Philipp Koutny

Having turned pro in 2016, Switzerland's Philipp Koutny has become a force to be reckoned with at full distance.

His first IRONMAN win came at Tallinn in 2018, and the following year he broke into the top 10 at the World Championship in Kona.

"I started early, as a kid in the famous Wildcats Triathlon Team in Basel and had a great time training with friends," he says.

Short distance was the focus as a junior and at under-23, but he then started to move up and had plenty of success as an age grouper while still working full-time.

Koutny then decided to take the next step, admitting: "I wanted to see what my body and mind is capable of achieving in the sport.

"You learn something new every day as you continue the training journey and so I made the decision when I was 32 to get the pro licence and have a shot at racing the best triathletes in the world."

The big breakthrough came in Estonia in 2018 when he triumphed with a time of 8:01:18, to win by nearly five minutes from Marc Duelsen and local hero Marko Albert.

Albert had been out of the water first, with a 3:30 advantage, and he extended that slightly on the bike. But on the run they started to close on him, especially Koutny. And Philipp moved into the lead with 7km to go and never looked back.

That qualified him for Kona and 15th place was an encouraging return for his first visit to the Big Island.

The progress continued in 2019, with fifth at the IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt against a stacked field. That booked a return to Kona, where Philipp continued his upward trajectory with an excellent eighth place.

Rather than rest on his laurels, he came out just two weeks later and took second place at IRONMAN Malaysia. He surged into the lead on the bike before Javier Gomez, who hadn't raced Hawaii, passed him on the run.

It was a superb performance, especially in the circumstances, and bodes well for the future.