This is an excerpt from my “Kona 2018 Rating Report“. You can download your copy here.
Daniela is the dominant female Ironman athlete for the last years, winning Kona from 2015 to 2017. This year she can become the first athlete to win four in a row since Paula Newby-Fraser (1991 to 1994).
Each season her performances before Kona are scrutinized for potential signs that she “used to be better/faster/stronger”. After a long break at the start of the year, her wins at 70.3 Rapperswil, the European Championships and at 70.3 Gdynia with an almost-record-breaking time show that she’s racing maybe even better than ever before. Her Frankfurt race would have seen her finish seventh in a competitive men’s field! She also won 70.3 Championships with a strong run performance, and if her preparation for Kona does not run into major problems, only Madame Pele can keep Daniela from winning her fourth Kona title.
Photo: Dani riding 25 minutes faster than any other female at IM Frankfurt. Credit: James Mitchell