Popular local athlete Anne Haug set a new record by clocking the fastest women’s full distance time in history – 8 hours, 2 minutes and 38 seconds – to claim her third Challenge Ross victory.
In the same race 12 months ago, Daniela Reif of Switzerland finished in 8 hours, 8 minutes and 21 seconds, beating Chrissie Wellington’s long-held record by nearly 10 minutes.
The sheer scale of that performance led many to predict this one could continue for years to come, but Haug, who drove Life home that day, had other ideas.
She was ahead of schedule on the bike, and with her famous running speed coming up, it became a question of how fast she could go, rather than whether she would break the record.
She sprinted to the finish line in the final seconds, nearly six minutes faster than Life’s time — and all this after a last-minute change of plans that saw the 41-year-old join the field earlier in the week.
Fellow German Laura Philipp came in second in 8 hours 14 minutes 13 seconds, the third fastest time in history, while Els Visser of the Netherlands completed the podium in third place.
There was also a record-breaking performance in the men’s race, won by Magnus Ditleff – click here for that report.
Swimming – Haug takes the lead from the start
When the race got underway at 6:37am local time, there was a surprise in the swim, which was held in calm and perfect conditions, as Great Britain’s Abi Bedwell was the first out of the water.
But just two seconds separated Haug from popular local racer Rebecca Robisch.
She then trailed Johanna Ahrens (Germany) by 22 seconds and the remaining competitors by more than a minute.
Among the other pre-race favorites, Philipp was +2:39 with Visser close behind.
From gear reviews to hot tips and insights, we’ll send you all the nerdy info on endurance sports every month.
Enhance your endurance with premium gear and services
Shop online
Bikes – Masterclass in Haug
In fact, Robisch was first out of T1, but Haug took the lead at the 5km mark and showed no signs of relinquishing it.
However, further back a fierce battle was unfolding between Robisch, Philipp and Visser, who were still side-by-side at the halfway point.
Robisch fell behind at the start, but her performance was still excellent.
But Haug was widening her lead all the way, and with a bike time of 4 hours 27 minutes 58 seconds, if she could repeat her previous three Ross marathon times the record was hers.
I remember it was on wet roads after a morning of rain.
Behind them, Philipp came into T2 in second place in +5:28, just 12 seconds behind Visser, with Robisch in +9:27.
Run – The German great’s victory lap
Haug looked very smooth from the get-go.
She ran the first 17km at a pace of 3:49/km and only Philippe was able to match her, but even she fell behind and by the halfway point the gap had grown to more than seven minutes.
It took over nine minutes for the race to begin to stabilise, during which time Visser had fallen back and was faced with a battle to hold on to third place.
But Haug had made history: She sprinted to the line and finished in a marathon time of 2 hours, 38 minutes and 52 seconds, a new women’s full-distance triathlon record and faster than the second and third place men of the day.
Philipp finished second behind Haug just 12 minutes later, while Visser finished strongly to hold off Anne Reischmann and prevent an all-German podium.
Challenge Ross 2024 Results (Women)
Sunday 7 July 2024 – 3.8km / 180km / 42.2km
- 1. Anne Haug (Germany) – 8:02:38 (52:37 / 4:27:58 / 2:38:52)
- 2. Laura Philipp (Germany) – 8:14:13 (55:14 / 4:30:47 / 2:44:34)
- 3. Els Visser (Netherlands) – 8:24:47 (55:17 / 4:31:02 / 2:55:25)
- 4. Anne Reischmann (Germany) – 8:26:07
- 5. Daniel Lewis (USA) 8:26:50
- 6. Katrine Gresberg Christensen (Denmark) – 8:34:55
- 7. Rebecca Robisch (Germany) – 8:36:51
- 8. Laura Zimmermann (Germany) – 8:40:43
- 9. Julia Skala (Germany) – 8:43:54
- 10. Tina Pohlainen (Finland) – 8:45:10