Norwegian triathletes were at the centre of a dramatic Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, on Sunday, with Solveig Løvseth's late collapse and Gustav Iden's charge to silver dominating a race that NRK described as one people will talk about for a long time.
Løvseth, the defending champion, appeared to be in full control of the women's race. According to NRK, she passed American Taylor Knibb around 34 kilometres into the marathon and took the lead, having already completed the 3.8-kilometre swim and 180-kilometre bike leg. Her advantage grew, and a second world title looked within reach.
Then her race unravelled. NRK reports that Løvseth could barely walk or stand, and had to lie down several times on the course. Commentators on the broadcast were left searching for words to describe what they were watching.
"It is quite awful to watch," her former coach, Arild Tveiten, told NRK.
Knibb went back past Løvseth and went on to take the title in a winning time of eight hours, 36 minutes and 29 seconds.
Some time later, Løvseth was back on her feet and walked the final kilometre to the finish. NRK reports she smiled, gave high fives to spectators along the way, and raised her arms above her head as she crossed the line.
The result comes a year after she won the Ironman World Championship on her very first attempt at the distance, just months after she began racing full-distance triathlon.
Why it matters
Norway arrived in Hawaii with a lot to live up to. At last year's championship in Nice in September, Casper Stornes won ahead of Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt, and a month later Løvseth delivered the women's world title. A repeat of that sweep was on the table for much of Sunday's race.
Instead, the day produced one of the more striking finishes in recent memory and left Norway with a single medal, Iden's silver. It also underlined how unforgiving the full-distance format is: Løvseth had looked the strongest athlete on the course before her body stopped cooperating, and several other contenders, including Blummenfelt and Denmark's Magnus Ditlev, faded badly over the closing kilometres.
Iden's penalty and a long chase back
In the men's race, Vincent Luis of France, 37, claimed his first Ironman world title in seven hours, 47 minutes and 27 seconds, finishing one minute and 35 seconds ahead of Iden.
Iden's path to silver ran through the penalty tent. NRK reports he served a three-minute sanction for drafting — a breach of the distance rules during the bike leg — and that the stop likely cost him the win. Professional athletes are generally required to keep at least 20 metres apart, measured from front wheel to front wheel, and have 45 seconds to complete a pass.
He began the marathon in ninth place, eight minutes and 43 seconds behind Ditlev and three minutes and 13 seconds adrift of Luis. Speaking on the Ironman broadcast before serving the penalty, he said it might be too much to ask for him to close that gap on the run, at least for the win, though he thought the podium was possible.
He did close it. Iden ran his way from ninth to second over the closing marathon, but told NRK he believed the leader was within reach before his body gave out late.
"I thought I had him there, but it got so incredibly hard at the end," the 30-year-old from Ytre Arna told NRK.
Afterwards, he described the day as an emotional rollercoaster and said the penalty knocked the wind out of him, in an interview with the race organiser.
"It was completely crazy. There were some nerve-wracking minutes on the sofa here," training partner and reigning world champion Casper Stornes told NRK.
Ditlev and Blummenfelt fade as Marquardt takes bronze
Ditlev looked strong for nearly 30 kilometres of the marathon, but he too hit the wall. NRK reports the Dane stopped completely several times to cool down and take on fluids, and eventually struggled simply to keep moving forward.
Kristian Blummenfelt's troubles followed shortly after. The 32-year-old had run himself into a medal position, but was passed in quick succession by Gregory Barnaby, Iden and Matthew Marquardt. Marquardt took bronze, while Blummenfelt finished eighth, ten minutes and 39 seconds behind the winner.
"I am extremely tired and disappointed. I felt good right up until I suddenly just boiled with 15–20 kilometres left. Then it was hard to recover," Blummenfelt told NRK.
He said he realised the podium was slipping away when Luis opened a small gap.
"When Vincent Luis got a little gap, I understood that 'now it's cracking'. Then I understood the podium was going to go. I was blown," he told NRK.
Jon Sæverås Breivold secured a strong 14th place, and Marius Bjerkeset finished 38th, according to NRK.
Blummenfelt has won the Ironman World Championship before, but never on Hawaii. Iden became the first Norwegian to win in Kona in 2022.
The athletes covered 3.8 kilometres of swimming, 180 kilometres of cycling and a 42.2-kilometre marathon — roughly 226 kilometres in total — with the time spent transitioning between disciplines also counting towards their finish.
The next question is how Løvseth recovers from a finish that drew concern from those watching, and whether Norway's men can convert depth in the field into another title when the championship returns.
