A question receiving plenty of recent media attention is: can Taylor Knibb pull off the coveted “double,” earning her place among a truly elite group in the sport’s history?

By “double,” we mean winning both the Ironman 70.3 and Ironman World Championships in the same year. Thus far, it has been achieved by Craig “Crowie” Alexander (2011), Leanda Cave (2012), Jan Frodeno (2015), Daniela Ryf (2015, 2017, 2018), and Kristian Blummenfelt* (2022, when the pandemic-adjusted Ironman World Championship was held in May, followed by the Ironman 70.3 World Championship that October).

Notably, it has not been done since the inception of the Ironman Pro Series in 2024. This matters because the financial opportunity is now significantly greater: combine victories at both world championships with three other regular-season scores and an athlete could potentially also take home the $200,000 USD series bonus. Add that to $75,000 USD for winning the Ironman 70.3 World Championship and $125,000 USD for winning in Kona, and those three payouts alone would total $400,000 USD, before counting any regular-season prize money.

So, do we think Knibb can do it?

If we’re talking about winning Kona, yes, and our money is on her. That said, between the brutality of the Kona course and the depth of the women’s field, we still anticipate a heated race that could go to any of several top contenders. But given Knibb’s recent dominant performance in Nice, combined with leading Kona last year until more or less the final mile, if we were placing our Vegas bets, they’d be on her.

The possibility also speaks to Knibb’s remarkable versatility as an athlete. At the Ironman 70.3 World Championship press conference, she described this as an “experiment” of a year, blending short-course racing and the concurrent need to collect qualifying points toward the LA 2028 Olympics. Seems that experiment is paying off!

If Knibb Were to Win Kona, What Would This Mean for the Pro Series?

Heading into Kona, we conducted an updated analysis of the Pro Series standings, counting athletes’ top four races only and assuming the eventual Pro Series winner would use their Kona result as the fifth score, with the world championships worth more. Based on this math, Solveig Løvseth leads heading into the Big Island with 14,999 points, followed very closely by Laura Philipp with 14,938. Third through fifth currently sit at 13,156, 12,931, and 12,271 points, respectively.

Knibb, meanwhile, has raced only three times in the Pro Series ahead of Kona, opening her season with 2,500 points from her win in Oceanside, followed by 4,781 for her runner-up finish in Texas, and another 3,000 for her recent victory in Nice. Should she win in Kona (worth 6,000 points), that would bring her total to 16,281.

Running the math, however, even a Kona victory leaves virtually no realistic path to surpassing current series leaders Løvseth and Philipp, with Knibb carrying only four scores. Nevertheless, she could still add some incremental earnings by moving up from her current 12th-place position into the top 10.

What Could the Rest of 2026 Be Worth?

Knibb’s current prize-money earnings for the season total $170,000 USD. A win in Kona would immediately bump that to $295,000 USD, plus any incremental cash earned from a likely top-10 Pro Series finish.

While we haven’t yet heard whether she intends to finish out her season with the remaining T100 races in Dubai and Qatar, if she were, theoretically, to take on – and win – both, her race winnings would climb to $395,000 USD, plus any incremental Pro Series and T100 series payouts.

A Season Defined by Diversity

It’s worth taking a moment to appreciate what an incredible season Knibb has already pulled off, even before a potential victory in Kona. The sheer diversity of what she has taken on is itself worthy of a place in triathlon’s history books.

Here’s a look at what she’s done so far this season, to be updated following Kona and any remaining T100 races she may choose to take on.