Lovseth, who already turned heads with a record-setting third-place finish at the Qatar Airways Ironman Hamburg European Championship, proved that was no fluke. Today in Lake Placid, she surged through the field on the marathon to claim victory in a time of 8:43:29, moving from seventh in the Ironman Pro Series rankings to fourth. Not bad for someone who only started racing the full distance this year.
The Lake Placid course, one of Ironman’s oldest and most revered North American races, offered 5,000 points toward the Ironman Pro Series and a $125,000 prize purse. It also carried high stakes with four qualifying slots for the 2025 Ironman World Championship in Kona up for grabs in the women’s race.
Rookie Dominance: Lovseth’s Rise Continues
Lovseth exited the swim in eighth place (56:10), over five minutes behind early leaders Rebecca Clarke and Holly Lawrence. Staying composed on the bike, she clocked a strong 4:54:44 split to enter T2 within striking distance of the leaders. She then unleashed a 2:46:49 marathon, running her way past Austria’s Lisa Perterer and Spain’s Marta Sanchez to take the win.
It was the second-fastest run of the day – bettered only by Canadian Tamara Jewett who made her own headlines.
After the race, Lovseth shared her motivation: “I want to win the Pro Series, that’s one of the reasons I’m here now,” she said. “After Hamburg I realized that the Pro Series was something I wanted to do and there’s really only two Ironmans left this year so it made it easy to plan the rest of the season. To go here, and then Kona is the next big one, so yeah – Kona and then Marbella.”
Lovseth’s Hamburg debut had already gone down in history as the fastest rookie Ironman time ever, clocking 8:12:28 behind Laura Philipp and Kat Matthews – two legends of the sport who themselves shattered records that day and redefined what’s possible, with Philipp running a 2:38:27 marathon. Now, she adds an Ironman Pro Series win to her resume, building on a stellar season that also includes a victory at Ironman 70.3 Venice-Josolo.
Lovseth is rewriting what’s possible in one’s rookie year – not just competing with seasoned pros, but beating them.
Tamara Jewett Blazes to Fastest Run of the Day
Canada’s Tamara Jewett delivered a heroic run in Lake Placid, recording the fastest marathon of the day – a stunning 2:40:05 – to climb from 14th off the bike to a fourth-place overall finish.
While she narrowly missed the podium, Jewett’s performance was among the most electrifying of the day and underscored her elite run pedigree. She finished just two minutes off third and was closing fast in the final kilometres.
Perterer and Sanchez Round Out the Podium
Austria’s Lisa Perterer secured a second place in 8:46:50, despite serving a three-minute drafting penalty on the bike. She stayed steady through all three disciplines, backing up her podium finish at Ironman Texas earlier this season.
Spain’s Marta Sanchez delivered one of the day’s standout performances, setting a new bike course record with a 4:51:25 split, breaking the mark set by Heather Jackson in 2022. She led into T2 and held on to finish third in 8:53:07.
Post-race, Sanchez spoke about her mindset on course: “I was thinking all the time like every second matters, so I tried to push.” That mantra, which happens to be the slogan of the Ironman Pro Series, resonated throughout the day, with multiple athletes racing not only for placement but also for valuable points in the series standings.
Holly Lawrence Secures Ticket to the Big Island
British star Holly Lawrence, now based in Boulder, made her full-distance Ironman debut and delivered exactly what she told Triathlon Magazine Canada she was aiming for in a pre-race interview: a qualifying spot for the Big Island.
As a newcomer to the distance, Lawrence’s debut showed strong potential, and fans will be eager to see how she builds on this performance heading into Kona this October.
The post Ironman Rookie Solveig Lovseth Stuns Again in Lake Placid appeared first on Triathlon Magazine Canada.