Solveig Løvseth believes she has finally learnt to live with the expectations of being IRONMAN World Champion, having accepted that she was completely unprepared for what life would be like after her shock Kona victory.
Her win on the Big Island last October was as spectacular as it was surprising, with the 26-year-old Norwegian securing the biggest prize of them all in what was only her third long-distance race.
A third place at IRONMAN Hamburg and then victory at Lake Placid had certainly proven the potential of this one-time short-course specialist, but to win on her Kona debut? That was something that very few expected… including her.
Learning to deal with expectations
Such a meteoric rise to triathlon stardom has not been without its difficulties, however, and as she looks ahead to defending her crown in October, Løvseth admits that being world champion has resulted in major changes in both her sporting life and away from the course.
Top of the 2026 IRONMAN Pro Series with wins in Texas and Hamburg alongside a 70.3 runners-up spot at Oceanside, she is among a group of women athletes who go into the second half of the current season knowing they have real prospects of success.
Speaking to Jackie Hering on her podcast, The Women’s Race, which is embedded in this story below, Løvseth reveals that life after Kona took some getting used to, and that a big part of the process was learning to deal with the expectations on and off the course.
Having already joined her compatriots, Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, in seeking the services and advice of manager Adam Acworth through his company Santara Group, there was also a mental hurdle to negotiate as she pondered the impact of her big moment of glory.
‘None of us expected it to go that well’
“When I signed (the manager), I wasn’t sure it was such a good idea,” she says. “I wasn’t sure how much I would need it. But after Kona, it was just great to have some people there to help with everything.
“At Kona, I was basically there with my boyfriend; we didn’t have anyone else there other than two Norwegian friends who were doing the age-group race. I felt we were really there just to – of course, race well – but it was about trying to see how it will go, get some experience.
“None of us expected it to go that well. We were not prepared for what came after that race. There was a lot going on. At the beginning, I was a bit stressed that winning Kona would affect me and make me feel more pressure and make the racing less enjoyable.
“During the winter, I was a little stressed at times because I was dealing with more messages, and there was more to think about.”
Home comforts help ease stress
Deciding to stay at home throughout the winter and let all the post-Kona noise settle down a little, she worked on how she could deal with all the new expectations which would suddenly fall on her shoulders.
However, instead of feeling burdened by thoughts of ‘What if I can’t do it again?’, she has chosen to feel grateful that she has at least experienced it once and that anything else will now be a bonus.
“When the months passed, I concluded that regardless of what happens in these next few years of my career, I am just so happy that I actually had that experience, and I have actually won the world championship because that is something I never really believed that I would do,” she said.
“I will always have that race and that title, and that is something I am really, really proud of. I have gotten more out of my career than I thought I ever would, so understanding that has released the pressure. I have already reached all my goals… everything else will just be a big bonus.”
That, however, does not mean she will not be going all out to secure a repeat of last year.
While Løvseth is now signed up to race at IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea ahead of September’s middle-distance world championship race in Nice, she confirms to Hering that her number one priority for the season will be to win once again in Kona.
Few would be brave enough to bet against her.
