When reigning world champion Sam Laidlow was disqualified last Sunday for allegedly serving a penalty too late at Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz, it was big news in all the international triathlon media, immediately followed by the question of whether the French triathlete would then have to do an additional Ironman to validate his slot for the IM World Championships at Kona. Now, two days after the race, it appears that is not the case. Ironman just published a statement in which they confirmed Laidlow’s validation slot.
That’s because despite his disqualification, Laidlow simply raced to the finish line at Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz and appealed his disqualification. His protest was denied and so Laidlow’s disqualification stood, but for Ironman it is enough to validate Laidlow’s participation in the Ironman World Championships, according to a statement from the organization. “At Sunday’s IM Vitoria-Gasteiz triathlon, Sam Laidlow was disqualified for failing to serve a drafting penalty but, in line with the IM Competition Rules, chose to continue the race and exercise his right to protest after his finish. Sam raced competitively until the end and was the second professional male to cross the finish line. Sam proceeded to follow the protest process on site, but the competition jury upheld the disqualification, meaning Sam was not eligible for Ironman Pro Series points or prize money.
“Sam Laidlow’s completion of the IM Vitoria-Gasteiz triathlon meets IM’s written 2024 policy on the Ironman World Championship validation, which stipulates that an athlete must race competitively and finish an Ironman triathlon (or two IM 70.3 triathlon races) within the qualifying period.
“Sam followed the onsite protest process, acted professionally throughout, and most importantly, showed respect to the process and his fellow competitors, all of which is in the spirit of the sport and reflective of Sam’s professionalism. Sam’s completion of the event matches the fullfilment of other validation eligible athletes and the spirit of the policy extended accordingly.
“We look forward to welcoming him back to Kona for the 2024 edition of the IM World Championship.”
Ironman’s statement is quite striking, all the more so because during the race Ironman chose to barely show Laidlow in the livestream after his DSQ. His finish, for example, was not shown on screen. In addition, the commentators did not talk about it any further and acted as if Laidlow did not exist.
