How to watch the 2022 IRONMAN Triathlon World Championship – Pro Men – Elite News
Here is part two of ours How to watch the 2022 IRONMAN World Championship to lead.
We’ve broken this into two parts, of course, because the event’s return to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii will, for the first time ever, feature races spanning two days. The first day (which will feature the Pro Women) will be held on Thursday October 6th, 2022 and you can click here for the full schedule, schedules and broadcast details for that day.
Our focus here is on the second day of the race, the traditional “second Saturday in October” window when the pro men.
Below we also clarify which of the categories in the men’s age group will also be in action on Saturday.
Date, start times & live stream
For the first time in Hawaii, the pro races will be held over two days. The subject of this function, the Pro Men, will race on Saturday 8th October 2022.
The Pro Men start at 06:25 local time. This corresponds to 1725 UK, 1825 CET, 0925 Pacific and 1225 Eastern.
The race will be streamed live on Facebook Watch on the IRONMAN Now channel, as well as IRONMAN Now on YouTube and Twitch.
There will be additional pre-race coverage (the Bodymarking Show) leading up to the race with interviews and behind-the-scenes content starting around 04:30 local time. IRONMAN commentary will be moderated by Michael Lovato and Dede Griesbauer, while Greg Welch, Matt Lieto and Mirinda Carfrae will complement the track coverage.
Perhaps more than ever, the IRONMAN Tracker app on your phone / mobile device is your essential companion, in addition to broadcasting on TV, to stay up to date with all the action on the track.
race favourites
The general consensus – including ours – is that Scandinavia will be strong at the front of the race. Of course, Germany currently holds historic power in the Men’s Pro race in Hawaii and has won the race in the last six editions on the big island. However, reigning (and three-time) IRONMAN World Champion Jan Frodeno will be absent this year due to injury.
The duo from Bergen, Norway Christian Blumenfelt and Gustav Ident will probably be the most talked about names in men’s racing this year, namely the current IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Champions respectively. The two fastest athletes at the Collins Cup were also first across the finish line at the PTO Canadian Open. The debutants in Hawaii have the kind of back-up team you would imagine prepared as best they can for the challenges they face.
Given this introduction to Team Norway, you would probably assume that of course it has to be the 1st and 2nd place athletes, right? Not quite like in Denmark Magnus Ditlev in fact, the couple split to date.
Aside from Big Blu’s mechanically fraught race at the 70.3 World Championships last year, the great Dane has never beaten Kristian or Gustav. That’s not to discount his chances, however, as Ditlev’s improvement arc is clearly on the rise, and fast. You can be sure that he will not be overlooked by the two favorites.
Patrick Long (with two wins) has been among the German athletes dominating Hawaii since 2014 and on his most recent start there, the 2014 champion is sure to have plenty of support. Sebastian Kienle. With four podiums already in Kona, can he leave this race in style?
British hopes – which are substantial – were included Joe Skippers and David McNamee. Skipper travels to Hawaii from this impressive show at IRONMAN Wales. A totally different course, in totally different conditions, but clearly in shape to challenge his previous Kona best-of-6 of 2019.
Third in both 2017 and 2018, McNamee put in his greatest performances at this race in conditions he seems to like. Rarely in the limelight, David tends to do his on-course speeches. His best performance of 2022 by far was ninth place at the belated 2021 IRONMAN World Championship in St. George. He’s an athlete who can focus on the big days and few will be happier to be back on the Queen K than he is.
Many more contenders too, including Lionel Sanders (Second in 2017 in Hawaii and earlier this year in St. George), Daniel Baekkegard, Braden Curry, Leon Chevalier, Sam Laidlow, Cameron litter... the list is extensive. Don’t miss it.
Full Saturday October 8, 2022 schedule
While the top pro athletes will grab the lion’s share of the headlines, of course, the IRONMAN World Championship is about much more than that.
Since the IRONMAN World Championship has not been held in Kona since 2019, many athletes who will be racing this year qualified during this period. In many cases, this is the culmination of years of effort and may be the first and last time they experience the big island of Hawaii.
With more athletes overall in the race, the age group events also take place over two days. Here’s the schedule for Saturday’s event, which includes the remaining male amateurs who weren’t part of Thursday’s schedule.
prize money
Just like the postponed 2021 IRONMAN World Championship, which will be held in St. George, Utah in May, the total purse in Kona is $750,000.
Race winners will each receive $125,000, with the total prize pool paid up to 15th place, distributed as follows:
1st – $125,000
2nd – $65,000
3rd – $45,000
4th – $25,000
5th – $20,000
6th – $18,000
7th – $15,000
8th – $13,000
9th – $12,000
10th – $11,000
11th – $8,000
12th – $6,000
13th – $5,000
14th – $4,000
15th – $3,000
Of course, thanks to the formation of the Professional Triathletes Organization, monetary rewards for performance will not depend solely on daily accomplishments.
As we approach the last quarter of the season these positions are really starting to solidify and as a result the opportunities for advancement are diminishing. Expect some significant climbers to be reflected in the leaderboard once the numbers are cracked post-Kona.
A total of $2 million will be awarded in the PTO World Rankings at the end of 2022 based on the final standings in these point tables. The rewards there can be substantial, with moving up or down the ranking system potentially earning you more than each individual event.
