A serial champion as a teenage swimmer, Denmark’s Daniel Baekkegard has converted this winning habit into his medal-strewn long-course triathlon career.
Below, we take a look at how that story has unfolded.
Who is Daniel Baekkegard?
Daniel Baekkegard’s teenage ambitions centred around the swimming pool, where he collected an astonishing 20 national titles in his youth.
But triathlon became his main focus – and largely by accident. Having suffered a broken arm, his rehabilitation saw him both running and cycling – disciplines whose attractions, compared to the intense rigour of early-morning swim training, were clear and obvious.
Having taken up the sport, the Dane won the national junior title in 2014, after which followed a few years of middling, unspectacular results.
Then, after turning professional ahead of the 2019 season, Baekkegard exploded onto the middle- and long-distance scene. That June in Finland, his first Ironman 70.3 finish came with a win; he replicated this instant success just a week later when he broke the tape – spectacularly, with his foot – at Ironman Austria.
This was his true breakthrough moment. He had smashed the rest of the field, claiming a double-digit winning margin. In one fell swoop, his invitation to Kona was in the post.
Although his first visit to Hawaii was underwhelming thanks to bike issues, Baekkegard continued to enhance his reputation with some up-and-at-’em performances.
Stand-outs include 70.3 victories in Tallin, Dubai, Lanzarote and Elsinore, along with several other podium appearances, including a bronze at the 2021 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
That same year featured another notable outing, this time at the inaugural Collins Cup in Slovakia. Only his Team Europe colleagues Jan Frodeno and Gustav Iden were faster than the Dane.
How old is Daniel Baekkegard?
Daniel Baekkegard was born on April 26 1996, making him 27 years of age.
Daniel Baekkegard’s career highlights
August 2018: Multiple strong placings in Challenge racing
Having registered his first triathlon success four years earlier when he became the Danish junior champion, Baekkegard has still yet to turn pro.
He finishes third at Challenge Finland, a result replicated the next month at Challenge Walchsee in Austria. Two more Challenge top 10s follow, in Peguera and Sardinia.
May 2019: Impressive showing at long-distance worlds
Having just joined the pro ranks, Baekkegard finishes sixth in the ITU Long-Distance World Championships in Pontevedra in Spain. It’s the longest triathlon he’s yet raced and he comes home 10 minutes after winner Javier Gómez.
June 2019: A first 70.3 finish, a first 70.3 victory
Having failed to complete his first half-Iron attempt on the home turf of Elsinore the previous week, Baekkegard successfully reaches the finish line at Ironman 70.3 Finland, leading home the field thanks to a run that’s nearly three minutes faster than those of his rivals.
June 2019: A glorious Ironman debut
Just eight days later, Baekkegard makes his Ironman bow in Austria and obliterates the opposition, finishing more than 11 minutes ahead of silver medallist Stenn Goetstouwers of Belgium. At the first time of asking, Baekkegard has qualified for Kona.
October 2019: Double disappointment at the world champs
After coming home 16th at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Nice (16 minutes behind new champion Gustav Iden), Baekkegard only manages one place better in Kona after he loses significant time on the bike thanks to handlebar issues not allowing him into the tuck position.
Second place at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain in December, where he posts a 1:10 half marathon, eases the disappointment.
September 2020: The man with the golden touch
Baekkegard’s only race finish of a Covid-wrecked year comes at Ironman 70.3 Tallinn where his dominant swim gives him a huge two-minute advantage coming into T1. Another medal for the collection.
March 2021: The winning ways continue
Back to a full racing calendar, Baekkegard’s season kicks off in winning fashion with victory at Ironman 70.3 Dubai, followed two months later with bronze at Ironman Tulsa.
August 2021: An eye-catching performance at the Collins Cup
As part of a ridiculously strong Team Europe in the inaugural Collins Cup, captain’s pick Baekkegard is the third-fastest male athlete behind team-mates Frodeno and Iden.
September 2021: A first world championship medal
Come September and another third place, this time at the Ironman 70.3 worlds in St George in Utah. The season ends with gold at Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote.
June 2022: A victory in his backyard
Baekkegard continues to split his schedule between half- and full-Iron racing, and takes victory in the former format at Ironman 70.3 Elsinore.
This is compensation for his recent performance at the Ironman worlds in St George, where he runs out of steam on the marathon, and where the whole field is blown away by Kristian Blummenfelt.
November 2022: Silver at Ironman Israel
Takes the runners-up spot to Germany's Patrick Lange.
March 2023: Bronze in Miami
Starts his season on the podium in third place behind Jason West and Tom Bishop at Clash Miami.
June 2023: Fourth in Roth
In a course-record breaking race, Baekkegard finishes just off the podium in fourth.
November 2023: Wins the first-ever Challenge Canberra
Despite a tricky swim, a "terrible transition" and a downhill crash on the bike, Baekkegard chased down the leaders to take the lead halfway through the run.
December 2023: Wins Ironman Western Australia
A week later, he's at the top of the podium again, this time at Ironman Western Australia, Busselton.
Bækkegård and women's winner Fenella Langridge both set new course records, Daniel with a time of 7:34:23, almost 11 minutes ahead of the previous best and six minutes clear of Perth’s Matt Burton second.
It's a great end-of-year result for Daniel, who hadn't made a podium since Miami. On the flip side, he's never finished lower than seventh either.
Daniel Baekkegard in quotes
On his first visit to Kona in 2019 where difficulties on the bike dictated a 15th place: “I was just there to gain experience and I learned a heck of a lot. I made some mistakes. Going through the lava fields, I remember grabbing one of those salt tablets and just threw it into my mouth. That was a lot of salt!”
On his top-10 finish in the delayed Ironman World Championship in St George in 2022: “St George didn’t disappoint in the level of hurt! Seventh place in a race where I swam and rode my bike my chance. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough left in the tank to be in contention on the run… Back to the drawing board.”
On competing in the Collins Cup: “To get the captain’s pick for the second year in a row for the Collins Cup is a huge privilege. The PTO are just taking things to a new level.”
What’s next for Daniel Baekkegard?
Baekkegard has plenty of time in his tank to seriously compete for a world title and will surely double his chances by continuing to race at both 70.3 and Ironman.
Top image credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for Ironman
