*** ----> Daniela Ryf wins third Ironman World Championship | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Daniela Ryf wins third Ironman World Championship

ManamaDaniela Ryf has accomplished the hat trick, claiming the crown at the Ironman World Championship on Saturday for the third consecutive time. 

She joins the ranks of Chrissie Wellington, Paula Newby-Fraser, Natascha Badmann, Dave Scott, and Mark Allen with three consecutive wins in Kona, Hawaii. 

This is also the second time she has won both the Ironman 70.3 World Championship and the Ironman World Championship in the same year, duplicating her 2015 feat and surpassing Craig Alexander and Leanda Cave who have one double apiece.

While Ryf ultimately finished nearly ten minutes ahead of the field over the 3.8-kilometer swim, 180-kilometer bike, and 42-kilometer run, she did not find the front until late on the bike leg. Coming out of the water over four minutes down, she had to work through a bad patch where she could not make any inroads on the leaders. 

Ryf said, “My legs just didn’t want to go. I took energy, as much as I could put in. It was hard. I was really fighting today. In the last 40 kilometers I said, ‘Now I’m going to go, or I’m going to
lose.’”