Photos: Kevin Mackinnon
So how impressive is Solveig Løvseth’s IRONMAN record? How’s three wins and one third-place finish in four attempts? Ever since the Paris Olympian moved up to long-distance racing, she’s lived up to the impossibly high standards her Norwegian male counterparts have set on the long-distance front over the last few years, continuing that streak with an impressive win today here in The Woodlands.
You can’t control what everyone else does in a race, so it’s not Løvseth’s fault that she won Kona after two of the sport’s biggest stars either were forced to pull out (Lucy Charles-Barclay) or collapsed close to the finish line (Taylor Knibb). In fact, you could argue that the pressure the Norwegian was putting on the two leaders pushed them past their limits on that day. And, after all the hype around today’s IRONMAN Texas North American Championship as a bit of a “Kona rematch” (even if Charles-Barclay wasn’t here), a non-finish of one of the favourites factored into the day. This time it was Kat Matthews, the three-time defending champion here in Texas and the woman who came oh-so-close to running Løvseth down in Kona last year who pulled out due to a ripped tire. (According to Matthews’ Instagram report, the bike technician who arrived to help her didn’t have a wheel that would work on her bike, so he fixed the flat with a tube and used a one-dollar bill to seal the ripped tire, but eventually that would wear thin so she had to pull out.)
There’s nothing Løvseth can do about that other than look to beat the people she’s still racing against, which the Norwegian executed in excellent style. Her times today were just a shade slower than Matthews’ course-record performances last year (2:49:19 run split and 8:10:34 overall time) – Løvseth would win today in 8:11:09 thanks to a 56:44 swim, 4:20:22 bike and 2:49:52 run. What is most impressive, though, was the fact that Løvseth posted the day’s fastest bike and run splits, riding a shade over two-minutes faster than Knibb, who set the bike course record here last year.
Margarita Ryan ...
... was all smiles after leading the way out of the water.
Knibb wasn't far behind, setting herself up nicely to get clear on the bike.
Knibb started the day off exactly to plan, coming out of the water with a group of four women led by American Margarita Ryan – they were about three minutes up on Løvseth and Matthews heading out onto the bike. Knibb didn’t exactly seem to be following the “back things off on the bike” plan through the early going, and once Matthews was out of the picture due to her flat, the day truly became a two-woman affair as the Norwegian managed to whittle the three- to four-minute gap down to just 68 seconds by the time the pair hit T2. Kiwi Hannah Berry and Spain’s Marta Sanchez arrived in transition roughly 10 minutes behind, while American Jackie Hering and Aussie Grace Thek were almost 17 minutes behind.
Things looked good early for Kat Matthews on the bike
Knibb struggled to ride under control as she led the field on the bike.
Løvseth would steadily gain time on the American on the bike.
Sanchez rode near the front for the entire day after coming out of the water in second.
Once out on the run it became apparent that Løvseth was going to run Knibb down, which she did by the five-mile point of the marathon. The American kept things close for the next 10 miles, keeping the gap to under a minute, but once she dropped off at about 16 miles, the Norwegian kept the pressure up and would eventually get to the line 3:39 ahead.
Once she made the pass, Løvseth kept the pressure on and would gradually pull away from Knibb.
Knibb was thrilled with her 2:54 marathon split.
Sanchez was never a threat for one of the top two steps on the podium, but was definitely the “best of the rest,” finishing the day with a sub-three hour marathon. Hering would do the same – running the beginning part of the marathon with Thek, before pulling clear for a 2:59 effort to take fourth, with Thek finishing fifth.
Hering and Thek would run together for a while in the marathon before the American pulled clear to take fourth, with the Aussie finishing fifth.
So what does all this portend for Kona this October? Who knows. But, based on my conversation with Løvseth after the race, her mindset, coupled with all these wins, certainly makes her the woman to beat on the Big Island this year.
Here’s what the podium finishers had to say in my brief interviews after they finished.
Solveig, congratulations — another great race. You’re having all these amazing races, but it doesn’t look like it’s getting any easier. People keep pushing you harder.
Yeah, it definitely doesn’t get easier. I’m happy that I sort of forget in between each race how hard it is, because the last kilometres are always just so brutal.
Coming in here as the reigning world champion — does that put a little bit of pressure on you?
I don’t really feel it, to be honest. I don’t think I see it that way as much. Maybe right at the start line I was feeling it a little bit more, but once you’re racing you just try to win.
I think for me, winning Kona is just … it will always be such a highlight of my career, and something I didn’t really think I would ever achieve. So honestly, regardless of what happens in the next years, I will always have that world championship title, and that’s something I’m really proud of. In a way it also takes the pressure off a little bit, because I’ve actually done it now. I could retire and be really happy with my career! That said, I of course want to have many more years in the sport and hope to have many good races ahead. But yes — regardless of everything else — I’m just really, really grateful that I have that memory from last year.
What’s it like to be part of this Norwegian wave of great athletes? It must be pretty exciting.
It is really fun. I’ve definitely been learning so much from the boys over the years. We all started out in the national team together, so we have a long history. Ever since I started triathlon they’ve been great role models for me, and I’m really grateful to be a part of that. I guess the next step is just to get some more girls in the team, because sometimes it can be a little lonely being the only girl in the group!
Taylor, congratulations. I felt like the goal was to go sub-three in the marathon and you did it.
Yes, that was the entire goal. I wanted to learn how to run a really good IRONMAN marathon. The goal was to hold back a little bit on the bike — which I’m not sure if I fully succeeded at — and just, yeah, do it for the first time. I went 2:54, so I’m thrilled. The first half marathon felt fantastic, the second half didn’t feel as good, but you have to do some things. In terms of my IRONMAN progression, I’ve had three races where I’ve fallen apart, so it’s nice to be like, okay, stay competitive.
I was wrestling with that too when I saw you on the bike — I couldn’t decide if you were backing off or pushing. Did you feel like you were right on that edge?
Well, here’s the issue. When I get excited, I go faster and harder. It’s this vicious cycle — if I get paces and I’m beating them, I’m just so happy that I’m exceeding the paces and I go even faster. Not really a good thing in an IRONMAN, but yeah, I’m thrilled.
At one point somebody told me you stopped on the marathon. Were there any issues, or did 2:54 mean you were moving along pretty well?
I never stopped. I took care of myself at aid stations. The first one up there, I did it again at the first one of the last lap — really walked through, took as much stuff as I could, took Coke, took everything. That’s actually based on advice from Paula Newby-Fraser. After Kona, she told me, “Taylor, you always take care of yourself. I don’t care what race you’re in, what place you’re in, how tight the race is — you always take care of yourself in an IRONMAN because you need to get to the finish line.” And she told me this morning, “I’m going to have a stern talking to you if I see you on the side of the road.” So I was not stopping on the side of the road! But it’s also just a good lesson — I actually felt a lot better in the last 6 km than I did from about 26 to 32K. So it worked.
Finally, is it a relief after Kona to come back and have a good race like this? Or had you figured out what went down in Kona?
I have a fantastic doctor, and he was actually watching the whole race. We did a lot of blood tests after Kona — between Kona and Marbella I had six blood tests, so he was monitoring me very frequently. It was actually really interesting, and I might get some tests done after this race too, to see what the difference is between heat stroke and what an IRONMAN does to your body.
We determined that I was sick heading into Kona, which I kind of had a feeling about, because for the first time ever my Garmin told me my skin temperature was elevated, my HRV had plummeted, and my resting heart rate had gone up. That’s not normal for me. Because of that, my core temperature was already higher going in, and I also didn’t have a properly working hypothalamus. So he said, assuming that’s the case, it’s a very different conversation. Who knows, it might happen again — but I’ve also been doing really thorough heat prep. It’s a tough balance doing heat prep at altitude, because heat is really stressful and altitude is really stressful, so it’s finding that right balance. But I came here feeling really prepared.
Lastly, do you have to keep taking care of yourself going into Kona and in the race, or do you go for the win? Or do the two go together?
I think they do go together, because you have to take care of yourself in Kona or you won’t get to the finish line. Everyone wants to win that race, everyone is a really hardcore top athlete — that’s not the issue. The issue is having the patience, having that mentality. It’s a journey of 140 miles and so much can go wrong. But I’ve never won Kona, so I’m probably not the best person to ask!
Marta Sanchez, you’ve got the cowboy hat on, third year in a row, and a big smile. You’re pretty happy.
Yeah, I don’t know what to say, even in Spanish, because it was an amazing race. I got the spot for Kona, and I shared the podium with two real world-class athletes. It’s amazing. I can’t believe it.
How does this feel as you get ready for Kona? Those two were way out in front, but you’ve got to feel good about your preparation and where things are going.
Yeah, especially with the conditions here — it’s pretty similar to Kona with the humidity. I think I gained a bit of confidence in myself to go to Kona again this year and make a good result.
What’s next for you?
I was thinking about Hamburg, but I think I’m going to skip that and maybe go to Elsinore. But for sure the IRONMAN Pro Series.
| Place | ATHLETE | SWIM | BIKE | RUN | OVERALL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solveig Løvseth NOR | 56:44 | 4:20:22 | 2:49:52 | 8:11:09 |
| 2 | Taylor Knibb USA | 53:36 | 4:22:26 | 2:54:06 | 8:14:48 |
| 3 | Marta Sanchez ESP | 53:31 | 4:32:56 | 2:59:41 | 8:31:06 |
| 4 | Jackie Hering USA | 56:59 | 4:35:31 | 2:58:44 | 8:36:26 |
| 5 | Grace Thek AUS | 56:54 | 4:36:09 | 3:03:02 | 8:40:44 |
| 6 | Sara Svensk SWE | 1:05:16 | 4:33:19 | 2:58:10 | 8:41:38 |
| 7 | Hannah Berry NZL | 56:29 | 4:29:23 | 3:12:41 | 8:43:16 |
| 8 | Jana Uderstadt GER | 1:04:26 | 4:35:58 | 3:10:56 | 8:55:34 |
| 9 | Kate Curran GBR | 56:57 | 4:49:28 | 3:09:28 | 9:00:40 |
| 10 | Gabrielle Lumkes USA | 57:13 | 4:38:37 | 3:24:32 | 9:04:52 |
| 11 | Rebecca Kawaoka USA | 1:05:38 | 4:50:36 | 3:05:20 | 9:06:27 |
| 12 | Katie Remond AUS | 1:05:17 | 4:51:01 | 3:12:45 | 9:14:03 |