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The Ironman 70.3 World Championship is just days away and we\u2019ll soon find out whether or not Gustav Iden<\/a> and Lucy Charles-Barclay<\/a> can defend their titles.<\/strong><\/p>\n As we build up to the big day(s), the top athletes set to take to the start line have been speaking about their preparations and how they\u2019re feeling ahead of the race.<\/p>\n Given he won the Ironman World Championship<\/a><\/strong> just a few weeks before, many a lot of eyes were on Iden to see how he\u2019s shaping up ahead of the weekend. As we\u2019ve come to expect, the Norwegian was typically understated. \u201cI\u2019m feeling okay, I guess. It was cool to win the full as well as having my two 70.3 titles. It\u2019s been a good career so far.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Speaking about how that win impacted how he was feeling ahead of this weekend, he had this to say: \u201cI\u2019m really motivated to do well here but for me everything has been going into Kona. You feel satisfied but also empty, in a way, coming after such a big victory.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that I\u2019m going into this race, as I\u2019ve done before, [thinking] my career really depends on this race. I feel like in previous years I\u2019d never done that well going into the 70.3 [world champs] and I felt like I had to prove my career and defend my sponsors. But for now, I did so well in Kona so I feel it\u2019s hard to go into this race feeling hungry, but I\u2019ll still do my best to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n Iden was then asked how he felt about a few changes to the run course being made. He said: \u201cI think it suits me better. I actually didn\u2019t enjoy the run course too much last year. And now I have some new shoes that I prefer running a bit more flat in them. For sure this course suits me better.\u201d<\/p>\n He finished by talking about the men\u2019s and women\u2019s races taking place on separate days, with his comments drawing laughter from those in the room.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s a shame that we don\u2019t race the same day,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause last year it was a challenge for me to lap the girls, so it\u2019s going to be hard when they start one day in advance.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s going to be good to have some time to watch the girls because that\u2019s always something you miss out on when you race the same day. So I\u2019m going to bring out my t-shirt, wave it around for the girls and I expect the same from them.\u201d<\/p>\n Excited to watch the women race on Friday and the men on Saturday? Here\u2019s how to watch the Ironman 70.3 World Championship<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s hard to go into this race feeling hungry\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Controversial comments or a bit of banter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Watch the full Ironman 70.3 World Championship press conference<\/strong><\/h2>\n