Sam Laidlow’s Back … But is He Ready for this Version of Roth?

Sam Laidlow. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

In any other year Sam Laidlow would arrive in Roth as the man to beat. While the 2023 IRONMAN World Champion isn’t exactly the paragon of consistency, he did finish second in Kona in 2022, and appeared to be on track for another top Kona finish last year after a win at T100 London and a runner-up finish at T100 Ibiza. Things went awry, though, in Kona, and Laidlow ended up struggling to just get across the finish line. And, ever since then, he’s been struggling to regain his health. We caught up with Laidlow before Thursday’s press conference to get some insights on how he’s feeling coming into tomorrow’s race.

Slowtwitch.com: Sam Laidlow last time we talked, it was in Abu Dhabi. It was hotter than Hades and you really weren’t sure where your fitness was. But, you’re here ready to race, so you must be feeling better. 

Sam Laidlow: Yeah, I would say I was sure of where my fitness was then, I wasn’t so sure about my health. I knew that my fitness was very low. I was just kind of struggling all through the start of the year really. Since then it’s been a positive trend upwards. I would say, obviously, it’s difficult to make miracles in a short space of time when you’re missing the winter block. That’s really important for us athletes. I feel like I’m missing that, but the last two or three months have definitely been good momentum. And I feel healthy again, which, I would say, directly impacted how I feel. So right now I’m just super grateful to be healthy and be competitive. 

So when you come into a race like this with that level of training and fitness, is it hard to temper your expectations … or have you tempered your expectations? 

Yeah, it is hard for sure. I even had this conversation with my dad (who is also his coach). He wants me to just have a solid race and to finish strong and healthy, which might mean me racing a bit differently to how I normally race. My heart and soul just wants to go and race aggressively for the win, you know? And yeah, it’s difficult.

I think the the field has changed a little bit, too. With some DNFs in Frankfurt that have brought in some new dynamics to the race with Jonas (Schomburg) and Daniel (Baekkegard) coming along. So I think what I thought was going to be a more easy bike might not be from the start. I think there could be some potential for a good swim group to get away and then the start of the bike to be hard, and for that to actually be a move where it’s worth going with. So, I don’t want to let the race completely go away from me. But I’ve learned a lot – I don’t think I’m at peak fitness, but I’m showing up healthy and I think some races in the past I’ve maybe gone into maybe a bit overtrained or not focused too much on my health.

I learned a lot in these last few months, and I think it’s almost more important to show up 100% healthy and maybe 80 or 90% fit than it is to try and show up 100 or 105% fit and not quite healthy. We’ll see.  

I’m guessing your dad’s point is: Let’s just have a nice strong race. Almost use this as training and a build up for the rest of the year. That’s just hard to get your head around …  

I guess because a lot of the big names were in Frankfurt last week, so in my head coming into this race, I could maybe still think about winning here. Now the field is getting stronger. So I need to just focus on my own race. I genuinely believe that if I pull off and execute the best race possible right now I I can podium, maybe even win, but it would be a big, big ask. I’m still not quite where I need to be to to win major races and and this is a major race, after all.

You said one of the things you learned was getting to the race healthy. Are there other things you’ve learned through this experience over the last few months? 

Yeah. I I guess if there’s one way to put it … I’ll use an image. Let’s say as athletes, we’re effectively racing cars. I feel like we get so wound up in trying to only build the engine, and sometimes something else might be wrong in the car. Rather than checking up on that, we keep on pushing the engine, pushing the engine, pushing the engine. It’s taught me that it’s not just about the engine, it’s about the whole complete car. Making sure everything is fine-tuned … whether it be the mental side, the nutrition, your gut, your biomechanics. So many small things. And that’s what I love about this sport – it isn’t just about who’s the most talented. You can really use your brain to get far. It’s brought me some confidence in knowing that I can show up to a race even if I don’t think I’m the fittest on the start line. I I think that now I have enough experience, having done 15 or so IRONMAN distances, that I can use that to my advantage in the future. 

At the end of the day I know it’s been frustrating being sick and everything, but you’ve already achieved your ultimate dream and goal, right? Like your are an IRONMAN world champion.

I mean, obviously my dream was, and always will be, Kona. So, yes, I became world champion, but I still have this one more step to go for me to be fully content, I would say. But, I’m also happy for that, because … For a few months after I won the world champs I wasn’t super happy because, for the first time in my life, I was waking up not knowing what I wanted anymore. So, I’m actually happy that there is still Kona because I know it sounds cliche, but the pursuit of something really brings more joy than when you actually have it.

So if it takes me five years to win … I’m going to enjoy the process. And even now … I think this whole week and this race is so special. I think if I was on an IRONMAN start list right now I would only focus on the performance and the pressure of performance. But here there is such an atmosphere, that I’m trying to soak it all in and just appreciate what this sport is, and what it’s done for me. And also what Roth has done for the sport because it’s an amazing event, a very unique event, and to be here with my family and my girlfriend and be healthy and have #1 on my back is is a real privilege.

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