The German, who had already won the Ironman European title in Frankfurt in July and the World 70.3 crown in August, confirmed his status as the best long-distance triathlete in the world by posting a time of 8:14:40, 3:03mins  ahead of Andreas Raelert, with Tim O’Donnell in third.

“Thank you all for your amazing support,” Frodeno, 34, who finished third on debut last year, said at the finish. “I’m sorry to take the title from an American again, but I’m glad TO [O’Donnell] didn’t have any garlic last night as he was breathing down my neck all day. I’m over the moon, what a race.

“This is the Wimbledon of our sport, I am so happy. It was brutal, hotter than Frankfurt and no shade at all. Everyone laughs at me for stopping [at the aid stations to cool off] but I’m the world champion and don’t really care.”

After two barren years, it was a welcome return to form for Raelert, who had previously twice finished runner-up and twice placed third in Kona. But away from the 39-year-old’s resurgence, the only major shock of the race was reigning champion Kienle’s inability to splinter the field on the bike leg. In fact the German was only third to dismount – behind Frodeno and O’Donnell – with less than 6mins separating the top 14, after favourable conditions on the Queen K highway.

German duel

The day began with Andy Potts relinquishing his annual first-out-of-the-water honour to Kona debutant Dylan McNeice although the Kiwi’s moment in the spotlight would be short-lived. Frodeno was just metres behind as they headed on to the pier for the first time, with the next group 1:40mins back featuring Brits Tim Don, David McNamee and Fraser Cartmell. Raelert was also in attendance, but the most noticeable and surprising presence was that of Kienle, following the final pair of feet in the group into Kailua Bay for the most impressive swim of this career.

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Out on to the bike, Frodeno and Kienle set the early pace but there was no sign of the lead pack breaking up in conditions conducive to fast times. Through 60 miles it was still 15-strong, although McNamee had slipped three minutes back, with Joe Skipper maintaining his swim deficit to stay within five minutes.O’Donnell darted off the front to build a short-lived minute lead at 75 miles and both Don and McNamee suffered 5min penalties that would prove costly.

Frodeno reasserted his authority for a 30sec cushion into T2 and a stellar roll call followed back on to the pier: former winners Kienle and Frederick Van Lierde; second-placed Kona finishers Eneko Llanos and Raelert – with the latter also suffering a flat; Canadian debutant Brent McMahon, who had only raced two Ironmans but both under 8hrs; and Belgian Marino Vanhoenacker who has twice dipped under eight hours this year. Joe Skipper was first Brit off the bike in 15th just 8:30mins back and looking in decent shape.

Within five miles Frodeno had a 2min cushion and attrition was already setting in amongst the challengers. Kienle was one to suffer and would eventually finish eighth and Raelert was making the biggest move, running into a podium spot with Potts also moving smoothly.

Frodeno looked as if he might falter at the halfway mark with O’Donnell closing to within 60secs, but it was a temporary scare and instead it was Raelert who would eventually overtake the American with two miles remaining for the runner-up spot.

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The trio of leading Brits all narrowly missed the pay cheques of the top 10. Strong finishing McNamee – with the day’s fastest run split 2:49:52 – finished 11th, Skipper 13th and Don 15th. All will be disappointed to return empty-handed but it still represented solid debuts and the best showing by British male athletes in Hawaii for several years.

The Swiss triathlete dominated as she has done throughout an unbeaten season to beat Britain’s Rachel Joyce by 13:02mins with Australia’s Liz Blatchford rounding out the podium. 

“I think almost everything went perfectly,” Ryf, who like men’s winner Jan Frodeno had also taken the Ironman 70.3 World title in August, said. “In the last 2km I had a flat tyre but could just roll in, so I had some mechanical luck today, too. I have to thank my coach Brett Sutton. Two years ago no one knew me and now he has made me a double- world champion.” 

Ryf’s position as outstanding favourite was only strengthened when three-time winner and defending champion Mirinda Carfrae pulled out with a bad back before halfway on the bike leg. Even then Carfrae, who had been the victim of two collisions with cars in the build-up – the last one sending her over the bonnet – was already 15mins behind and the gap looked unbridgeable. 

The only time Ryf did not lead was in the water. Britain’s Jodie Swallow was the pacesetter from the cannon in the 3.8km swim, and led solo into transition with the chase group a minute behind. Once on to the bike, the gap quickly vanished as Ryf made her intentions clear and blasted to the front. 

Joyce was one of the first of the main contenders to lose touch and by halfway had slipped to 7mins back with Leanda Cave. Fellow Britons, Susie Cheetham and Lucy Gossage were a further 7mins adrift although Gossage was riding solidly. 

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Whether the news on Carfrae filtered through or not barely mattered as Ryf needed little fillip. Swallow was doing her best to stay in touch but the elastic began to stretch and the 3min gap at 90 miles had swelled to 7min 25sec by the time bikes were discarded, with Mary Beth Ellis, Camilla Pedersen and Michelle Vesterby next into T2 ahead of the resurgent Joyce. 

While nothing can be taken for granted in the lava fields, Ryf’s ascendency never looked threatened and once Swallow started walking at the 10mile mark and later pulled the plug, it was going to take an epic meltdown to alter the result. 

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Joyce’s measured performance was enough for a second runner-up spot in three years, with Blatchford clear in third ahead of Vesterby. Am impressive breakthrough debut by Cheetham culminated with a 3:06:55 marathon for sixth with Gossage running into the top 10 to make it a payday and bury memories of a disappointing first professional outing in Kona year.  

Also in this month’s issue: 

Tackling the track: the benefits of track cycling sessions and how you can replicate them at home

Beating the cold: winter training guide, plus gear and nutrition advice for beating the cold

The rise of the ‘swimrun’: we head to Otillo in Sweden to see the progression of this exciting new endurance format

Road bike shoes grouptest: ten pairs tested

Mango Point R review: does this budget bike punch above it’s weight?

Competition: win a pair of Token Arsenal carbon race wheels worth £1200

One of the many rocks the hardy Otillo racers have to tackle within the brutal 10km swim/65km run course. Image: Jakob Eldholm, Nadja Odenhage

Find 220 Triathlon on sale at newsagents across the UK, and the digital edition can be picked up via the iTunes store, Google Play and Zinio.

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Our digital edition this month includes: a behind-the-scenes look at this year’s Otillo swim run event; highlights of the WTS Grand Final event from Chicago

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Pallant won gold in the elite women’s event, finishing ahead of Ai Ueda of Japan and Sandra Levenez, the defending champion from France. She stayed with the leaders throughout, before running away on the final 5km run to break the tape more than thirty seconds ahead of Ueda.

Pallant commented after her win: “During the bike the three of us were working as a team to stay away but when Gillian came up to us it suddenly became a lot more tactical and we kept trying to break each other. I knew the quality of girls around me and I knew it was going to be a fight to finish, but I felt good going onto the final run.
“I’ve always been a runner, so this win feels even more special because it has been a different challenge. The race culminates three years of hard work with Team Dillon who have been really patient and had amazing belief in me.” 

Sixteen-year-old Dijkstra won the junior men’s event, beating older competitors to secure his first world title, with Jimmy Kershaw also coming sixth.

Dijkstra tweeted: “Can’t believe I can now say I’m World Duathlon Champion!” following his win. 

The senior men’s event was won by Spain’s Emilio Martin, and Mark Buckingham ran through into a brilliant bronze. Phil Wylie was seventh.

Results, ITU World Duathlon Championships, Adelaide, Australia

Elite women: 5km run, 40km bike, 10km run

1. Emma Pallant, GBR, 1:58:21

2. Ai Ueda, JPN, 1:58:51

3. Sandra Levenez, FRA, 1:59:24

Elite men: 5km run, 40km bike, 10km run

1. Emilio Martin, ESP, 1:47:11

2. Benoit Nicolas, FRA, 1:47:19

3. Mark Buckingham, GBR, 1:48:09

7. Philip Wylie, GBR, 1:50:23

Junior men: 2.5km run, 20km bike, 5km run

1. Ben Dijkstra, GBR, 53:12

2. Luke Willian, AUS, 53:24

3. Daniel Canala, AUS, 53:34

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6. Jimmy Kershaw, GBR, 55:03

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80-year-old Maurice Young beat his only rival in the category by 8mins to become World Champion in the sprint distance. The sprint team also topped the podium on both occasions in the 25-29 age-group, with Carl Avery retaining the men’s title in 56:07, the fastest Age-Group time overall. The women’s 25-29 podium featured a British trio, with a win for Claire Steels in 1:06:21. Harriet Enoch was second in 1:07:54, and Rebecca York picked up bronze with her 1:08:24 clocking.  
Andrea Sanders Reece won the women’s 60-64 category in 1:16:46. 

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The standard distance team celebrated two age-group wins in the form of Gill Fullen (W50-54) in 2:08:49 and Elspeth Knott (W65-69) in 2:33:13. Chris Nicoll (M45-49) was the quickest of the British men; his 1:56:08 good enough to pick up the silver medal.

The age-group medals added to the two gold and one bronze picked up by the elite team the day previous. Emma Pallant and Ben Dijkstra respectively won the elite women’s and junior men’s titles, with Mark Buckingham coming thirdin the elite men’s race.

ITU Duathlon World Championships – British age-group medallists

Sprint Distance

GOLD
Claire Steels (W25-29) – 1:06:21
Carl Avery (M25-29) – 56:07
Paul Abeledo (M45-49) – 59:34
Andrea Sanders Reece (W60-64) – 1:16:46
Maurice Young (M80-84) – 1:53:49

SILVER
Harriet Enoch (M25-29) – 1:07:54
Iain Gillan (M25-29) – 56:51
Michael Rix (M45-49) – 1:00:29

BRONZE
Rebecca York (W25-29) – 1:08:24
Anna Weaver (W30-34) – 1:07:45
Sue Clarke (W60-64) – 1:18:30
Raymond O’Grady (M65-69) – 1:13:32

Standard Distance

GOLD
Gill Fullen (W50-54) – 2:08:49
Elspeth Knott (W65-69) – 2:33:13

SILVER
Daniel Bluff (M18-19) – 2:05:58
Fiona Bracegirdle (W20-24) – 2:15:05
Samantha Aplin (W25-29) – 2:13:35
Chris Nicoll (M45-49) – 1:56:08
Stephen Redman (M60-64) – 2:14:56

BRONZE
Lee Piercy (M40-44) – 1:57:42
Jeremy Tomlinson (M55-59) – 2:07:00

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For full results, you can visit the ITU website here

The 230 is the simplest watch of these updated models, whereas the 235 and 630 both have heart rate monitors built in amongst other new innovations. 

The 630, proclaimed as Garmin’s most advanced running watch to date, has a mind-boggling list of features, with the ability to track stride length, make V02 max estimates and calculate lactate threshold to name just three.
It’s Wi-Fi enabled so your runs will be automatically downloaded to Garmin Connect, and has a whopping sixteen hours battery life in training mode and four weeks when just being used as a normal watch. What’s more, the built-in everyday activity and sleep trackers will still work in watch mode without eating into the battery life. 

‘Mind boggling’ – the 630 has more features than you could shake a stick at

The 235 model also has wrist-based heart rate, whilst the 230 is the simplest offering and needs an ANT+ strap to measure heart rate. Both watches offer daily activity tracking as per the 630, and are also compatible with the Connect IQTM smartwatch platform, whereby users are able to customise their watch with additional apps, widgets, watch faces and data fields. 

The RRP’s of the watches are £329.99 for the Forerunner 630, £269.99 for the 235 and £209.99 for the 230, and they are set to hit the shelves in November. Triathletes will also be pleased to hear that that all three watches are water-resistant to 50 metres. 

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220 will be testing soon!

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Challenge Bahrain’s General Manager, Mikel Calahorra, said: “We’d like to thank everyone for their continued support. We’ve worked hard for many months to deliver an exceptional race that followed on from the legacy created by the inaugural Challenge Bahrain in 2014.

“Challenge Family is committed to delivering the highest quality triathlons on the best and safest courses. In light of the permit issues, we were unable to do this for Challenge Bahrain 2015 and we felt it was in the interest of the athletes that we cancel the race.”

All registered athletes have been contacted directly with regards to the registration fee refunds, but there will certainly be stern criticism from those who have already paid for flights and hotels for the race.

Where the cancellation of the race leaves the Nasser bin Hamad Triple Crown Grand Final has yet to be announced, with Challenge Bahrain – which was cited as a ‘game-changer’ after its debut outing in 2014 – due to host the Grand Final of the $1million series.

The Triple Crown has already witnessed a cancellation in its Oman leg (replaced, under-the-radar, in the series by August’s Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Austria), with the new Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship in Bahrain on 5 December the obvious choice.

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More news and comment as we get it.

The 2016 dates have been confirmed as 6-7th August and taking place during the Rio Olympic Games, organisers hope the event will help to celebrate the sport of triathlon and cater for participants of all ages and abilities.

Andy Knee, MD of IMG Mass Participation Sports said: “Triathlon is an iconic event in the city’s sporting calendar, with participants swimming the Royal Victoria Docks and cycling and running the surrounding area every year. We’re looking forward to welcoming returning triathletes and our thousands of first-timers to celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary in 2016.”

Four distances are available: Super-Sprint, Sprint, Olympic and Olympic Plus, as well as a variety of wave types including relay, age-group, youth, mixes and male and female-only.

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Entries go on sale next week and you can sign up now to the priority list to guarantee a place at the start line. Visit the London Triathlon website here.

On 11 September 2016, Weymouth will host both a full Ironman race and an Ironman 70.3 event. Both races will offer 30 qualifying spots for the 2017 Ironman and Ironman 70.3 World Championships, with a $15,000 pro prize pot on offer at the 70.3 event (there won’t be a pro race at the full event). 

After hosting two editions of Challenge Weymouth (pictured), Just Racing will continue to organise the race logistics for the next three years.

Both events will commence with a (1.9km/3.8km) swim on Weymouth’s famed seafront before heading off into the Dorset countryside and Jurassic Coast on the 90km/180km bike legs, and concluding with a 21.km/42.2km run on Weymouth’s promenade.

Unusually for Ironman, both Ironman and 70.3 races will take place on the same day, with the date throwing up the possibility of athletes – with superior recovery skills – being able to race both an event in Weymouth and Ironman Wales a week later in Tenby.The Weymouth race details are:

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Race: Ironman Weymouth  
Race Date: 11 September 2016
2017 World Championship Slots (Kona): 30
Pro Race: No
 
Race: Ironman 70.3 Weymouth
Race Date: 11 September 2016
2017 70.3 World Championship Slots: 30           
Pro Race: Yes – $15,000                                                          
 
Priority entry for tri club pre-registration is from 26 – 30th October, with a deadline for tri club registration of 6 November. General entries go on sale on Monday 9 November at 12pm midday.

More entry info and race details are at: www.ironman.com/weymouth.

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Image: Getty