother’s illness and passing in the PTO’s Beyond Human episode in April 2023, saying that: “I had found out she had cancer the night before a race in Vietnam. It was a beating. What I was doing meant so much to her. I didn’t want to publicly speak about why I was sucking at races.”
“As soon as you realise that you don’t have a lot of time you can spend with your mother any more, it changes things,” Patrick’s wife Julia had explained in the episode.
“The worst thing ever was to be in Frankfurt [later that year],” continued Lange. “The biggest race with German media. In the clinic when I visited her, I was there when they were during the chemo. So straight from that to the press conference where I had to say ‘I want to win the race’ and it didn’t make any sense to me. And the race result speaks for itself [came 11th].”
Global Triathlon Network (GTN), Tri-Mag.de, Triathlon Magazine & Triathlete make up the panel of triathlon media who voted on their 1, 2, 3 from a four-athlete shortlist, awarding 3 points for #1, 2 pts for #2 and 1 pt for #3. Votes were also counted from online triathlon fans who had their say via the T100 social handles. Patrick received the top vote from each of the five judges to receive 15 points.
-ends-
For Further Information:
Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]
About Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO)
The PTO is a sports body that is co-owned by its professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of triathlon and take it to the next level. The T100 Triathlon World Tour is the new name for the PTO Tour and has been designated by World Triathlon as the ‘official World Championship for long distance triathlon’. It is a season-long schedule of T100 races during 2024 that are competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run) and features the world’s best triathletes going head-to-head in Miami (9 March), Singapore (13-14 April), San Francisco (8-9 June), London (27-28 July), Ibiza (28-29 September), Lake Las Vegas (19-20 October) and then the Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final (16-17 November). There have also been racing opportunities for amateurs at all the events, including the new 100km distance at five stages, including: Singapore, London, Ibiza, Lake Las Vegas and Dubai. The global broadcast shows the races live around the world in 195+ territories, courtesy of the PTO’s partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery as well as a range of other international, regional and local broadcasters.
