This is a preview of the race – click here to read about dramatic wins for Harry Palmer and Lizzie Rayner.
UPDATE: This preview was written before the late withdrawal of Solveig Løvseth – click here for news on that.
The hunt for crucial Pro Series points continues this weekend as IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea hosts two strong fields of world-class athletes – including full-distance world champion Solveig Løvseth.
Eager to stretch her lead at the top of the table, she arrives in Wales this weekend as very much the favourite to add another win to what has already been a hugely successful 2026 season.
She may be the biggest name on show, but in triathlon, victory is never guaranteed, and the Norwegian will know many dangerous women are lurking in the field waiting for their chance to record what would be a memorable scalp.
With the huge crowds and stunning south Wales scenery, this is always a favourite race on the calendar… Here’s all you need to know.
Start time and how to watch live
IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea takes place on Sunday, July 12, with the male pros starting at 7am BST, and the women getting underway just five minutes later.
A 7am local time start in the UK means it will be 08:00 in Central Europe, 02:00 on the USA’s East Coast, 01:00 in central USA, and 23:00 on Saturday out on the Pacific Coast.
In Western Australia, the time will be 14:00 on Sunday, which means 15:30 in Central Australia and 16:00 on the western coast. The race starts at 18:00 in New Zealand.
As part of the IRONMAN Pro Series, the race will be screened live on the IRONMAN YouTube channel which is embedded below so you don’t need to leave this page.
The course
One of the most stunning sights on the IRONMAN Pro Series circuit, the course combines the region’s outstanding natural beauty with its rich history and is always packed with thousands of supporters, making it one of the best experiences in triathlon.
Starting with the 1.9km swim – a one-loop lap in the enclosed sea waters of the Prince of Wales Dock – the athletes then head out on the stunning 90km bike route, taking them through Mumbles, along roads that hug the Gower’s coastal clifftops, before heading out through rural Swansea and back along Swansea Bay into the city.
The flat 21.1km run course is a two-loop trek setting off from Swansea city centre towards the Mumbles before heading back to the finishing line at the marina.
Elite women
All eyes will be on IRONMAN World Champion Solveig Løvseth this weekend as she lines up for her first professional race in the UK, both as preparation for the 70.3 World Championship later this year and to pick up more points in her push for the Pro Series title.
The Norwegian has competed three times this year, securing full-distance wins at Texas and Hamburg after finishing second at 70.3 Oceanside, and she goes into Sunday’s race as the clear favourite to add another victory to her 2026 calendar.
There are, however, some strong athletes in the women’s field who, on their day, are capable of pushing Løvseth all the way, including French star Marjolaine Pierré, with whom she has already done battle this season.
Pierré was leading the way in Hamburg until Løvseth hunted her down and powered through for the win. However, her form in 70.3 has been particularly impressive in recent months, securing back-to-back victories at Pays d’Aix, a fourth in Valencia, and she was second in Sweden last weekend.
Poland’s Marta Lagownik arrives in Swansea having recently won her hometown race at Challenge Gdansk, while Germany’s Lena Meissner has picked up four podium places this season, including thirds at the 70.3s in Elsinore, Kraichgau and Valencia.
There is also a strong home contingent from the UK racing, with the likes of Stephanie Clutterbuck joining Lizzie Raynor, India Lee, Rebecca Anderbury, Nikki Bartlett and Kate Curran in the field.
Elite men
The highest-ranked Pro Series athlete in the men’s field is Briton Kieran Lindars, who currently sits in 11th place, having secured ninth-placed finishes at both IRONMAN Texas and the shortened race at Frankfurt two weeks ago.
He is one of a host of British athletes lining up in the men’s race, a list which also includes two-year defending champion Harry Palmer, the recent winner of Challenge’s ‘The Championship’, Matthew Collins, Thomas Davis, and Andrew Horsfall-Turner.
Other names worth looking out for are France’s Florent Lefebvre, who finished third at Challenge Gdansk recently, and countryman Pierre Le Corre, who started the season with a couple of runners-up places at Challenge Sir Bani-Yas and IRONMAN New Zealand as he continues his transition from short-course specialist.
Two athletes who will be well known to triathlon audiences are Germany’s Mika Noodt and the Netherlands’ Youri Keulen.
Noodt focused his entire 2025 season on the T100 Triathlon World Championships, but with there being fewer races this year, he has taken the opportunity to spread out into the realms of 70.3.
Keulen is another athlete who spent last season solely on the T100 circuit, but this year has seen him take a successful step up in distance as, in May, he competed in his first-ever full-distance IRONMAN in Brazil and finished second.
What’s on the line?
The prize purse for this race is $50,000, with $25,000 split equally between the women’s and the men’s races. The top eight from each field receive prize money.
1st: $7,500
2nd: $5,000
3rd: $3,750
4th: $3,000
5th: $2,000
6th: $1,500
7th: $1,250
8th: $1,000
There are also two qualifying slots per gender up for grabs for next year’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
