Redemption in Kona: Taylor Knibb Passes Løvseth in Final Mile to Win Ironman World Title
The Ironman World Championship concluded on October 10 in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii's Big Island, where American Taylor Knibb overtook defending champion Solveig Løvseth of Norway with seven-tenths of a mile left in the 140.6-mile race to capture the women's world title.
Knibb became the second American — woman or man — to win in Kona in 24 years after Chelsea Sodaro in 2022, and the first American ever to pair an Olympic medal with a Kona title. Knibb is a two-time Olympic mixed-gender triathlon relay silver medalist.
The race was pure drama. After the 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike, Løvseth passed Knibb with just under five miles left in the 26.2-mile marathon run and looked bound for a repeat. But with a mile to go, Løvseth began wobbling and sank to the pavement seated — and Knibb seized the moment, passing her to run away with the title.
The victory was also revenge a year in the making. In 2025, the script was nearly identical with the roles reversed: Løvseth overtook a seated Knibb with two miles left to win, while Knibb, struggling in the heat, did not finish. A year later, Knibb took the crown back the same way.
In the men's race, Vincent Luis of France won in an unofficial 7:47:27 — both his Ironman World Championship debut and, by his pre-race account, possibly his final race. The 37-year-old Tokyo Olympic mixed relay bronze medalist trailed Denmark's Magnus Ditlev by 5:34 going into the run and still by 3:31 with 7.7 miles left; but Ditlev began intermittently walking, Luis passed him with just under five miles to go, and held off 2022 champion Gustav Iden of Norway by 95 seconds. Iden had served a three-minute drafting penalty on the bike.
"I just felt really good; the last three months I prepared, and I was like, this is the last time I have to commit that hard for a race," Luis said afterward. "I went through some dark places in the last three or four kilometers. 100% worth it, but let me have a few nights out to decide what I'll do with my life now."
For security, FBI Honolulu and partners enforced FAA temporary flight restrictions around Kailua-Kona, cracking down on rogue drones. Agents could use specialized detection tools to identify and seize violators' drones; offenders face up to $75,000 in civil fines, $100,000 in criminal fines and up to a year in prison.
(Sources: NBC Sports, FBI)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国海军 Deborah Carson 摄，公有领域（Wikimedia Commons）
