IRONMAN 70.3 World Champs Nice Pro Start List

The biggest names in triathlon will go head-to-head on Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i on Saturday 10 October, as more than 55 of the top male professional triathletes battle it out for the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship® title. This year’s race will also see the 2026 Experience Oman IRONMAN® Pro Series champion crowned, with 6,000 points on the line for the final race of the season. Live race day coverage of the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms including proseries.ironman.com and YouTube. 

 A defending World Champion, with four former winners and all top 15 finishers from the 2025 event will line up for the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon men’s race, all out to claim the title of world champion, and a share of the $375,000 USD professional prize purse, with the winner taking home $125,000 USD. 

 The Norwegian trio of World Champions Casper Stornes, Gustav Iden, and Kristian Blummenfelt head to the IRONMAN World Championship triathlon as the top three seeded athletes following their podium sweep in Nice last year. Stornes’ World Championship win was also his first-ever IRONMAN triathlon victory, and the 29-year-old has continued his strong form since then, with thirds at the 2025 Precision Fuel & Hydration IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside, and the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North American Championship triathlons and victory at the Mainova IRONMAN Frankfurt European Championship triathlon. 

 Gustav Iden’s second place finish last September was his best finish on the biggest stage in the sport since claiming his world title in 2022, and most recently he was second at the IRONMAN Frankfurt triathlon, while Blummenfelt has had a strong year since his third in Nice, with a second in Marbella and then victories in Geelong, Oceanside and Texas.  

 Marten Van Riel (BEL) will make his first trip to Kailua-Kona this October, following his fourth-place finish in Nice last year, and heads into the event with a number of strong results already secured so far in 2026, with a second in Texas, and wins at the IRONMAN 70.3 Elsinore and Athletic Brewing IRONMAN Lake Placid triathlons.

Solveig Løvseth will wear bib number one following her stunning 2025 IRONMAN World Championship debut, where she didn’t hit the lead until the final miles of the race, crossing the line in 8:28:27 to claim the title on her debut at the biggest race in the sport. Løvseth has taken her championship form from October last year into 2026, with victories at the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North American Championship triathlon and the IRONMAN Hamburg European Championship and will certainly be in the mix come race day.

Two-time IRONMAN Pro Series champion Kat Matthews (GBR) stormed home to take second in Kona last year, covering the marathon more than eight minutes quicker than the next best athlete on her way to the podium. Matthews has finished second at the IRONMAN World Championship on three occasions and will be keen to finally get that breakthrough victory. Matthews has already tasted victory on three occasions this year, with wins at the ANZCO Foods IRONMAN New Zealand, IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong and IRONMAN 70.3 Elsinore triathlons

2024 IRONMAN World Champion Laura Philipp (DEU) will make her fifth appearance in Kona, after a third-place finish last year, her third straight visit to the podium at the IRONMAN World Championship. Philipp recorded a last-start victory at IRONMAN Kalmar where she set a new course-best time on her way to the win