This is a preview of IRONMAN Austria, which was won by Mathias Petersen (DEN) and Lotte Wilms (NED).
With a healthy prize purse and slots to IRONMAN World Championship events in Nice and Kona up for grabs, IRONMAN Austria this weekend has attracted a strong field in both the men and women’s races.
Whilst the event will not be shown live, tracking will be available on race day, with details on how to follow your favourite athletes, start times for the races and an overview of the professional fields available in our preview piece below.
Start time and tracking
Racing will begin at 06:30 local time on Sunday, June 18. This corresponds to 05:30 UK time and 00:30 on the East Coast for American fans.
As always, the IRONMAN Tracker app on mobile devices is your essential addition if you want to check out the race data as it happens, with splits available throughout the day across the swim, bike and run.
Pro Men
Unfortunately, the pre-race favourite Alistair Brownlee announced his withdrawal less than 48 hours before the gun went off in Austria, raising serious question marks about the doubly Olympic Champion’s chances of qualifying for the IRONMAN World Championships in Nice.
Behind, Denmark’s Mathias Lyngsoe Petersen is a very strong athlete and finished third at IRONMAN South Africa behind a flying Leon Chevalier and a strong Bradley Weiss at the start of the season. At 28 years old, Petersen is part of a long line of brilliant Danish men who are producing big results in long course racing.
The enigma in the field is without a doubt Australian Cameron Wurf, who is chasing his Nice slot following a third place finish at IRONMAN Lanzarote, where he just missed out on that elusive golden ticket. Also fifth at IRONMAN South Africa, Wurf will be racing his third full distance race in as many months.
Finally, defending champion Ivan Tutukin of Kazakhstan will hope he can surprise the field and defend his title, but will be hard pressed to do so in the company of some of the very best long course triathletes in the world. With only two slots up for grabs in Nice, it will be an exciting battle for the golden tickets.
Pro Women
Out of the eleven strong women’s field, Lotte Wilms of the Netherlands looks to be the strongest athlete in the field. The PTO World #27, who recently won Challenge St Polten, is racing in search of a third podium performance so far this season.
Having never won a full distance race before, with a third place finish at last year’s IRONMAN Western Australia her only long distance result, it will be interesting to see how the Dutch athlete approaches the event in Austria as she tries to secure a slot to the world championships in Kona.
Already qualified for Kona, Laura Zimmerman of Germany will have her sights set on a podium finish or better in Austria, after just missing out on the flower ceremony at IRONMAN South Africa at the start of the year. The 32 year old, who last year won the Austria Triathlon Half, will hope for more success on Sunday.
Finally, French rising star Julie Iemmolo, still only 23 years old, will make her full distance debut in Austria and could be a shout for the podium behind Wilms and Zimmerman. With five podiums over the half distance since 2021, Iemmolo is progressing in the right direction to be one to watch in the future.
Previous Winners
Having been on the IRONMAN calendar for over a decade, Austria has seen a number of the best men and women compete, with some seriously quick times put down on this course.
- 2022 (MPRO Only): Ivan Tutukin (KAZ)
- 2021: Denis Chevrot (FRA) / Laura Phillip (GER)
- 2019: Daniel Bakkegard (DEN) / Daniela Ryf (SUI)
- 2018: Michael Weiss (AUS) / Mareen Hufe (GER)
- 2017: Jan Frodeno (GER) / Eva Wutti (AUS)
- 2016: Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) / Mirinda Carfrae (AUS)
- 2015: Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) / Eva Wutti (AUS)
- 2014: Ivan Rana (ESP) / Linsey Corbin (USA)
- 2013: Andreas Raelert (GER) / Erika Csomor (HUN)
- 2012: Faris Al-Sultan (GER) / Linsey Corbin (USA)
What’s on the line?
The prize purse on offer this weekend is $100,000 – with each of the winners collecting a $15,000 share of that total
In addition to money, there will be a total of four qualifying slots (two MPRO/ two FPRO) for the IRONMAN World Championships later this year, with the men competing in Nice in September and the women racing in Kona in October.
The total funds from the prize purse will be paid ten-deep, as follows:
- 1st – $15,000
- 2nd – $9,000
- 3rd – $7,000
- 4th – $5,000
- 5th – $4,000
- 6th – $3,000
- 7th – $2,500
- 8th – $2,000
- 9th – $1,500
- 10th – $1,000
