Don’t cry that some of the season’s biggest races are over…cry only if you miss what’s about to unfold! Because if the drama, suspense, and unpredictability of Kona and the WTCS Final in Wollongong are any indication, the best may be yet to come.
Two major championship events remain: the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Marbella and the T100 World Championship Final in Qatar.
First up, the 70.3 season is set to end along the stunning shores of Marbella, Spain, where more than 130 professional men and women will line up on November 8th and 9th.
This race will also mark the final stop in the Ironman Pro Series. With 3,000 points up for grabs and a $500,000 USD prize purse on the line, Marbella won’t just crown the 70.3 World Champions – it will also determine the overall Pro Series winners.
The Women’s Race
All eyes will be on Taylor Knibb, who returns in pursuit of a historic fourth consecutive Ironman 70.3 World Championship title. The American has dominated middle-distance racing and arrives in Marbella as the athlete to beat.
Lucy Charles-Barclay, the 2023 Ironman World Champion and a former 70.3 World Champion, carries exceptional momentum into this race after back-to-back T100 victories in London and Spain against world-class middle-distance fields. Her front-pack strength and consistency make her a formidable contender.
Kat Matthews, runner-up at both the 2023 and 2024 70.3 World Championships, arrives in peak form after a second-place finish in Kona and a new run course record. She will also be racing for the Ironman Pro Series title, with Norway’s Solveig Lovseth – this year’s Ironman World Champion – standing as her closest rival. To win the series, Matthews must score above 2,600 points; Lovseth, meanwhile, needs to finish within 100 seconds of the winner and hope Matthews does not improve her current total.
Germany’s Laura Philipp, a two-time winner in Marbella (2018, 2019) and a perennial podium threat, adds depth to a women’s field that also features Canada’s Paula Findlay, Australia’s Ellie Salthouse, and Olympic gold medalists Georgia Taylor-Brown and Jess Learmonth, who will be making their 70.3 World Championship debuts.
The Men’s Race
Belgium’s Jelle Geens will be looking to defend his 2024 title against a field stacked with experience and past champions. He’ll face four previous long-course World Champions: Rico Bogen, Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden, and newly crowned Ironman World Champion Casper Stornes. The Norwegians swept the Ironman World Championship podium in Nice, and they now enter Marbella occupying the top three positions in the Ironman Pro Series standings.
Blummenfelt leads the series with Stornes close behind, both capable of taking the overall series win. Denmark’s Kristian Hogenhaug, currently sixth in the standings, has a real opportunity to climb the leaderboard. With the athletes directly ahead of him not racing in Marbella, a strong result could move him into fourth, and possibly higher.
Meanwhile, a new wave of short-course specialists are set to test their speed on the world stage. Among them are Panagiotis Bitados of Greece, France’s Vincent Luis, Jonas Schomberg of Germany, Jamie Riddle of South Africa, Sam Dickenson of Great Britain, Jake Birtwhistle of Australia, Seth Rider of the United States, Alessio Crociani of Italy, and Miguel Hidalgo of Brazil. Each arrives eager to challenge for the ultimate win and the title of 70.3 World Champion.
Notably absent is 2024 T100 World Champion Marten Van Riel.
How to Watch
The women’s race on November 8th and the men’s race on November 9th will stream live worldwide. Live coverage will be available for free on proseries.ironman.com, DAZN, YouTube, and Outside TV.
Follow @triathlonmagazine for race-day results and post-race analysis.
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