Daniela Ryf, Jan Frodeno ready for challenge

Manama : Bahrain Endurance 13 are fielding seven of its best athletes at the Ironman World Championship this Saturday including defending champions Daniela Ryf and Jan Frodeno.

Triathlon statistician Thorsten Radde has published his annual Kona Rating Report, and both champions are massive favourites to defend their crowns once again. Not only are they strong across swim, bike, and run, but they are also mentally strong and are able to deliver great performances under pressure.

Ryf has arrived on the Big Island of Hawaii after spending some time on Maui to acclimate and put the finishing touches on her preparations. 

“The work is pretty much done by now,” Ryf said. 

“After Chattanooga I had a great four weeks of training in Maui and I felt I could improve my form. That’s what I was focused on. From now it’s just important not to waste energy on getting nervous, and keep it simple,” Ryf added.

Ben Hoffman had a quiet and steady build into the race after his early-season automatic qualifier taking the Ironman African Championship win, and Radde has seeded him sixth with a good chance at taking a podium spot this year. One of the athletes with plenty of Kona races under his belt, he knows how to navigate the stress and nerves surrounding this race and often performs better than expected at The Big Dance. To qualify for Kona after an early season mishap, Brent McMahon took the Ironman Lake Placid win by 24 minutes breaking Simon Lessing’s course record. Radde pegs him as an outside chance at the podium with 30 per cent odds of finishing in the Top 10. 

Terenzo Bozzone is also another outside chance, especially with the improvements seen at his winning performance at Ironman Western Australia.

David Plese raced three Ironmans to qualify by July, determined to make it to Kona. Along with Mikel Calahorra on the age group side, they have both motivated team captain HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, to qualify for next year’s world championship.