What a race: Ironman World Championship delivers two winners in dramatic fashion in Kona
In the men's race, Vincent Luis of France won his first World Championship in his first try and last race while American Taylor Knibb won the women's race after the leader collapsed with 1 km to go.
Saturday’s races in Kailua-Kona will go down as one of the most memorable Ironman World Championships in its 48-year history.
In the men’s race, Magnus Ditlev of Denmark looked like he was headed to victory, but with a little more than five miles to go in the grueling 140.2-mile triathlon he began to wobble and at 4.5 miles he was passed by Vincent Luis of France.
The 37-year-old, who was making his World Championship debut and said it also would be his final race before retiring from a 20-year career, won in in 7 hours, 47 minutes and 27 seconds.
“I just felt really good the last three months I prepared,” Luis said. “And I was like, this is the last time I had to commit that hard for a race.
“I have a few nights out to decide what I do with my life now.”
In the women’s race, Norwegian Solveig Løvseth was within 1 km of defending her World Championship and also capturing the Ironman Pro Series title for a $325,000 payday.
But she began to breakdown and collapsed with a lead of about 1 minute and 50 seconds. She fell down multiple times and got up to run, and then to walk.
Longtime race leader Taylor Knibb of the United States, who threw up late in the race and with 4.5 miles left was passed by Løvseth, hung in there. She passed Løvseth while she was lying on the ground and then ran down Ali’i Drive to win in 8:36:29.
Knibb could relate to Løvseth’s disappointment. A year ago, it was Knibb who was on her way to victory at the World Championship when she collapsed about two miles from the finish line and could not finish.
“I think last year played a huge part, because when I was entering the Energy Lab (during the run), I made a big decision, and it was just, take care of yourself,” Knibb said. “It was getting really hard, and so when Solveig came back, I’m like I can’t fight, because if I fight, I’m gonna lose.”
She said she learned from last year: “Get to the finish line. Get to the finish line. Get to the finish line.”
For the pro results, click here.
It was the first time since 2019 that the men and women were competing together in Kona.
The men and women winners of the World Championship each get $125,000.
In the men’s race, after Luis, a two-time, short-course world champion, passed Ditlev, he held off a chase by 2022 World Champion Gustav Iden of Norway to become the improbable 2026 World Champion.
“I’m going to try not to cry too much,” Iden said. “But yeah, it was a roller coaster of a day. The air went a little bit out of me when I got a (3-minute) drafting penalty. In my opinion, it was a little bit stupid because I got it for not pulling back fast enough.”
Iden lost the race by just 1 minute and 35 seconds. But he had a good consoluation prize. Iden came from 10 minutes behind in the Ironman Pro Series to capture the title and $200,000 bonus. He had 20,176 points to beat out Jonas Schomburg of Germany by just 40 points. Schomburg took home a $130,000 bonus.
Iden said he was wearing a special suit to honor his mother who died of cancer three years ago.
“I’m not going to make it like this story about myself, but I mean we all do sports for our own reason,” he said.
American Matthew Marquardt was third in 7:49:59, 2:31 behind. During the bike, he was leading when he was shown a yellow card and ordered to serve a 3-minute penalty, dropping him back to ninth.
“It’s a long day and so I told myself when it happened that I wasn’t going to give up and that I was still going to give myself a shot,” Marquardt said.
Luis, who finished fourth at Challenge Roth on his debut last year, had secured his Kona place with another fourth at Ironman Texas in April, finishing in 7:25:29.
In the women’s race, it was almost history repeating itself.
Former World Champion Lucy Charles-Barclay of the United Kingdom also was in the hunt, but she again faltered on the run and had to pull out of the race. She also had to quit the race last year.
Løvseth also was within 1 kim of winning the Ironman Pro Series title and $200,000 bonus. But the title went to Laura Philipp of Germany, who finished second in the race on the strength of her 2:50:43 marathon. She finished 3:05 behind the 28-year-old Knibb.
Julie Derron came from the back of the pack to finish third, 9:56 behind Knibb.
Philipp said: “How the day started and how it now ended, it’s just crazy.
“In the swim, I got really seasick. It was quite big waves, so the swim wasn’t really good. But I think at the end, the positive thing was that I did a solo ride, and that meant I could just focus on myself. I didn’t have to worry about the race ranger (who gives penalties for drafting and other infractions) or any group dynamics.”
Phillip said it felt really special to get the silver medal: “Now I have a full set: a win, a second and a third, two thirds.”
And loud cheers could be heard for the 8th place finisher. Løvseth walked the last kilometer, with supporters around her, to the finish line, 25 minutes and 39 seconds behind Knibb. She was all smiles, and gave Knibb a big hug. By finishing in that position, she finished second in the Pro Series, good for $130,000.
26.2-mile Run
The men and women have begun the 26.2-mile run, the final leg of the Ironman World Championship in Kona, in overcast but hot conditions.
It looked like 2023 World Champion Sam Laidlow was in great position, in second place off the bike and just 87 seconds behind leader Magnus Ditlev of Denmark. But Laidlow began walking early in the run, stocking up on ice. He began running, but pulled out less than five miles into the run. Laidlow said he has had a problem with his leg and couldn’t continue.
At the 6-mile, Ditlev had extended his lead to 3:24 over American Matthew Marquardt and 3:51 ahead of Gregory Barnaby of Italy.
At the 13.5-mile mark, a little past halfway in the marathon, Ditlev had a commanding 4:30 lead over second place Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway. In third place was Vincent Luis, 11 seconds. behind Blummenfelt. American Matthew Marquardt was in fourth, eight seconds out of the podium.
Ditlev was looking in control until about 7.5 miles, while he wobbled going through an aid station, appearing to deal with a cramp. He began to slow down. At each aid station he stocked up on ice.
Chasing Ditlev down is Vincent Luis of France, who was fifth after the bike, 6:04 behind. At age 37, he said this was his last Kona race.
With 4.7 miles to go, Luis caugth Ditlev at an aid station. Ditlev stopped and walked,
Also chasing down Ditlev was Norwegian Gustav Eden, who started the run 9:09 down. The deficit include a 3-minute drafting penalty for Eden, who won the 2022 World Championship.
American Taylor Knibb starts the run in first place for the women, with a 3:06 lead over Lucy Charles-Barclay of the United Kingdom, who finished first in the swim.
But both Knibb and Charles-Barclay dropped out of the race last year. The 28-year-old Knibb was in position to win her first World Championship until she collapsed on the run course with about two miles to go, allowing Løvseth to pass. And Charles-Barclay could not continue a little more than halfway into the run course.
At the 6.5-mile mark of the marathon, about a quarter of the way, Knibb remained in the lead. She was 2:40 over Charles-Barclay and 3:43 over the defending World Champion Solveig Løvseth of Norway.
With 15.8 miles to go, Løvseth passed Charles-Barclay into second.
112-mile Bike
The 6-foot-5 Magnus Ditlev of Denmark was the first off the 112-mile bike in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, entering the marathon leg with a 87-second lead over Sam Laidlow of France and 2:23 edge over American Matthew Marquardt.
Marquardt was in third despite having to serve a three-minute drafting penalty.
Laidlow was the 2023 World Champion.
The rainy weather of the early morning and 2.4-mile swim in Kailua Bay to start the race made way to sun, with hot, steamy and windy conditions. The temperature got into the mid 80s, with feels like temperatures several degress higher.
In the women’s race, American Taylor Knibb, a three-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion, took the lead over Lucy Charles-Barclay, the 2023 Ironman World Champion who was first out of the water. Knibb, who was second in the swim, made up the 1:26 deficit.
The two continued to battle over the course, but Knibb pulled away in the last miles and finished first off the bike, averaging 24.06 mph for a 4:40:07 bike. She had a 3:06 lead over Charles-Barclay and 4:48 over defending World Champion Solveig Løvseth of Norway.
For the men, German Jonas Schomburg was leading at the 57-mile mark of the bike. His average pace was 27.16 mph as he was nearing the turnaround point in Hawi.
But heading back toward Kona on the downhill and with a tailwind he began to cramp. Marquardt took the lead, and later Ditlev took the lead from Marquardt.
Norwegian Kristain Blummenfelt, who was out in the water more than 8 minutes after the leader, has pulled within 1:40 in 6th place. Gustav Iden, the 2022 World Champion, was in 8th, 1:46 behind.
Three-time World Champion Patrick Lange of Germany had pulled over at the end of the Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway, and appeared that he might be pulling out of the race. But the 40-year-old got back on his bike and has continued to race.
But Lange, who said this would be his last race in Kona, pulled out due to cramping.
For the Ironman Pro Series title, which earns the men’s and women’s winner a $200,000 bonus, Løvseth entered the race with a 61-point lead entering Kona. So she just needs to finish within exactly 1 minute of second place Laura Phillip.
At the 80-mile mark of the bike, Løvseth, in 9th place, had a 4:30 lead over Phillip, in 13th place.
In the men’s Pro Series, Van Riel entered the race as the leader, by 3:14 over Schomburg, 4:08 lead over Blummenfelt and 10 minutes over Iden.
2.4-mile Swim
After the 2.4-mile swim in Kailua Bay on Saturday morning, Pro Series contender Marten Van Riel of Belgium was leading the men’s race of the Ironman World Championship in Kona.
Van Riel, who is making his Kona debut, was the first of a group of 25 or so out of the choppy water at 48 minutes and 17 seconds, just one second ahead of Menno Koolhaus of the Netherlands and 4 seconds ahead of Wilhelm Hirsch.
German Patrick Lange, a three-time winner of the World Championship, was 11th out of the water, 12 seconds behind the leader. Other race favorites Sam Laidlaw finished 16 seconds behind. Norwegians Kristan Blummenfelt was 31 seconds off the lead, and Gustav Iden was 26th, 1:52 behind.
In the women’s pro race, as expected, premiere swimmer Lucy Charles-Barclay was the first out of the water in 51 minutes and 29 seconds. She built a 1:26 lead over American Taylor Knibb and a 1:30 edge over Marta Sanchez.
“I always take the swim out hard,” Charles-Barclay said before the race. “Takes the pressure off coming into T1 (first transition). … If you are not beig seen, nobody knows where you are.”
Women race favorites Kat Matthews of the United Kingdom was 14th out of the water, behind by 3:27. But it was a good swim for Matthews, who is stronger in the other two legs of the race.
She finished ahead of defending champion Solveig Lovseth of Norway, who was 16th out of the water and almost 4 minutes behind Charles-Barclay. Laura Philipp, who is battling Lovseth for the Pro Series title, will have some time to make up. She was 30th out of the water, 8:34 behind Charles-Barclay.
The racers next take on the 112-mile bike course, followed by a marathon to complete the grueling 140.6-mile course.
Original pre-race story Saturday morning
Before the sun rose Saturday morning, the 110 pro triathletes and about 2,427 amateur racers registered from 85 countries arrived in downtown Kailua-Kona to a rainy start to race day of the gruelding 140.6-mile Ironman World Championship.
Some walked with umbrellas down Aliʻi Drive, while others were draped in towels and plastic bags to try to keep dry. Rains were light, but there was evidence of heavy downpour in the night with the parking lots and other areas featuring deep puddles.
“It may be cooler, but at same time it might be humid and take away some energy,” said Xiroving, an amateur competitor from Canada.
The men pros will dive into Kailua Bay for the start of the 2.4-mile swim, the first leg of the prestigious triathlon, at 6:20 a.m., following by the pro women at 6:30 a.m., with the amateur field to follow by age groups starting at 6:38 a.m.
Two hours before race time and it was high tide at Kailua Bay, with rough conditions. And it remained that way for the swim.
Before the athletes dove in, the traditional Hawaiian ceremony was performed to bless the race and the National Anthem of the United States was performed.
For the pros, there are two things at stake: the World Championship and the Pro Series title. The winners of the World Championship receive $125,000 and the winners of the Pro Series receive a $200,000 bonus.
Defending World Champion Solveig Løvseth of Norway heads up the elite women’s field, while German Patrick Lange, a three-time World Champion, is a sentimental favorite on the men’s side. the 40-year-old said this is his last Kona Ironman. For the story about the pros, click here.
It is the first time men and women are racing together in Kona since 2019, before the COVID-19 global pandemic forced the cancelation of the 2020 World Championship and led to years of format changes.
This year, there are 689 female athletes registered, making up 27% of the field.
Elisabeth Hickox from Newport, R.I., ran her first World Championship last year when it was all women. The 61-year-old, who runs in honor of her deceased father who also was a triathlete, said her second one this time with both men and women is “definitely different.”
“Having all women and only women felt for lack of a better word, aggressive and important, but gentle,” she said. “Everyone was supportive of each other and high fiving. … But the male energy is kind of winding it up. You definitely feel the vortex. And when you already nervous, the added intensity just kind of dials it up.”
Hickox said she is happy about the weather, which she expects will cool things down, although she expects it to get steamy and said she is “ready for that.” She also is happy to see that Kailua Bay is less rough than two days earlier, when it was “better for surfing” than swimming.
For in-person spectator information, click here.
There also are two ways to watch the World Championship live:
Big Island Now will provide regular updates throughout the race.
