“I raced smart once again. I felt like I had pretty good control during the run, but on the bike I was struggling till the very end. Pro fields like this shouldn’t be allowed, and I was thinking this is torture.” Gustav Iden said after his win at the PTO 2020 Championship where he beat world-class athletes like Matthew Hanson (second), George Goodwin (third), Lionel Sanders (fourth), Vincent Luis (eighth), with Sebastian Kienle and Alistair Brownlee both forced to drop out due to injuries.
During the press conference Iden was asking himself if he was a “one-shot wonder” after winning the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Nice.
“Maybe I’m a two shot now. I am always trying to improve myself and live like an athlete the whole year round. I had to get the pain out of my mind during the run. It was really tough, but luckily I was strong mentally.
Text continues below pictureIden started the day amongst a big group of athletes after a steady swim before working his way through the field during the bike, then really making his mark during the run. The same went for Matthew Hanson, who took second after the day’s fastest run.
“The smile hasn’t left my face since crossing the finish line. Wow. It was hurting during the run. I guess I came off the bike in 20th or so and it felt pretty good the first kilometres. I just went for it and picked a great day for a great day.”
Text continues below pictureGeorge Goodwin had an amazing run and eventually finished third.
“A dream comes true. During the run I was mainly trying to keep focus and stay relaxed.”
Text continues below picture1. Gustav IDEN (NOR) 3:05:06
2. Matthew HANSON (USA) 3:05:57 (+0:51)
3. George GOODWIN (UK) 3:06:09 (+1:03)
4. Lionel SANDERS (CAN) 3:06:19 (+1:10)
5. Rudi Von Berg (USA) 3:06:41 (+1:35)
