In Her First Full Distance Triathlon Since 2015, Jackie Hering (USA) Takes the Crown at the 2024 IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg

June 2, 2024

- Jackie Hering’s victory secures her 5,000 IRONMAN Pro Series™ points, putting her second in the overall IRONMAN Pro Series standings - Fenella Langridge (GBR) finishes fourth, moving into first place in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings

HAMBURG, Germany (June 2, 2024) /ENDIRANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Hamburg today hosted the sixth IRONMAN Pro Series™ event of the year with the IRONMAN^® European Championship for female professional triathletes. The race saw Jackie Hering (USA) crowned IRONMAN European Champion in her first full distance IRONMAN triathlon since 2015. Her epic performance saw her score 5,000 IRONMAN Pro Series points, which moved her up six places in the standings to second place and take home $28,000 in prize money. Maja Stage Nielsen (DEN) was just 02:39 minutes behind for second, and Germany’s own Daniela Bleymehl completed the podium. Fenella Langridge’s fourth place position was just enough to push her atop of the overall IRONMAN Pro Series standings.

“I’m slightly in shock…it was just a really good day,” Jackie Hering said in-between tears. “That goal [to just finish] did not change, I was in so much pain. All I could think about was just keeping it steady – one mile at a time. I was going from aid station to aid station. I think it’s always important to keep the goal as finishing, seriously that was my goal the whole time!”

Top Five Female Professional Results

The 2024 IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg saw 29 of the world’s top female professional triathletes compete for a piece of the $87,5000 total event pro prize purse, and IRONMAN Pro Series points, as well as six slots to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Nice on 22 September. The male IRONMAN European Championship will take place in Frankfurt on 18 August.

News and Notes

• Jackie Hering’s dominant victory was made even more impressive by the fact that this was her first full distance IRONMAN triathlon since 2015.
• Jackie already has two IRONMAN Pro Series podiums under her belt, following her second-place finish at Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga, and third place finish at Intermountain Health IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship in St. George. Her consistent racing across all three races has catapulted her into second place in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings.
• After three IRONMAN Pro Series races, Fenella Langridge’s fast and smart racing has led her to sit atop the overall IRONMAN Pro Series standings, with 9,971 points. Fenella led from the start of the bike until the start of lap two in the run, where Jackie Hering caught her. After coming sixth at both Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside and Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship Texas, Fenella narrowly missed out on a podium with her fourth place finish.
• Finishing in second place today, Maja Stage Nielsen’s (DEN) has now earned a podium place in 8 of her 17 IRONMAN triathlon appearances.
• Following a DNF at last year’s Mainova IRONMAN European Championship Frankfurt, Daniela Bleymehl got her revenge by clinching the final slot on the podium, as well as the fastest bike split of the day, marking a successful first race as part of the IRONMAN Pro Series
• Julie Iemmolo of France was first out of the water in 50:38, with Fenella Langridge (GB) one second behind.
• Katrine Græsbøll Christensen (DEN) had the fastest run of the day in 02:50:37.
• The day was not without a little drama as race favourite, Kat Matthews (GBR) was given a red card after overtaking in a no passing zone. Els Visser also stopped with a flat tire during the last 30km of the bike, dropping from 2nd place to 7th place.
• The male age-group race was won by local athlete, Lars Wichert, who was first over the line in 07:50:42.
• A total of 20 Professional triathletes finished fast enough behind the race winner to earn points towards IRONMAN Pro Series standings.

Full results for the IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg can be found at ironman.com/im-hamburg-results. For additional event information, please visit ironman.com/im-hamburg.

IRONMAN Pro Series Standings

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based triathlon race series that will see professional triathletes earn points at 20 select races in 19 locations globally. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series ushers in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters™ with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. How it works can be found here.

Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Standings – Top Five Female (After Six Events)

Full IRONMAN Pro Series standings can be found at proseries.ironman.com.

Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Event Prize Money

In addition to the IRONMAN Pro Series’ $1.7M year-end bonus prize pool, there is an event pro prize purse payout of $2,575,000, distributed across IRONMAN Pro Series events. To date the IRONMAN Pro Series has paid out a total of $487,500. Over $2 million USD remains to be claimed at the remaining events.

Top Five Female Prize Money Earned (After six events)

Next Events Coming Up

IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder is next up, when the IRONMAN Pro Series returns to North America on Saturday, June 8. The 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder triathlon will offer professionals a maximum of 2,500 points towards IRONMAN Pro Series standings, a $50,000 event total pro prize purse, and three qualifying slots for each gender to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship taking place in Taupo, New Zealand.

Replay coverage of racing at the 2024 IRONMAN Hamburg is available on Outside+ for those watching from the United States and Canada; and for the rest of the world on proseries.ironman.com or IRONMAN’s YouTube Page.

For more information on the IRONMAN Pro Series, visit proseries.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

** Terms and Conditions: Photography and Video is provided courtesy of IRONMAN for news and editorial coverage and is not to be archived. Any commercial use or other use of the photos is strictly prohibited unless a separate written license is obtained from and signed by an authorized representative of IRONMAN. Additional terms and conditions can be found here. Usage of materials constitutes acceptance of terms. **

###

About the IRONMAN Pro Series

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based world series that will see professional triathletes earn points at 20 select races in 19 locations globally to vie for the title of IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and a share of the lucrative USD $1.7 million year-end bonus prize pool. Athletes will also continue to battle for each individual event’s prize money equating to over USD $2.5 million and coveted world championship qualifying slots. The IRONMAN Pro Series will consist of six full-distance IRONMAN^® triathlons and 10 half-distance IRONMAN^® 70.3^® triathlons in addition to the split location women’s and men’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons and two-day women’s and men’s VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlons. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series will usher in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters™ with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. Incorporating iconic distances, challenging courses, and stunning destinations, every IRONMAN Pro Series race will be broadcast live and free to a global audience. An additional 18 events throughout 2024 will also offer IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 professional racing and world championship qualifying opportunities, as well as over USD $1.6 million in prize money to create a total 2024 professional prize purse of nearly USD $6 million. For more information, visit proseries.ironman.com.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Running Series, IRONKIDS^®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf^®, UTMB^® World Series trail-running events including the Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB^®, Tarawera Ultra by UTMB^® and Ultra-Trail Australia™ by UTMB^®, Epic Series™ mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events including Haute Route^®, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Catering to the full athlete experience, the company portfolio also includes FulGaz^® virtual cycling, the most realistic indoor riding experience connected fitness application aimed at preparing athletes for real-world events. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business, and Orkila Capital, a growth equity firm focused on building great brands. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.

About Advance 

Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 17,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Warner Bros. Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.