New IRONMAN World Champion Solveig Løvseth admits there were times when she didn’t know if there was enough energy left in the tank for her to cross the line as the punishing heat and humidity of Kona played its hand.
Having seen two of her main competitors fall by the roadside due to sheer exhaustion, the Norwegian athlete suddenly found herself out front and in pole position to secure her first-ever world title.
Banishing thoughts of failure, the 26-year-old focused her mind on one simple message… ‘don’t be the next one to drop out!’
Cruel conditions
Løvseth’s victory was as impressive as it was deserved, as she paced herself to perfection in conditions that were both punishing and cruel – particularly in the case of Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) and Taylor Knibb (USA), who saw their dreams of glory melt away in the Hawaii sunshine and humidity.
Taking full advantage of her position, Løvseth powered on to the finishing line, holding off a late charge from Kat Matthews (GBR), to complete a notable Norwegian double, having seen Casper Stornes win the men’s title last month.
“It has been hard to wrap my head around it,” said Løvseth after her victory. “I didn’t have the best swim, but felt like I kept my calm. Out of the bike, I felt really good and couldn’t really believe it when I started the run.
“But the run was really hard from the start. I genuinely didn’t know if I was going to be able to get to the finish line. I started to feel a bit better about halfway, which is unbelievable, because I really didn’t expect that.
“I feel really sorry for both Taylor and Lucy. It was not the way I wanted to pass them. I actually saw both of them stop right in front of me, and obviously, it’s heartbreaking to see someone pull out that way. But at the same time, you’re thinking, ‘I’m in the lead now’.
Don’t be the next one…
“For the first time, I realised I can win this if everything goes right. And then my thought was just like, ‘Don’t be the next one to be sitting on the side of the road’. I tried to control myself a bit more. I was thinking, ‘don’t be stupid… don’t try to run fast in the last few Ks and then blow up and throw away everything.”
Matthews put in a storming run to break the marathon record on Kona, and eventually followed her champion in by just 35 seconds. Indeed, Løvseth accepts that had the race gone on for two more kilometres, then she would have been caught.
Following on from the success of the historic men’s race in September, where Norway swept the entire podium through Stornes, Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt, Løvseth was quick to thank her compatriots and occasional training partners for the roles they have played in her success.
“I’ve been training with them a lot over the years, but this year not that much because it’s been a little different with the World Championship dates and venues, and the schedule has just been really hard to actually have camps together,” she said.
“But I have definitely learned so much from them over the years, and I think that has really helped me to develop as an athlete, and I’m very grateful for all the years we have had on the national team with them as well.
“I think my whole approach to training has also come from them. To be serious in training, but be a bit chill around other stuff and also have a lot of fun with it, and I think I have just done that very thing today.”
