2026 IRONMAN™ World Championship Photo Essay

Every Tuesday afternoon before the race is the Keiki Dip N’ Dash for the youngest kids to run and the older compete in a swim-run on part of the race course. This shows the enthusiastic start of the youngest ones.

Later that afternoon is the Parade where participating nations walk behind their flags.

HC contestant Howard Sanborn of the USA the morning of the race. He won his category in 9:56, three hours ahead of second place. Incredible!

The second swim pack with eventual race winner Vincent Luis sighting (in white number 24 ROKA cap) of France. Race day morning had vigorous rain and the rest of the day only infrequent streaks of sunlight in town.

After his first finish here in 2014, European Space Agency (Space Station) astronaut and test pilot, Colonel Luca Parmitano of Italy on his way to a second finish. His quote is a classic: ”When you share joy, it doesn’t get divided, it gets multiplied.”

Twenty-year-old ambassador athlete Renee Noronha of India in her quest to become the youngest person ever to complete a full-distance IRONMAN on six continents. She finished in 15:41:53.

Having left the sun and heat on the bike course, Norway’s Gustav Iden, the most recent male winner in Kona, is back in an overcast town. Like other top Norwegians, he’s from the town of Bergen, known for its prodigious, often horizontal, rain. He would finish second.

Race winner Taylor Knibb of the USA in T2. Last year’s Kona winner Solveig Løvseth (from Bergen, naturally) caught her on the run.

Vincent hammers down Palani just before the left turn up the slight incline before the two rights back on Ali’i Drive and the finish.

The race winner shows how difficult the day was.

Then bounces up and celebrates.

Reversing last year’s fortunes, Taylor catches a collapsed Solveig one km before the finish line and captures her first win in Kona.

Veteran IRONMAN announcer Paul Kaye, who has seen it all, cannot believe his eyes when the screen shows Solveig’s collapse.

You travel all the way to Kona, you finish, Solveig in eighth. Classy!

Top five, l to r: Imogen Simmonds (Switzerland), Laura Philipp (Germany), Taylor, Julie Derron (Switzerland) and Kat Matthews (UK).

Ambassador athlete Scott Christmas, who lost his chosen brother and almost his own life in a plane crash, and later his wife to cancer, has just fulfilled another promise. Two weeks later he plans to finish the Marine Corps Marathon.

Just after midnight, three cheeky photographers in the finish line chute.

Forty-five minutes after midnight, the fire dancers mark the closure of this year’s race.

The top ten men at the Champions Banquet raising their Umeke bowls.

The two overall race winners raising their hole-in-the-head trophies.