“Why is she tired, Mummy?” asked my little Miss this morning as I gasped at seeing Norway’s Solveig Løvseth wobble and eventually collapse in the final kilometre (or so) of the Ironman — Solveig’s mind fighting on determined to get to the finish but her body clearly saying no.
We were watching the Ironman World Championship broadcast on YouTube, and while my little Miss was itching to go to the playground by that point, I couldn’t tear myself away from the coverage.
The 2026 edition of the Ironman World Championship did not disappoint.
And while I slept through a lot of the swim and bike — I briefly woke at around 2:00AM, put the race on, on my phone via Ironman YouTube and left it playing through my headphones as I drifted in and out of sleep — by morning, fully awake at last, with the rest of the bike and then the run to go, I was glued.
The swim
Viewing the swim recap there were no real surprises here.
Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) led the swim from the sound of the cannon, with Taylor Knibb (USA) emerging as her closest challenger, sitting around 1 minute 27 seconds back and working hard to keep the pace high throughout much of the swim.
Lucy was first out of the water in 51:29 and onto the bike, followed by Taylor 1 minute 26 seconds behind.
The bike
Lucy led the bike until about the 40km mark when Taylor caught and passed the 2023 Ironman World Champion.
From there it quickly became a game of cat and mouse, with Lucy and Taylor each determined to lead the race.
At around the 120km mark, Taylor made her final move stick and this time held the lead into T2, completing the bike in 4:40:07, 3:06 ahead of Lucy.
Last year’s winner, Solveig Løvseth (NOR) reached T2 in third.
The run
Taylor looked in control through the first half of the marathon, pulling away from Lucy and carrying a 3 minute 12 second advantage over Solveig at the halfway mark.
But the defending champion was coming.
Having moved past Lucy for second at around the 16km mark, Solveig steadily hunted down the American.
Lucy’s race ended up eerily similar to last year, with her day coming to an end at around 28km into the marathon — her heartbreak repeated.
View here for a recap of Lucy’s withdrawal in 2025:
This left the battle for the world title focused on the 2 women at the front.
At 34km, Solveig finally caught Taylor and moved into the lead, but Taylor wasn’t about to let the race go, hanging onto her heels.
Then, with less than 2km to run, the race turned again!
Solveig began to stagger and eventually collapsed onto the side of the road, her mind wanting to fight on to the finish; her body saying, no!
With Solveig unable to do more than to shuffle forward, Taylor ran back into the lead and onto an extraordinary Ironman World Championship victory.
It’s not over til it’s over!
After her gutsy performance throughout the day — and considering what happened last year! — I’m so happy Taylor got the win, but it was Solveig’s determination that’s stayed with me.
Refusing to quit, Solveig got back up and walked the final approx. 2kms to the finish, SMILING and HIGH-FIVING the crowd who cheered her home in 8th place.
A bloody great finish considering how it COULD have ended for her!
That’s the definition of the Ironman spirit right there! She could have easily called it a day, but chose to carry on and FINISH despite the circumstances.
And the coverage?
I realised, throughout the event, that Ironman had replaced basically the entire commentary team. Only Mirinda Carfrae, Craig Alexander, Jan Frodeno and Laura Siddall remained from the old team.
Overall, while it wasn’t groundbreaking, the coverage was better than previous years, with far more of the women’s race on the screen.
And overall, the camera crew STAYED with important moments. I yelled at the screen less this year! Win! 😉
The split screen was okay, though it only really worked on our smart TV rather than on my phone.
The commentary was also less annoying than in previous years. Another win!
Hopefully this continues and the coverage keeps improving.
Back to the toast
So, why a lesson in eating your toast?
While I was transfixed by Solveig’s courage and determination — and also shocked at what had happened and how the race was unfolding — I replied to my little Miss:
“Well, she’s tired because after swimming, bike riding and running all day, her body has run out of energy and she can’t keep going. That’s why you need to finish you toast, so you don’t run out of energy and get tired, too.”
She finished her slice of buttered Vegemite toast.
“I finished my toast, Mummy.”
Solid parenting right there! 🙂
Top 5 professional women’s results
(Source: IRONMAN)
| Pos | Name | Swim | Bike | Run | Total Time | Pro Series Points (unofficial) |
| 1 | Taylor Knibb (USA) | 52:55 | 4:40:07 | 2:57:46 | 8:36:29 | 6,000 |
| 2 | Laura Philipp (DEU) | 1:00:03 | 4:43:00 | 2:50:43 | 8:39:29 | 5,816 |
| 3 | Julie Derron (CHE) | 53:09 | 4:49:35 | 2:58:54 | 8:46:25 | 5,405 |
| 4 | Kat Matthews (GBR) | 54:57 | 4:55:34 | 2:52:50 | 8:49:38 | 5,212 |
| 5 | Imogen Simmonds (CHE) | 53:08 | 4:45:21 | 3:07:45 | 8:51:44 | 5,086 |
Feature image (supplied): Photo credit Donald Miralle/IRONMAN.
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