Results IRONMAN California 2021 [+ Photos]

IRONMAN California celebrated its grand premiere in Sacramento on October 24, 2021.

At 7 a.m., the starting signal was given at "Township 9 Park" for the first long-distance race in Sacramento. The men's pro race was the centerpiece of the event.

Strong pro race

3.8 kilometers had to be swum in the American River before the other disciplines of cycling and marathon running followed. In the men's race, in addition to the age group race, there was also a pro race, which had a very high-class line-up. The bike race was shortened to 56 miles on short notice due to weather.

Gustav Iden vs. Jan Frodeno

The top stars on this day were without a doubt the German Jan Frodeno and the Norwegian Gustav Iden. The latter wanted to show off after his world champion title over the IRONMAN 70.3 distance now also over the long distance. After all, Iden was making his comeback over the longest distance of the triathlon.

The biggest challenger for Iden on paper was Jan Frodeno, who at least had an advantage over Iden in the swim. In cycling and running, however, the Norwegian is almost unbeatable. Frodeno had, however, increased the amount of running in preparation for the race so that he would not be without a chance in a possible running duel with Iden.

Fight for two Hawaii slots

Cameron Wurf and Lionel Sanders also thought they had a good chance of taking the top spot. Wurf won the IRONMAN Copenhagen ahead of Sanders. He knows the feeling of coming in second quite well. After all, he also finished 2nd at Ironman Chattanooga. Wurf recently missed qualifying for Hawaii with a 3rd place finish at IRONMAN Mallorca. So he was under some pressure in Sacramento. That's when two spots for Hawaii were awarded. Since Sander, Iden and Frodeno had already secured their slots, the chances for Hawaii were accordingly high for Wurf. Co-favorites for another slot were Justin Metzler (USA), Tim Reed (Australia) and Rasmus Svenningsson (Sweden).