World Champion Solveig Løvseth made it a Norwegian double in Texas as she dominated the marathon to power past Taylor Knibb and take a comfortable victory.
Knibb had been ahead off the bike and was looking strong as she started the run, but Løvseth – just as her compatriot Kristian Blummenfelt had done in the men’s race – went on to dominate the marathon, catching and passing the American, leaving her in her wake as she was forced to settle for second place.
It had been a two-athlete race for the win from the moment Britain’s Kat Matthews was forced to pull out, having picked up a puncture with 88km of the bike section still to ride.
The trio, clear favourites ahead of the race, looked to be setting up a thrilling battle as they manoeuvred themselves into the front three positions; however, Matthews’ misfortune left a huge gap between the front two and the rest of the field.
At one point, it looked as though Løvseth could break the course record of 08:10:34 set by Matthews last year, but she visibly tired in the final few kilometres and ended up crossing the line in 08:11:09.
Knibb, who caused a scare when she started walking through an aid station, managed to keep it together and finish with a marathon PB to cross the line in 08:14:48 – the strength and power of Knibb and Løvseth was put into perspective when Sanchez finally crossed the line 20 minutes later, finishing in 08:31:06.
Swim – Ryan sets the early pace as big guns keep pace
American Margarita Ryan dominated the swim from start to finish, setting the early pace and ensuring she was first out of the water – despite going the wrong way at one point on the Lake Woodlands course.
Leading Knibb and Marta Sanchez (ESP) in a small pack at the front of the race, she momentarily veered off to the left as they headed for one of the marker buoys. Luckily, her fellow swimmers did not follow her, and it didn’t take long for Ryan to realise her mistake.
Recovering well, however, she regained the lead and exited the water with a time of 53:25 ahead of Sanchez (53:31) and Knibb (53:36).
The chasing pack of nine was fronted by Kiwi Hannah Berry (56:29) and included Lovseth (56:44), Matthews (56:49), Australia’s Grace Theck (56:54) and Briton Kate Curran (56:57).
Matthews would have been buoyed by the fact that in last year’s race, she had hunted down Knibb during the marathon after the American had exited the water ahead and then executed a fast bike section.
On that day, Knibb had a near-six-minute lead going into the bike, and she was only three minutes and 23 seconds ahead this time as Matthews moved ominously into the saddle – fate, however, would then deal the British athlete a terrible hand.
Bike – Disaster for Matthews as puncture ends chances
Sanchez transitioned well and led onto the bike, with Knibb in second and Ryan third; however, it wouldn’t take long for Knibb, Lovseth and Matthews to stamp their authority on proceedings.
Knibb took the lead almost immediately, and by the time they had reached the 65km mark, it was the big three leading the way, with Lovseth moving up into second and Matthews settling in nicely behind the world champion.
At this point, the British athlete was only five minutes and 39 seconds behind the leader and looked certain to mount a challenge on her two rivals.
However, disaster struck 88km remaining when her rear wheel seemed to blow, and she was forced to stop and wait for mechanics to arrive.
To add to the frustration, Matthews was not only forced to wait for around ten minutes as the mechanic made his way to her, but when he did reach her, there were clearly further complications in terms of his ability to fix the issue.
While Matthews could be seen on IRONMAN’s YouTube live coverage, smiling and chatting with the support staff, her nearest rivals, Hannah Berry (NZL) and Sanchez – who had been more than 11 minutes behind her at one stage – were soon seen speeding by and taking full advantage of her misfortune.
Matthews eventually rejoined the race more than 25 minutes behind Knibb, who had continued to power away in a very strong bike performance that was keeping Løvseth at bay in second.
While she did continue to ride for a short while, the decision was made to save her legs for when it really matters, in Kona later this year.
Knibb ended the bike in a time of 04:22:26, which was just one minute and eight seconds ahead of Løvseth in second, but almost ten minutes ahead of Berry and more than ten minutes ahead of Sanchez.
Jackie Hering (USA) and Grace Theck (AUS) were both more than 16 minutes behind.
Knibb’s pace on the bike of 37.3 km/h was beaten only by Løvseth, who set a pace of 37.8 km/h.
Run – Løvseth dominates to take victory
Løvseth had started the marathon only 34 seconds behind Knibb, and it didn’t take long for her to make up the distance as they passed the 8km mark running shoulder-to-shoulder.
By the time they had reached the 20km stage, Løvseth had stretched away to take a lead of 44 seconds, running at a pace of 4.10 min/km. The two leaders were almost 15 minutes ahead of third-placed Sanchez and nearly 20 in front of Berry back in fourth.
The Norwegian was calm and consistent in her running style as she continued to pound the Texan streets and edge further and further away from Knibb.
Indeed, the gap was over two minutes at the 30km mark, and there was a scare for Knibb when she stopped running and started to walk through one of the aid stations, making sure that she took on as much water and nutrition as possible.
As they passed 35kms, the gap had jumped to three minutes, while Sanchez, who was starting to tire, had dropped 19 minutes back on the leader.
Sanchez, who had battled at the front of the pack right from the swim, was in danger of being caught by Hering, who was putting in a strong finish to the run, but the Spaniard held on to secure a podium finish and also a valuable Kona spot.
Løvseth crossed the line with a marathon time of 02:49:52, with Knibb finishing just short of four minutes back with a run time of 02:54:06. Sanchez was the third to finish, but she was almost 20 minutes behind the winner.
IRONMAN Texas Results 2026 – Pro Women
Saturday, April 18, 2026 – 3.8km / 180km / 42.2km
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Swim | Bike | Run | Total time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Sánchez | 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 |
