Patrik Nilsson of Sweden won a drawn out, see-saw duel with Kristian Hogenhaug of Denmark that ranged from Hogenhaug’s 7:02 lead at 3 kilometers into the bike leg and lasted until Nilsson made the final pass at 38 kilometers into the run.

After a 12th-best 50:01 swim that put Hogenhaug 26 seconds arrears, the Dane built his lead with a by-far race-best 4:16:10 bike split that gave him an 8:12 margin at T2.

Inch by inch, Nilsson sliced Hogenhaug’s lead to 5:28 at 10km into the run, then 3:40 at 18km, then increased his lead to 3:45 at 30km. Whereupon David McNamee of Great Britain joined the battle and rode with Nilsson in an attack on Hogenhaug.

At 35km, Nilsson and McNamee reduced Hogenhaug’s lead to 1:38. But by 39km, McNamee fell back while Nilsson finally made the pass on Hogenhaug and established a 1:07 lead.

Still, Hogenhaug fought back and cut his deficit below a minute begore the finish.

At the end, Nilsson finished his day with a race-best 2:39:40 marathon that brought him to the finish in 7:59:21 with a 57 seconds margin on Hogenhaug (2:48:47 run split) and 3:07 on McNamee, who had made a gallant effort on his way to a 2:42:59 marathon to contend for the lead before accepting third place.

The win was Nilsson’s sixth career Ironman victory in his 7-year professional career.

Ironman Frankfurt
Frankfurt, Germany
August 15, 2021
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

Men

1. Patrik Nilsson (SWE) S 49:35 T1 3:07 B 4:25:09 T2 1:52 T 2:39:40 TOT 7:59:21
2. Kristian Hogenhaug (DEN) S 50:01 T1 3:26 B 4:16:10 T2 1:55 R 2:48:47 TOT 8:00:18
3. David McNamee (GBR) S 49:51 T1 2:58 B 4:25:04 T2 1:39 R 2:42:59 TOT 8:02:29
4. Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) S 49:45 T1 2:55 B 4:25:14 T2 1:51 R 2:47:29 TOT 8:07:11
5. Franz Loeschke (GER) 49:45 T1 2:55 B 4:25:11 Y2 2:32 R 2:47:10 TOT 8:07:32
6. Maurice Clavel (GER) S 49:37 T1 3:10 B 4:25:045 T2 1:58 R 2:49:55 TOT 8:09:41
7. Paul Schuster (GER) S 49:37 T1 3:04 B 4:25:14 T2 2:04 R 2:51:27 TOT 8:11:23
8. Milosz Sowinski (POL) S 51:37 T1 3:15 B 4:32:44 T2 2:06 R 2:48:12 TOT 8:17:52
9. Ivan Tutukin (KAZ) S 50:03 T1 3:12 B 4:40:53 T2 2:13 R 4:43:45 TOT 8:20:04
10. Dylan Magnien (FRA) S 49:41 T1 3:49 B 4:40:45 T2 2:09 R 2:47:24 TOT 8:23:45