Rising Norwegian star underlines Kona claims and says that’s now the big goal

Solveig Løvseth‘s first IRONMAN race saw her shatter the record for the fastest full-distance time on debut.

That was in what was surely the standout women’s race so far in 2025 as she rounded out the podium in Hamburg behind Laura Philipp and Kat Matthews as they repeated their epic IRONMAN World Championship one-two from last year.

And in her second race, Løvseth notched her first IRONMAN win with another eyecatching performance at Lake Placid on Sunday.

All of which means she simply has to be on the shortlist for a podium spot at the very least when the best women in the world line up in Kona in October.

‘I like that it is a long day’

And that was front and centre of Løvseth’s thoughts when the Norwegian was interviewed after her Lake Placid success, which she rounded off with a 2:46 marathon.

She said of the race, which saw her needing to make up time after both the swim and bike: “I think that was just being patient really.

“I think what I like about the Ironman distance is that it is a long day. So you don’t have to stress too much. I lost some time in the beginning. And to be honest I was expecting to maybe lose some time on the swim but I lost a bit more than I thought I would.

“And I was also maybe expecting to gain some time on the front on the bike which I didn’t do at all. So it was all about just keep believing that I could win in the end.

“And I was going out quite hard on the run and trying to just keep it all together and am really proud that I made it work in the end.”

All about the Worlds

The victory, combined with that third place in Hamburg and a win at 70.3 Venice-Jesolo, means she’s sitting pretty in the latest IRONMAN Pro Series standings.

And asked what her goals are for the rest of the campaign, she added: “For sure, I want to do well in the Pro Series. That’s one of the reasons I’m here now.

“After Hamburg I realised that the Pro Series was something I wanted to do. And then it was really only two IRONMANS left this year. So it made it easy to plan the rest of the season to go here and then Kona is then my next big goal. Kona and Marbella [for the 70.3 Worlds in November].