{"id":227375,"date":"2026-10-12T21:30:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T21:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/that-was-a-crazy-day-out-there-luis-knibb-win-ironman-world-championship-hawaii-tribune-herald\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T21:30:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T21:30:40","slug":"that-was-a-crazy-day-out-there-luis-knibb-win-ironman-world-championship-hawaii-tribune-herald","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/that-was-a-crazy-day-out-there-luis-knibb-win-ironman-world-championship-hawaii-tribune-herald\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018That was a crazy day out there\u2019: Luis, Knibb win Ironman World Championship – Hawaii Tribune-Herald"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published 12:05 am Monday, October 12, 2026
By Conor Langs<\/a> West Hawaii Today<\/strong>
Vincent Luis of France collapses to his knees in exhaustion and pure joy as he crosses the finish line to finish first in Saturday’s Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona. Luis made his Kona debut, finishing in just over seven hours, 47 minutes. Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda cheers in the background. (Conor Langs\/West Hawaii Today)
KAILUA-KONA — French triathlete Vincent Luis had quite the Kona debut.
KAILUA-KONA — French triathlete Vincent Luis had quite the Kona debut.
In his Ironman World Championship debut over the weekend, the 37-year-old pro became the first-ever Frenchman to win in Kona — crossing the finish line in just over seven hours, 47 minutes to win the race outright. Luis also took home $125,000 for his victory.
Although he’s mostly competed in short-course races and Olympic competition over his two-decade career, Luis was confident heading into Saturday’s daunting 140.6-mile journey that featured a challenging swim through Kailua Bay, a demanding bicycle ride through rolling hills and stark lava fields to Hawi and back, and running a marathon through the afternoon humidity that concluded on the iconic finish line on Ali‘i Drive.
“That was a crazy day out there,” Luis said post race. “I just felt really good the last three months of preparation, and I just thought this is the last time I have to commit this hard for a race.”
Throughout most of the race, however, it looked like Luis might not win. After finishing with the ninth-fastest swim (48 minutes, 31 seconds) and eighth-quickest bike ride (four hours, 15 minutes, 42 seconds), the Frenchman made up ground over the final 26.2 miles, running past then-leader Magnus Ditlev in the final six miles.
Ditlev, who had led much of the race, began struggling late in the marathon and eventually withdrew, opening the door for Luis to take the lead.
Luis then held off runner-up Gustav Iden, who wasn’t far behind. Iden claimed second for the second straight year with a time of seven hours, 49 minutes, three seconds. The 30-year-old raced in a pink suit to honor his late mother, who passed from cancer in 2023.
Iden also dealt with a three-minute drafting penalty on the bike, issued when a cyclist rides too closely behind another competitor to gain an aerodynamic advantage.
“I could see Vince in front of me and I was thinking this is my day, but it was so brutal in the end and I was really happy to make it to the finish line in second,” Iden added. “This race I’m wearing a special suit to honor my mother who died of cancer three years ago, and I’m not going to make this a story about myself, we all do sports for our own reason, but it was just so emotional today.”
American Matthew Marquardt completed the men’s podium with a time of just under seven hours, 50 minutes. The Cincinnati native was also given a penalty on the bike.
“I’m over the moon — the dream was to podium here in Kona and we did it, so I couldn’t be happier,” said Marquardt. “Some things didn’t go my way, losing three minutes, but it’s a long day, and I told myself when it happened that I wasn’t going to give up, and that I was going to give myself a shot.”
While Luis is unsure of what’s next in his triathlon career, he plans to spend some time reflecting and appreciating his accomplishments throughout his multi-decade campaign.
And if Kona was truly his last hurrah, he couldn’t have written a better story to go out on top.
“I said if I win, I will maybe not continue, but I went through some dark places in the last three, four kilometers, but it was 100% worth it,” Luis said.
“Let’s see, I have a few nights out to decide what to do with my life now,” he continued. “I put my whole life to have an Olympic medal, and I would say there are two things in the world of triathlon — an Olympic gold and a Kona title, and I have one of them. The rest are good for bookshelves.”
Third time’s a charm for Knibb
A year ago, Washington D.C. native Taylor Knibb appeared poised to win her first women’s Ironman World Championship.
The 28-year-old was leading much of the race, but pushed herself too hard up until the last leg of the marathon split, where Norway’s Solveig Lovseth passed Knibb near the finish to win. Knibb was too winded to cross the finish line.
Fast forward to Saturday, the script was flipped.
Lovseth tried to make up ground by going all out on the first leg of the run, giving herself the lead late. However, like Knibb last year, Lovseth began faltering on Kuakini Highway, collapsing near the final turn onto Ali‘i Drive. She got back to her feet and tried to continue, but fell again moments later.
Knibb, keeping a steady pace not far behind Lovseth, passed the Norwegian in the final mile to retake the lead after being in front most of the day. Knibb built her early advantage with the fastest women’s swim (52 minutes, 55 seconds) and bike split (four hours, 4o minutes, seven seconds) before Lovseth overtook her earlier in the marathon.
She finished the day in eight hours, 36 minutes, 29 seconds. Lovseth ended up in eighth.
For Knibb, last year was a learning lesson for 2026, as she believed falling short at the last second ultimately helped her become a better athlete.
“Last year played a huge part, because when I was entering the Energy Lab, I made a big decision and it was just, take care of yourself, because it was getting really hard,” Knibb said. “Then when Solveig came back, I thought I can’t fight because if I fight, I’m going to lose, so I had to learn from last year to just get to the finish line, get to the finish line, get to the finish line.”
Knibb became a world champion in just her third full Ironman; she finished fourth in 2023. The victory comes just a month after Knibb collected her fourth Ironman 70.3 World Championship in France. She is only the third woman to win both world championships in the same year.
But as special as winning half-distance Ironmans are, winning in Kona is on a different level, and no one knows this better than Knibb. She dreamed of winning the Ironman when she first watched her mother compete in Kona several years ago.
“One of my friends texted me on the flight here and said, ‘this is Taylor’s dream,’” Knibb said. “I was thinking when I came here in 2010 as a 12-year-old, if I had seen myself in that position, I would’ve been her biggest fan, so that’s the essence of it.
“It’s so special to be back here and to get to race here, it’s always a privilege. Yes, there are some awful moments out there, and there are some incredible moments, because it’s kind of what we all dream of.”
Laura Phillipp of Germany finished just over three minutes behind Knibb to place second, a step up from her bronze medal from a year ago. After placing outside of the top 20 in the swim, Philipp slowly made up ground by racing the third-fastest bike split (four hours, 43 minutes) and fastest run (two hours, 50 minutes, 43 seconds). She posted an impressive seven minute, 34-second pace during the marathon split.
Philipp has now finished in every step of the podium at the world championship, as she won the 2024 title in France.
“The swim, I got really seasick because there were big waves, so the swim wasn’t very good,” Philipp said. “But I think in the end, the positive thing was that I did a solo ride, which meant I could just focus on myself. I didn’t have to worry about Race Ranger or any group dynamics.
“It feels really special, I was missing the second-place medal so now I have the full set – a win, a second and two thirds. How the day started and how it now ended, it’s just crazy.”
Swiss star Julie Derron rounded out the women’s podium in third, finishing in eight hours, 46 minutes, 25 seconds. Like Knibb, Derron also recently raced in the 70.3 championship in France, placing second.
On Saturday, Derron raced the fourth-fastest marathon in just under two hours, 59 minutes.
“It was a rollercoaster honestly, I can’t believe that I finished on the podium,” Derron said. “When I was walking on the Queen K, I thought I would end up walking 26 kilometers and somehow, I pulled myself back.
“I started running again and I didn’t expect to move into third with a kilometer to go. I’m so glad that Solveig is in the finish. What a gutsy race from her and all the girls. I can’t believe it honestly.
“It’s a wild ride, this Kona thing,” said Derron.
Big Island finishers
• Jose Graca (M50-54), Kailua-Kona — 9:20:07
• Steffon Brooks (M55-59), Kailua-Kona — 11:27:31
• Keish Doi (M55-59), Kailua-Kona — 11:50:16
• Mark Loftin (M55-59), Kailua-Kona — 15:03:09
• Michael Pipta (M60-64), Pahoa — 16:16:35
Race history
The very first Ironman took place in 1978 on Oahu, formed by U.S. Navy Commander John Collins and his wife, Judy. The event was established by the pair to determine which athletes were the fittest. The inaugural race started with 15 men, won by 27-year-old Gordon Hallar, a Navy communications specialist at the time.
Hallar won the first Ironman with a time of just under 11 hours, 47 minutes.
One year later, women were invited to join the 1979 Ironman World Championship. The first woman to compete was Lyn Lemaire, a premier cyclist from Massachusetts. Lemaire finished fifth out of 15 racers (12:55.38).
In 1981, the race permanently moved to Kona, primarily due to the large crowds and traffic in Honolulu and Waikiki. The move was initiated by race director Valerie Silk, who took over after Collins left Hawaii. Kona became the event’s iconic home — offering exposed lava fields, high crosswinds and punishing heat that Oahu simply cannot offer.
Beginning in 2023, Ironman organizers decided to split the men and women’s world championships between Kona and Nice, France — alternating each year. By 2026, the race returned to a single-day championship for men and women in Kona.
See you next year
The 2027 Ironman World Championship will once again be held in Kona, slated for Saturday, Oct. 9, 2027.
The race will again feature both men and women.
Subscribe to our free email newsletters for daily updates delivered to your inbox.
View all our newsletters here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published 12:05 am Monday, October 12, 2026 By Conor Langs West Hawaii Today Vincent Luis of France collapses to his knees in exhaustion and pure joy as he crosses the finish line to finish first in Saturday’s Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona. Luis made his Kona debut, finishing in just over seven hours, 47 minutes. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}