From the Start

THEMAGIC5 Athletes Among The Best in The Field

The weekend started off with IRONMAN® 70.3® DUBAI seeing THEMAGIC5 athlete Daniel Baekkegard (DEN) take a convincing win after being at the front of the race all day. Baekkegard was first out of the water in a time of 23:21. Although he had company on the bike, he patiently waited to make his move on the run to seal his victory and, moreover, break the course record which had been held by Jan Frodeno since 2016. As Baekkegard said, ‘[The] season opener could not have gone any better. Happy to execute on race day and just be able to race again.”

1st Daniel Baekkegard – 3:33:02 (23:21/1:55:45/1:10:01)
2nd Filipe Azevedo – 3:34:03 (24:13/1:54:40/1:10:58)
3rd Rasmus Svenningsson – 3:34:04 (24:55/1:54:03/1:09:20)

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Daniel's pick: BLUE MAGIC MIRROR GOLD

Hours later on the other side of the planet, Challenge Miami saw THEMAGIC5’s Ben Kanute (AUS) and Jan Frodeno (GER) come out of the water first. Frodeno executed a near flawless race (expect when he dropped a gel on the run—and casually turned around to pick it up before continuing). Although a few other athletes challenged the lead on the bike, it was never more than a minute before Frodeno resumed control. Lionel Saunders (CAN), Frodeno’s most vocal rival and race favourite, chased hard on the run and impressively into second from further down the field, but Frodeno’s win was never in jeopardy. After clocking the fastest swim (20:16), Kanute went on to show a consistent and strong performance throughout the day to round off the podium and finish third.
Nicholas Chase (16th) and Elliot Bach (29th), both from the USA, each showed strong performances in a stacked field. “Challenge Miami saw one of my best overall finishes against the strongest field of athletes I have yet to face,” Chase said.

1st Jan Frodeno – 2:37:57 (20:19/1:21:46/53:48)
2nd Lionel Sanders – 2:40:28 (22:27/1:22:40/53:24)
3rd Ben Kanute – 2:41:35 (20:16/1:24:22/55:11)

Jan Frodeno at the finish line winning in Miami 2021

Jan's pick : BLUE MAGIC MIRROR GOLD

The women’s professional race saw Jodie Stimpson (GBR) claim victory ahead of a charging Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR), while THEMAGIC5’s Lesely Smith (USA) took a solid 12th place in a world class field. Unfortunately, Fenella Langridge (GBR) had to pull out of the race during the bike due to glute and hamstring issues. We wish her a speedy recovery!

1st Jodie Stimpson – 3:01:04 (22:31/1:35:31/1:00:54)
2nd Lucy Charles-Barclay – 3:02:26 (21:05/1:34:49/1:04:43)
3rd Jackie Hering – 3:03:25 (24:13/1:35:39/1:01:33)

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12^th Lesley Smith 3:11:39 (24:24/1:41:59/1:03:44)

THEMAGIC5 age groupers also performed incredibly well with Alexander Mundt, Fiona Bernal, and Maria Guerrero all winning their age group at Challenge Miami. Guerrero especially showed an impressive performance, clocking a PB for the half ironman distance in 4:34.

QUOTES FROM SOCIAL:

First out of the water. Race victory. Course Record. As IRONMAN® 70.3® DUBAI winner Daniel Baekkegard (DEN) says: “The season opener could not have gone any better. Happy to execute on race day and just be able to race again.”

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First out of the water. Race victory. Multiple podiums. Challenge Miami saw both THE MAGIC5 professionals and age groupers take home victories and show impressive performances.

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First out of the water at Challenge Miami, Ben Kanute, showed an impressive swim performance, backed up by a strong bike and run to finish 3^rd.

“I’ve been looking for a strong race for a while now and I’ve been really working on my run. I think it's starting to pay off. The bike was brutal today.”, Ben shared.

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Jan Frodeno wins in Frodeno style. Controlling the race from start to finish, Frodeno showed a dominant and classy performance.

“To be honest I was really surprised because it was really a technical course and the wind was so ever changing, Jan says after his victory.

After executing a practically flawless race, the German showed no signs he hadn’t race since 2019.