Daniela Ryf, Anne Haug and Chelsea Sodaro – who have won all IRONMAN world championships together since 2015 – will be at the DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep on September 25th.
They are joined by Germany’s sixth in the world rankings, Laura Philipp, who is making her debut in Roth, as well as last year’s vice world champion, Fenella Langridge, as well as Lisa Norden, Ruth Astle and Laura Siddall.
Debuts for Sodaro and Philipp
Haug, 2019 IMWC champion, will once again enjoy home field advantage as she seeks her third straight success at Challenge Roth. It was her win there last year that helped secure top spot in the PTO rankings.
Just one place behind is Swiss legend Ryf, who boasts five INWC titles and two Roth wins from 2016 and 2017.
And this pair will once again face off against the American Sodaro, who triumphed in Kona last October with an exceptional performance, setting the second fastest time in history with 8:33:46.
Philipp will also make her Roth debut after she had to cancel her start in 2019 at short notice due to injury. Of all current female athletes, Philipp has the fastest personal best with 8:18:20 from last year’s IRONMAN Hamburg, just seven seconds behind Chrissie Wellington’s full-distance world record in Roth in 2011.
Langridge on a roll
Fenella Langridge will look to continue the progression that saw her finish third in Roth in 2021 and second in 2022 when her enthusiastic ride up the Solarer Berg was one of last season’s triathlon moments.
For the British Laura Siddall it is the sixth start in Franconia. After securing second place in a thrilling duel with Langridge and a phenomenal comeback in 2021, she narrowly missed the podium last year and finished fourth.
Even closer than the Langridge-Siddall race in 2021 was the finish at the 2012 Olympics, where Lisa Norden secured the silver medal behind Nicola Spirig. Finishing fifth in Hawaii and sixth at the IM World Championships in Utah in May 2022, Norden is another to watch.
Likewise Ruth Astle, who finished eighth in Roth in 2019 as the fastest non-professional athlete. She returns as a top-level pro and winner of IRONMAN Israel in November.
The men’s field has also been announced and will be led by reigning champion Magnus Ditlev.
