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Sam Laidlow

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Sam Laidlow
Personal information
Born (1998-12-23) 23 December 1998 (age 26)
Oakley, Bedfordshire, England
Sport
CountryFrance
SportTriathlon
TeamAS Monaco Triathlon[1]
Coached byRichard Laidlow
Medal record
Representing  France
Men's triathlon
Ironman World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2023 Individual
Silver medal – second place 2022 Individual

Sam Laidlow (born December 23, 1998) is a French professional triathlete.

Sam won the 2023 Ironman World Championship on 10 September 2023 in Nice, France. He became the first Ironman World Champion from France and the youngest man ever to win the title.

He placed second in the (second) 2022 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, breaking the bike course record.[2] He showed promise finishing 8th at his first Ironman World Championships at the age of 23[3] (the youngest athlete in the professional field). Other results include a 2nd Place Finish at Ironman UK, and a win at the Spanish Irondistance race in the Girona Province (140.6INN)[4]

Triathlon career

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In 2001, his parents decided to move from the UK to the South of France in order to set up a triathlon training business – Sancture Sportifs.[5] At the age of 13 he decided to leave his home in Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda for the National Altitude Training Centre in Font Romeu. 3 years later Sam was selected to train alongside the French team in Montpellier. At the age of 17 he went back home to his family in Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda and started to being coached by his father Richard Laidlow.[6]

He won the Bearman Xtreme Iron distance race in 2017[7] and the Lakesman in 2019, setting the fastest iron-distance time ever recorded in the United Kingdom.[8][9] At the Cannes International Triathlon in 2018, he was leading Javier Gómez for most of the race when his rear derailleur broke. He ran 20 km with his bike and completed the race regardless.[10][11][12] In 2019, he finished 7th at Ironman Barcelona in a time of 8:05h.[13]

With his strengths being the first two disciplines of triathlon (swimming and cycling), Sam is often known for being at the front of the races assuming a more aggressive racing style. Sam also represented Team Europe at the 2nd edition of The Collins Cup in Samorin.[14]

In 2022, Sam came second behind Gustav Iden in the 2022 Ironman World Championships.

However in 2023, he improved on his silver, winning gold in Nice. Becoming the youngest man to win the world championships ever. He won almost four minutes ahead of Patrick Lange, the second placed finisher that year.

Laidlow announced the launch of an investigation by the International Testing Agency on the 20th of October 2023. The investigation follows doping concerns raised to the ITA by private sources.

In 2024, Sam was one of the twenty contracted athletes set to compete in the PTO new race series the T100 World Tour, after a rocky start, he silenced critics with his first win in London, the fourth leg of the tour.

In late 2024, on the run up to the Ironman World Championships his training base in France suffered a fire, destroying some of his equipment. No one was harmed.

Personal life

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Laidlow is of French and British descent and resides in Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda where his family home is.

Race history

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Date Competition Distance Place Rank
22 May 2016 L'Aiguillon sur Mer ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup Sprint L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer, FRA 1st [15]
19 May 2018 Triathlon de Carcassonne Olympic Carcassonne, FRA
1st [16]
1 September 2018 GRAND PRIX D1 Quiberon Sprint Quiberon, FRA 28th [17]
23 September 2018 Triathlon Audencia La Baule Olympic La Baule, FRA 3rd [18]
14 October 2018 National Team Championship Sprint Distance Coupe de France Sprint Montceau les Mines, FRA 1st
21 April 2019 Cannes International Triathlon 2 km / 107 km / 16 km Cannes, FRA 4th [19]
16 June 2019 The Lakesman ironman Keswick, UK 1st,[20] 8:21h, fastest time ever recorded in the UK for a long-distance triathlon
6 October 2019 Ironman Barcelona Ironman Barcelona, ESP 7th,[21] 8:05:40h
22 April 2020 Z Pro Tri Series Race 2 (online bike race) 24.7 km Zwift, online 1st [22]
9 August 2020 Triathlon de la Montagne Noire Half ironman Montagne Noire, FRA 1st[23]
29 August 2020 Challenge Davos Half ironman Davos, CH Race stopped due to weather, in the leading group.[24]
24 April 2021 Challenge Gran Canaria Half ironman Mogán, ESP DNF, bike accident in the lead[25]
30 May 2021 Tradeinn International Triathlon 140.6INN, Spanish Long Distance Championship ironman Girona and Costa Brava, ESP 1st [26]
6 June 2021 Championnat de France de triathlon Half ironman Cagnes sur Mer, FRA 2nd [27]
7 May 2022 Ironman World Championships 2021‡ Ironman St. George, Utah 8th
8 Oct 2022 Ironman World Championships Ironman Kona, Hawaii 2nd [28]
10 Sept 2023 Ironman World Championships Ironman Nice, France 1st

Key: DNF = Did not finish

‡The 2021 World Championship was held in St. George, Utah on May 7, 2022. The delay and change from the original Kona, Hawaii venue were due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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References

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  1. ^ Triathlon, AS Monaco. "Pro Team". AS Monaco Triathlon (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  2. ^ "France's Sam Laidlow smashes bike course record". pdccug.com. 9 Oct 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  3. ^ "Résultats Championnat du Monde IRONMAN St. George 2022". triatlon noticias. 7 May 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Jacob, Peter (2021-05-31). "Emma Bilham und Sam Laidlow gewinnen schwere Langdistanz an der Costa Brava". tri-mag.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  5. ^ "Richard Laidlow - An Interview With Sancture des Sportifs Triathlon Coach". www.intelligent-triathlon-training.com. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  6. ^ "Richard Laidlow - An Interview With Sancture des Sportifs Triathlon Coach". www.intelligent-triathlon-training.com. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  7. ^ Triathlon, Ligue LR (2017-09-25). "Résultats BEARMAN 2017". Ligue Régionale de Triathlon Occitanie (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  8. ^ "The Weekend Roundup: 15-16 June 2019 | Elite News". Tri247.com. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  9. ^ "238 Sam Laidlow wins Lakesman in 8.21 on debut!". Oxygen Addict Triathlon Podcast. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  10. ^ "This Pro Ran 4 Miles Uphill Sans Shoes with His Bike to Finish". Triathlete. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  11. ^ Rodríguez, Diego (2018-04-30). "Sam Laidlow, de liderar Cannes Triathlon... ¡a hacer 20kms con la bici a cuestas!". Planeta Triatlón (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  12. ^ "El triatleta que corrió 20 km con la bici al". Triatlón (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  13. ^ Ohlsen, Jakob. "Ironman Barcelona 2019 | Results Men". www.endurance-data.com. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  14. ^ Lacke, Susan (2022-08-19). "These Are the Collins Cup Matches We're Most Excited to Watch". Triathlete. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  15. ^ Triathlon, World. "Results: Junior Men | 2016 L'Aiguillon sur Mer ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup". World Triathlon. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  16. ^ "Résultats du Triathlon de Carcassonne 2018" (PDF).
  17. ^ "Détails de la course / épreuve sportive chronométrée par Breizh Chrono". Breizh Chrono, chronométrage de courses et d'épreuves sportives (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  18. ^ "Triathlon Audencia La Baule (Dim)". www.racetecresults.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  19. ^ "Detail". www.tri2b.com (in German). 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  20. ^ "Lakesman Triathlon brings £2.3m into local economy". News and Star. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  21. ^ "Detail". www.tri2b.com (in German). 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  22. ^ "Sanders beats the Brownlees, but ends up fifth". Triathlon Magazine Canada. 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  23. ^ "Le Monégasque Sam Laidlow survole l'épreuve du triathlon de la Montagne noire à Fontiers-Cabardès". ladepeche.fr.
  24. ^ "Challenge Davos suspendido a mitad de prueba por tormentas | triatlonchannel.com". triatlonchannel.com | Triatlon, Triathlon, noticias triatlon, videos triatlon, fotos triatlon, swim, bike, run. 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  25. ^ "Trimax_magazine_205". www.trimax-mag.com. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  26. ^ "Sam Laidlow, Emma Bilham win PTO-supported Tradeinn International Triathlon". June 2021.
  27. ^ "La Gazette de Monaco". lagazettedemonaco.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  28. ^ "IMWC results". ironman.com. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
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