German Triathletes Ride Wave of Success in Hawaii

7 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds – that‘s how long it took German triathlete Patrick Lange to swim 3.8 kilometers (2.4 miles), cycle 180 kilometers (112 miles) and run a marathon (42.2 km/26.2 miles) in Hawaii on Saturday. In doing so, 32-year-old Lange won the Kona Ironman World Championship for the second consecutive time and became the first athlete to break the 8-hour barrier at what is one of the most prestigious endurance races in the world.

Lange’s victory was the fifth consecutive by a German athlete, after his compatriots Sebastian Kienle and Jan Frodeno had won in 2014 and 2015/16, respectively. After having crossed the finish, Lange publicly proposed to his girlfriend, which he had promised himself to do if he broke his own course record. He did so and then some, improving his 2017 record by more than 9 minutes as the following chart shows.