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Ben Kanute: The EquipmentFor American pro-triathlete Ben Kanute, the Big Island of Kona is a place that lies in his family history. His Dad raced Kona in 2001, Tim DeBoom won the Elite race that year, the last American to take out the World Champs. In Part One of our chat with Ben (read here), we took a look at Ben, the human. What does triathlon mean to him? Why is Kona so special?In this article, we’re going deeper into the tech side of things. There are four parts: bike, position, equipm …

Ben Kanute: Kona“It was my best Ironman and worst wrapped into one.”Ben Kanute is no stranger to the sport of triathlon, the now-32-year-old grew up in a family that was immersed in the sport. As it does for many triathletes, the Big Island has always had an aura around it. Ben’s Dad raced Kona in 2001, Tim DeBoom won the Elite race that year, the last American to take out the World Champs.Ben’s dad was back on the island in 2024, this time to cheer on his son. “I grew up watching Kona on TV. My …

The ultimate unscripted drama. Kona can be an athlete’s place of dreams, or their worst nightmare. Laidlow rode a bike-leg for the books, Blummenfelt puked up, Iden climbed off, Lange ran riot, and Matt Burton’s race was cut short by a jellyfish.It was a day of course records: Aussie age-grouper Sam Askey-Doran smashed the swim record by 45-seconds posting a 45:43. On the bike, Sam Laidlow did the unthinkable with a 3:57:22 on the 180km course. To top it all off, Patrick Lange clocked a 7:35:53 …