Ukraine’s Julian Demianov and America’s Kayla Pokorny are Kona’s fastest amateurs
Demianov finished in 8:25:11 and Pokorny in 9:30:57 at the Ironman World Championship on 10 October. The oldest finisher, Ireland’s Simon Butterworth, was out on the course for 16 hours 41 minutes.
Julian Demianov of Ukraine was the fastest age-group athlete at the Ironman World Championship in Kona on 10 October, finishing in 8 hours 25 minutes 11 seconds to win the men’s 30–34 category. Kayla Pokorny of the United States was the fastest age-group woman, winning the 35–39 category in 9:30:57.
Both figures come from the results tables published by Slowtwitch and Triathlon Today, which list the same winner in every category. Their times differ by one second in a single case, the men’s 25–29.
About 2,427 amateurs from 85 countries were registered for the race, Big Island Now reported, alongside 110 professionals. It was the first time since 2019 that men and women raced the championship in Kona on the same day.
The fastest of the day
Demianov swam 52:13, rode 4:38:47 and ran a 2:48:05 marathon, according to Slowtwitch. He won his category by almost five minutes from Switzerland’s Geoffroy Bagnoud (8:30:08), with Conrad Sanders of the United States third in 8:33:33.
Pokorny’s run was the deciding leg. She swam 57:25, rode 5:15:44 and ran 3:11:15, finishing almost 15 minutes clear of Canada’s Kimberly Walter (9:45:47), who had the fastest bike split among the category’s top five.
The day was hard on everyone. Strong winds on the bike made for “historically slow bike times”, Triathlete reported in its coverage of the professional races, and 22 professionals failed to finish.
Close calls and long days
The tightest category was the men’s 45–49, where Mexico’s Paco Serrano finished in 8:52:43 and Germany’s Christian Haupt in 8:54:36, a gap Slowtwitch put at 1:52. In the women’s 25–29, France’s Lou Prigent won in 9:38:19, 2 minutes 17 seconds ahead of the Australian in second.
At the other end of the scale, Laura Rossetti of the United States won the women’s 70–74 in 14:03:38, more than two hours and 20 minutes ahead of the next finisher.
Butterworth finished in 16:41:21. He was the only finisher listed in the men’s 80–84 category.
Slowtwitch also published results for the PC/ID division for athletes with physical challenges and intellectual disabilities. Mexico’s Hugo Oliveras won it in 12:48:20.
Who took the titles
American athletes won seven of the 24 categories listed, four among the men and three among the women. Swiss women won three: Bettina Iseli in the 30–34, Georgina Gadient in the 45–49 and Edina Jung in the 55–59. Australians won three titles, and France and Mexico two each.
Britain’s only category winner was Lily de Lacy, who won the women’s 18–24 in 9:56:00, ahead of Finland’s Emma Rainio.
