Last Minute Challenge Roth Entries Spice Up the Action

There’s been a flurry of last-minute race entries for this Sunday’s Challenge Roth event, adding some big names to what was already a stellar field.

On Monday we learned that 2023 Kona champion and reigning IRONMAN 70.3 world champion Lucy Charles-Barclay will be racing. That’s a huge addition to the event after last week’s news that defending champion Laura Philipp had withdrawn. The much anticipated Matthews/ Philipp duel gets replaced by a British matchup that pits Charles-Barclay’s race from the front approach against Matthews’ steady state chase mode. Charles-Barclay won IRONMAN Lanzarote in May, bouncing back from surgery to remove her plantaris tendon earlier in the year.

“Challenge Roth is incredibly special to me,” Charles-Barclay said. “Winning there in 2019 was one of the most important moments of my career. It changed so much for me, and it is honestly up there with winning the IRONMAN World Championship as one of the proudest moments I have had in the sport.”

The two British stars will remain the outright favourites on Sunday, with countrywoman Daisy Davies, who won IRONMAN South Africa earlier this year, ready to step in should Charles-Barclay or Matthews falter at all. Germany’s Daniela Bleymehl, the 2018 Roth champion, is another to watch for, especially on the bike. Another German we’ll be keeping an eye on this Sunday is Caroline Pohle, who is making her full-distance debut after starting her 2026 season with three Challenge-Family wins in Gran Canaria, at the Championship and in St. Pölten.

Today we learned that three-time Roth champion and course record holder (7:23:24) Magnus Ditlev will be competing on Sunday, too. Ditlev raced in Frankfurt on Sunday, getting the final Kona qualifying slot thanks to an 11th-place finish. Ditlev has endured a challenging start to the 2026 season, coming down with shingles just before IRONMAN Texas.

The race in Frankfurt was shortened to a 125 km bike and a 21.1 km run, which means Ditlev won’t be trying to recover from a full-marathon’s worth of running before his return to Roth.

“We are incredibly pleased that Magnus has confirmed his participation on such short notice,” said Roth race director Felix Walchshöfer. “Over the years, he has become an integral part of the Roth family and has delivered unforgettable performances here. I didn’t think it was possible, but his presence further elevates an already exceptionally strong men’s field. Our fans can look forward to one of the most exciting professional races we have ever witnessed in Roth.”

Germany’s Finn Grosse-Freese, who was sixth in Roth last year in addition to taking the wins at IRONMAN Austria and Copenhagen, has also announced he’ll be competing in Roth on Sunday. Grosse-Freese has had a tough start to his 2026 season and had an off day in Frankfurt on Sunday, too, but is a front-pack swimmer who will add even more firepower to the lead bike pack on Sunday.

These new additions to the men’s race add even more star power to a race that was already brimming with it. Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt arrives as the favourite after a season that’s seen him dominate all but his first race of the season in New Zealand, where he was sick. A sixth-place finish there has been followed by dominant wins at 70.3 Geelong, 70.3 Oceanside and IRONMAN Texas. Defending champion Sam Laidlow put together an incredible performance at IRONMAN Lanzarote to put his name in the mix for the title, while 2021 Roth champion and three-time Kona winner Patrick Lange will look for both another title and a win over Laidlow after finishing second to him in Lanzarote. Germany’s Jonas Schomburg was second here in Roth a year ago and would dearly love to provide the race with another German champion. On that “German champion” front, Rico Bogen makes his much anticipated full-distance debut here in Roth on Sunday, too.

Now the question is whether or not we’ll see any other names added to the mix over the next few days. (Probably not, I would think, but who knows!)

Tags: