Updated March 28, 2026 09:47PM
Taylor Knibb (USA) quelled any doubt about backing up a race just one week after her win at the Gold T100, producing a masterclass performance to take her third Oceanside title from T1 to tape.
In his third race in just four weeks, Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) overcame a two-minute deficit on the bike to run down Jonas Schomburg (GER) and Sam Long (USA) in the final miles, posting a 1:07:01 run course record split.
It was an unusually warm morning at the Oceanside harbor as 64 men and 31 women made the plunge into relatively mild water, setting the tone for a non-stop day of fireworks and drama.
Notably, there was less risk of disqualification at the Marine Corps base this year due to the removal of the speed-limit enforcement, though it remained a no-passing zone.
The women’s race
Starting with an ideal swim, Knibb exited just behind short-course standouts Vittoria Lopes (BRA) and Lara Hernandez-Tome (USA), while staying ahead of dark horse U.S. Olympian Kirsten Kasper, who won her 70.3 debut late last year.
After a quick transition, the three-time 70.3 world champion immediately took control of the race, opening up nearly a three-minute lead over reigning Ironman world champion Solveig Løvseth (NOR). From there, her advantage only continued to grow slowly over Lovseth, but rapidly over most of the field.
At the same time, defending champion Paula Findlay (CAN) had an uncharacteristically slow swim and withdrew early on the bike.
By halfway, Knibb’s lead had stretched to three and a half minutes over Spain’s Marta Sanchez, with Løvseth riding the second-fastest split and moving into third. In just her second long-course race, France’s Audrey Merle was also riding well, as Kasper and Lopes fell back toward Jackie Hering, who was already seven and a half minutes down by this point.
Dismounting her bike, Knibb had broken the bike course record by over two and a half minutes, building what looked like an insurmountable lead heading into T2. She only extended that gap early on the run before slightly fading over the second half, allowing Løvseth to start clawing back time.
In the end, both women went well under the previous course record and broke the old course record, but it was Knibb who reigned supreme, despite the gap shrinking to just over two minutes at the finish, pushing her all the way to the tape. The pair will meet again at Ironman Texas in three weeks in what shapes up as a rematch of the 2025 Ironman World Championship, where Knibb narrowly lost to Løvseth.
Despite leading from nearly start to finish, Knibb said post-race, “It was never easy,” especially with Løvseth closing throughout the run. She was amazed that she was “never feeling tired,” coming down from altitude just five days prior. Merle announced her name to the long-course world, rounding out the podium seven minutes back.
2026 Ironman 70.3 Oceanside women’s results
The men’s race
On the men’s side, Marc Dubrick (USA) and Jonas Schomburg led the swim, creating a small gap to a large chase group that included Casper Stornes (NOR), Rudy Von Berg (USA), and Blummenfelt, all within 25 seconds.
The standout swims came from 42-year-old Cameron Wurf (AUS), just 30 seconds back, while Sam Long exited just two minutes down and well-positioned for the bike.
It was Long who capitalized the most, riding through the field to join Schomburg at the front, with the pair pushing the pace for much of the ride, eventually riding into T2 together.
Early drama struck when Justin Riele (USA), last year’s fastest athlete on the bike, crashed after a front-pack swim following a front-tire blowout. He was taken to the hospital and later provided an update.
Behind the leaders Long and Schomburg, a large chase group featuring Blummenfelt, Stornes, Gustav Iden (NOR), Ben Kanute (USA), and Jackson Laundry (CAN) entered T2 over two minutes down, facing a mountain to climb behind those two good runners.
Three miles into the run, Blummenfelt was unsurprisingly the fastest on course, steadily chipping away at the deficit, but it seemed as if it wasn’t going to be enough, as the two up front were setting a fast pace of their own.
However, in the end, with just under 2 miles remaining, he managed to catch both Long and Schomburg before surging clear to secure back-to-back Pro Series 70.3 wins. Schomburg finished narrowly behind for second, just 23 seconds back, setting up what will be a highly anticipated showdown between the two in Texas.
As he did in Nice, Stornes paced his run to perfection, moving through the field late to claim the final podium spot ahead of a visibly disappointed and frustrated Long at the finish line. His 1:08:35 run marked what looks like a full return after managing an Achilles injury this winter that left him out of the initial Pro Series races.
Many athletes from this field will now turn their focus to quick recovery and a short full-distance block of training ahead of Ironman Texas in three weeks, where one of the strongest fields of the entire season is expected, including Kat Matthews (USA), Patrick Lange (GER), and Magnus Ditlev (DEN), all set to join the fray in The Woodlands.
