Earlier this week, Challenge Roth announced the first few names of the start list for their event on Jul. 3, 2022. Alongside names like Patrick Lange, Sebastian Kienle and Andi Boecherer, Sam Long was on the list. That raised some questions about the “Big Unit’s” plans for 2022: will the American super talent skip Kona? “The news is true”, he just commented on some rumors about Long not racing the Ironman World Championship on Hawaii.
“I have no Kona intentions this year”, he states. “I have decided to focus on Challenge Roth and then after that I will focus on the middle distance. For my development and career, I do not want to be focused on full distance all year. Roth has always called to me, and following my heart is number one.”
It doesn’t mean that we won’t see Long participating in any Ironman World Championship this year, because with two races happening in 2022, Long favored the Ironman World Championship in St. George (May 7). And that won’t be his only world champs in St. George, because Long also has his eyes set on the Ironman 70.3 World Championship (Oct. 28-29).
