Last year saw several triathletes hit top form across a series of elite-level events, culminating in that epic showdown at the PTO 2020 Championship at CHALLENGEDAYTONA®
A number of stellar performances from the PTO 2020 Championship have now been duly rewarded with significant moves up the PTO World Rankings.
Women’s champion Paula Findlay climbed into the top 10 at #8 after her stunning Florida win, as did men’s second-place finisher Matt Hanson (now #9).
George Goodwin (#15), Sam Long (#24) and Thomas Davis (#36) also made significant gains in the men’s rankings, while Lucy Hall moved up over 30 places to #65 on the women’s list.
We’ve picked out some of the biggest winners in the first PTO World Rankings update since March 2020.
Gustav Iden (Unranked -> #3)
Prior to the latest update, the PTO 2020 Championship men’s winner was outside the top 100 athletes, and deemed as unranked.
But following that dominant victory in Florida, the Norwegian has now established himself firmly at the top end of the PTO World Rankings and cemented his place among the biggest names in the sport.
The 24-year-old picked up 100.06 points after recording a rapid time of 3:05:06 for the 100km course at the PTO 2020 Championship, finishing nearly a minute clear of the aforementioned Matt Hanson.
With over 200 points already to his name from victories at Ratingen 2020 and the 70.3 World Championship in 2019, Iden has now properly burst into the PTO 2020 Rankings.
He is now ranked third, trailing only Britain’s Alistair Brownlee and current #1 Jan Frodeno of Germany.
Chris Leiferman (#76 -> #14)
Chris Leiferman climbed an astonishing 62 places in the latest rankings update, partly thanks to his resolute performance in Daytona.
The American endured a disappointing start to the race in Florida, dropping to the back of the field during the opening swim leg. He was a determined figure though as he clawed his way back up the field over the remaining two disciplines to cross the line in 19th position.
With a time of 3:05:57, Leiferman picked up 97 points, a haul which eclipsed the 92.12 he received for his victory at IRONMAN Florida 2020.
When combined with the 101.19 he was awarded in 2019 after winning IRONMAN 70.3 in Boulder, Leiferman’s ranking has improved massively.
Magnus Elbaek Ditlev (Unranked -> #38)
The Dane is another athlete who earned a place in the PTO World Rankings for the first time, courtesy of some impressive recent results.
Unranked before the latest update, Ditlev profited from a strong performance at the PTO 2020 Championship in addition to other solid point hauls.
A tremendous bike split helped him to a commendable 14th place in Florida, recording a time of 3:08:57 and picking up 86.19 points in the process.
Victory in Gdynia and a fourth-place finish in Dubai at 70.3 events earlier in 2020 provided Magnus with further points towards his tally, leaving him on 252.05 in the latest rankings update.
Katrina Matthews (#51 -> #19)
Katrina Matthews was one of the biggest winners from the latest update, shooting up 32 places to number 19 in the women’s PTO World Rankings.
The British athlete claimed victory at IRONMAN Florida in November, securing over 100 points towards her ranking. That triumph followed another win at Outlaw Half earlier in the year, as Matthews produced consistent success throughout a COVID-ravaged calendar.
Her two victories, on top of a fourth-place finish at IRONMAN Western Australia back in 2019, provided her with a solid points haul of 278.03 after the latest update.
Fenella Langridge (#52 -> #35)
Fenella Langridge was another woman who flew up the PTO World Rankings after the latest update.
She was a standout performer on the swim leg at in Daytona and followed up with a strong display ‘on land’ as she came home in seventh with a time of 3:33:42.
The Brit was awarded 82.11 points for that PTO 2020 Championship performance. It was the only event in 2020 to count towards her updated ranking.
She had though already registered a second-place finish over the 70.3 distance in Elsinore en route to accumulating more than 160 points from her 2019 efforts.
