Daniel Baekkegard is a professional athlete from Danmark who dreams of winning the Ironman World Championship in Kona – and as you’ll see Daniel most certainly has the skills and motivation to do so!
In 2019 he transferred into long-distance triathlon racing. He secured himself a spot at the Ironman World Championship In Hawaii, where he placed 15th with a 08:19:30 time. Around 30 minutes behind Jan Frodeno’s incredible winning time. However, due to the cancellations of the race in Kona, we’re still waiting to see Daniels comeback. However, he has undoubtedly proved himself to be a winning candidate.
Daniels’s journey hasn’t always been easy. Daniel moved to Odense in Denmark to go to the Olympics (Tokya 2020), but he wasn’t picked for the qualifications, and he was sacked from the national team. It was a terrible experience for Daniel, who said, ” I gained a lot of weight, and I didn’t do well at practice anymore. And getting sacked from the national team was a kick to the face.”
But in 2019 Daniel turned it all around and won his first 70.3 at IM Finland and only a week after he went to Austria and won his first full distance Ironman – Such an incredible and inspiring comeback!
How old is Daniel Baekkegard?
Daniel Baekkegard is born on the 26th of April 1996, which makes him 25 years old.
How tall is Daniel Baekkegard?
Daniel Baekkegard is 6’2 feet (190 CM) and weighs around 172 pounds (78 kg).
Daniel Baekkegard, as a younger triathlete
Daniel has a background in elite swimming, where he gathered a total of 20 national championship medals.
In a documentary, Daniels mom said: ” At seven, he started as a competitive swimmer and when he was nine years old, he came to me and asked if he could swim nine times a week where three times was 5:00 a.m in the morning because he wanted to get better.”
Just Incredible!
Through the danish triathlon federation’s youth program, he switched to triathlon in 2014. He took part in his first half ironman in the 2018 IM 70.3 Marbella, where he secured 7th place. Quite impressive for a guy who recently just started during a triathlon.
Daniel Baekkegard’s Career highlights
| Date | Placement | Race | Swim Bike Run | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Mar 2022 | 2 | IM 70.3 Dubai | 22:51 1:53:30 1:09:29 | 3:27:53 |
| 9 Oct 2021 | 1 | IM 70.3 Lanzarote | 23:29 2:16:57 1:17:24 | 4:03:29 |
| 18 Sep 2021 | 3 | IM 70.3 World Championship | 23:51 2:03:01 1:13:22 | 3:42:23 |
| 28 Aug 2021 | 3 | Collins Cup | 25:21 1:47:05 59:19 | 3:15:27 |
| 23 May 2021 | 3 | IM Tulsa | 46:33 4:17:51 2:44:34 | 7:52:58 |
| 12 Mar 2021 | 1 | IM 70.3 Dubai | 23:20 1:55:44 1:10:00 | 3:33:01 |
| 5 Sep 2020 | 1 | IM 70.3 Tallinn | 22:44 1:59:57 1:13:56 | 3:40:07 |
| 7 Dec 2019 | 2 | IM 70.3 Bahrain | 22:23 1:52:00 1:10:40 | 3:29:15 |
| 12 Oct 2019 | 15 | IM Hawaii | 47:35 4:37:18 2:49:50 | 8:19:38 |
| 7 Jul 2019 | 1 | IM Austria | 47:01 4:28:22 2:53:10 | 8:14:26 |
| 29 Jun 2019 | 1 | IM 70.3 Finland | 23:20 2:04:14 1:13:21 | 3:45:38 |
| 2 Sep 2018 | 3 | Challenge Walchsee | 22:52 2:08:31 1:20:03 | 3:54:44 |
| 12 Aug 2018 | 3 | Challenge Finland | 24:23 2:02:53 1:14:21 | 3:44:41 |
Baekkegard placed second in 70.3 Dubai (2022) with an outstanding performance.
Daniel Baekkegard, Van Riel, and Salvisberg led a fiercely pace during the swim to shake off the favorite, Kristian Blummenfelt.
The hard swimming gave the desired effect, and the Norwegian was set with a full minute when the Baekkegardgroup ran into the change zone.
Daniel went hard on the bike from the start to avoid dragging the short-distance specialists around on a so-called “free ride.” Fortunately, only Marten Van Riel could counter the aggressive outlay.
Daniel had a spasm in his buttock muscle which threatened to ruin a great run. However, after driving 47.5 km/h and running the half marathon at 01:09:30, he placed second on the podium next to Marten Van Riel.
Daniel said: “Both tactically and physically, they performed at a very high level, probably the best I have performed at a distance” I cant wait to see what’s in store for him during the 2022 season!
Follow Daniels journey
Daniels is quite active on his Instagram and Facebook page. He also has a great website.
If you haven’t watched it already, there is an excellent documentary about Daniel and Magnus on YouTube. I’ve watched it twice already!