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American Taylor Knibb cemented her name in the history books yet again as she took her third consecutive title at the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship with an overall finish time of 3:57:34. Knibb swam 24:30 over the 1.9 km (1.2-mile) ROKA swim course, biked the 90km (56-mile) FulGaz bike course in 2:10:09, and ran a 1:19:20 on the 21.1km (13.1-mile) HOKA run course to finish among cheering crowds on Tongariro Street in the heart of Taupō.

Kat Matthews of Great Britain closed a 3:46 minute gap on Knibb in a nail-biting run to eventually finish just over one minute behind the American for a hard fought second, earning the overall IRONMAN Pro Series title in its inaugural year. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS), who started the run in sixth place, ran herself into third to complete the podium.

“The run course was amazing. There was no one on the bike course, but everyone was on the run course. I don’t think there was a step on the course where you didn’t have people supporting you and cheering. It was like, wow. This was such an impressive community, so thank you to everyone that was out there and supporting,” said Knibb on the finish line.

“I’m very tired and it’s very hot, it is a bit of a relief, but I am also very grateful. I think it is really cool that each of my [IRONMAN] 70.3 wins has been in drastically different courses on a different continent. Thank you, it’s such a great community here and I always forget how much I love IRONMAN races,” Knibb continued.

Set to the stunning backdrop of Taupō with its vast lake, towering mountains, and rolling countryside, triathlon fans worldwide got to witness the world’s best female professionals and age-groupers alike take to the waters of Great Lake Taupō, challenge themselves on a rolling bike course in the Kiwi countryside, and enjoy lakeside views and epic spectator support on the run downtown.

Asserting herself as the one to beat coming into the race with back-to-back IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship titles, Knibb leapt to an early lead in the swim as she took the inside line to the first turn buoy in Tapuaeharuru Bay. A solid chase group formed, with Imogen Simmonds (CHE), Lotte Wilms (NLD) and Rebecca Clark (NZL) forming the front of the pack. However, it was Spain’s Sara Perez Sala that ultimately made it back to shore the fastest in a time of 24:20. The top 12 women out of the water all knocked out sub-25-minute swim times, before heading out onto the bike to chase the lead.

Despite exiting the water in fifth position, Knibb made quick work of getting to the front of the race and establishing her trademark dominance on the bike. While world class athletes in the shape of Matthews, Simmonds, Julie Derron (CHE), and Paula Finlay (CAN) all jostled for position, Knibb continued to build an increasing gap as she rode through the rolling hills and punchy climbs of the New Zealand countryside.

Carrying over a four-minute lead heading into T2, Knibb darted out onto the two-lap run course along the Taupō lakefront in a great position to never look back and secure her third straight title. As Knibb crossed the finish and took her third consecutive IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, she etched her name into history becoming just the second athlete ever to win 3 consecutive IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships, matching the legendary Daniela Ryf (CHE) who finished her career with five IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship titles.

Behind Knibb, Matthews and Simmonds raced along the final kilometres of the bike to enter T2 within seconds of each other. With two titles on the line as the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship was also the deciding race for the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series, Matthews immediately got to work on the run creating a gap from Simmonds and put together an outstanding display that proved she is up there with the very best runners in the sport. Matthews continued to claw back reducing the gap to Knibb. Her relentless pace nearly paid off as the Brit reduced the gap to just over a minute before ultimately running out of road securing her place at the top of the IRONMAN Pro Series.

“Taylor got the best of me again. Obviously, she’s the best in the field at moment, all year, I’m so incredibly proud to come second to her. For the [IRONMAN] Pro Series, I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, but that consistency has now paid off,” said Matthews.

“Honestly, best course I’ve raced all year. The spectators, the crowd, literally from the first step out of the swim to the last on the run, it was incredible. Thank you.” 

Speaking to Matthews consistency during the year, Ashleigh Gentle remarked, “What Kat has done to win the [IRONMAN] Pro Series is just mind blowing. Hat’s off to her because that is an extraordinary feat. She is still running a 1:15:30 to finish the year. It’s pretty incredible.” 

While the podium had been shaping up to be a carbon copy of the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship with Imogen Simmonds (CHE) holding strong behind Matthews, Gentle had different plans. The Australian, who was suffering with stomach issues early in the run, made a strong comeback to recover the time and chase down Simmonds to take third place. Gentle made her pass around 15km and maintained her position to cap off an impressive podium performance in what was her debut IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship race.

Top five professional women’s results  

Becky Woods In Action in Taupō

Ireland’s Becky Woods was in representing Ireland in the Age Group field. She produced a superb race to cross the line in 4:29:29, claiming the Age Group World Championship title in the 35-39 category. The time also saw her on the overall age group podium, congrats Becky!