Lucy Charles-Barclay has announced that she will not race the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, despite having been set to line up as the defending champion. Instead, her full focus is on the race that matters most to her this year: Kona.

It has been 15 years since a defending champion did not toe the start line at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. (Jodie Cunnama, who won the title in 2010, did not return to defend it in 2011.)

Still, the decision is not entirely surprising from Charles-Barclay. Throughout her career, she has made several choices that prioritize health, consistency, and longer-term goals over chasing every opportunity, even when those decisions have been incredibly difficult.

Earlier this season, she underwent surgery to proactively address an ongoing issue and give herself the best chance of being ready for championship racing. And, as she put it, the fact that things are now going so well only made the decision harder.

“I’m healthy. Training is going really well. And, if anything, that’s what has made this decision so hard.”

“With just 39 days until Kona, I’m heading into the most important part of my preparation,” she continued. “I’ve gone back and forth on this more times than I can count, but I keep coming back to one question: What gives me the best chance of arriving on the Big Island at my absolute best?”

“Ultimately, I don’t want to reach a hard moment in Kona and wonder whether I left part of my best performance in Nice. Once I looked at it like that, the risk versus reward became clear… I want to arrive on the Big Island knowing I did everything I could to be ready.”

 

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This is also not the first time Charles-Barclay has opted not to defend a world title. After winning the Ironman World Championship in Kona in 2023, she skipped the 2024 women’s championship race in Nice.

The Tight Turnaround Between Nice and Kona

This year’s Ironman 70.3 and full-distance Ironman world championships are separated by only four weeks, a turnaround several pros have highlighted as challenging. The gap has more commonly been five weeks, and last year the order was reversed, with the more prestigious full-distance world championship coming first, followed by the 70.3 Worlds in Marbella.

While this does not mean pros can’t race both (many of the top names are), for an athlete like Charles-Barclay, additional training time is extremely valuable (especially given how her season started with time away). Her Instagram post highlighted the importance of not missing key sessions that would help ensure she shows up at her best in Hawaii.

We will miss her in Nice, but look forward to watching the mermaid go after another full-distance crown in October!