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As one of the last opportunities for athletes to qualify for the 2025 Ironman World Championship, Ironman Lake Placid did not disappoint. With lead changes, a surprising (and controversial) drafting penalty in the women’s race, a rookie winner, and back and forth between Travor Foley (USA) and Matthew Marquardt (USA), it was one worth watching.
This weekend also featured more World Triathlon racing with the Paratriathlon World Series in Montreal, including a French podium sweep.
2025 Ironman Lake Placid pro women’s race results: Solveig Løvseth wins it in her second full-distance race
Having had the fastest Ironman debut at Ironman Hamburg, Norway’s Solveig Løvseth showed she’s not messing around, putting in an impressive performance to win Ironman Lake Placid. Løvseth is a complete athlete. Maybe not quite at the front in the swim, but bikes impressively and then runs fast! She’s also proved herself on Hamburg’s flat fast course and now the hilly, challenging bike and run in Lake Placid.
While Løvseth has a lot of international race experience, having raced on the World Triathlon circuit and been to the Olympics, in only her second full-distance race, she’s showing patience, race smarts, and pacing to perfection! She seems calm and composed on the outside (remember, in Hamburg, she lost her aero bars), and just gets on with pushing the pace for the women.
Lisa Perterer (AUT) was leading for much of the race, until Løvseth caught her just before 30km on the run. At the end, the difference was 3:21 between Løvseth and Perterer. Significant because Perterer had to serve a 3-minute drafting penalty, a penalty she got when she was leading the women’s race.
The leading three women, Perterer, Marta Sanchez (ESP), and Holly Lawrence (GBR) had caught two of the male pros. As they went up a short, sharp climb, Perterer came into the draft zone (red light of RaceRanger came on) and she continued on, as required, to make the pass. It was clear (to me) on the live coverage that Perterer was putting the effort in to pass. She drew level with the male pro as they reached the crest of the climb. At this point, the male should have dropped back, but as it was at the crest of the climb, he accelerated into the descent, meaning Perterer didn’t make a pass and had to drop back behind. Which she did to the correct distance. The Technical Official was with them all the time and saw what happened, but still gave a blue card, a 3-minute penalty to Perterer.
Several thoughts here – the male pros need to get out of the female race, and if you are being passed by the leading female, put your ego aside and let the women have their race. The TO was with them and should have seen the whole situation. Firstly, going up a climb, which affects the time to overtake, and secondly, seeing that Perterer had drawn up level to the other athlete. But it’s more just that it’s frustrating that once again, the women’s race is affected by the men. I’m not saying the result would have been different; it may have been, but we don’t know because the women weren’t able to have a clean, fair race.
Lawrence, in her full-distance debut, finished in a creditable fifth place, earning a slot for Kona. It will be great to hear Lawrence’s thoughts on the distance and her race over the coming days.
Tamara Jewett (CAN) was impressive. Jewett debuted at the distance at Ironman Texas, finishing sixth. A very solid result that day. However, in Lake Placid, Jewett finished fourth, but ran a ridiculous 2:40:05! Keep in mind that the Lake Placid run course is not flat, and neither is the bike course. In fact, she would have had the third fastest run split in the men’s race. Only Americans Jason West (2:37:18) and Matthew Marquardt (2:39:51) ran faster.
Jewett, still new to the distance, will need to make gains on the bike, as she left herself a lot of time to make up, but a 2:40 run in Lake Placid, I would say, is almost more impressive than Laura Philipp’s 2:38:27 in Hamburg.
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Want to see it all from start to finish? Outside+ members can watch the Ironman Lake Placid race replay on demand on OutsideTV.
2025 Ironman Lake Placid pro men’s race results: Matthew Marquardt bests reigning champ Trevor Foley
In the men’s race, it was a role reversal of 2024; this time, Marquardt overtook Trevor Foley (USA) on the run to take the win, and his second win in a row.
Marquardt had been close before, but hadn’t won an Ironman before Cairns. Now he’s won two back-to-back. Foley raced to win, closing hard and early on the bike, to get to the front and overturn his swim deficit. He continued to push the pace on until the last 20-30km when Marquardt got a breakaway off the front. Foley, however, closed this down early on the run and took the lead. Unfortunately, he couldn’t maintain this pace and started to pay for it in the second half. And then Marquardt was back. Kristian Hogenhaug (DNK) also passed Foley, but Foley rallied impressively to hold on to third.
Hogenhaug was also impressive off the back of his second place at Ironman Frankfurt, and racing last week at Ironman 70.3 Swansea. Pretty sure this last month of racing will have taken its toll and he will need some recovery, but Hogenhaug is, for me, a real contender in Nice.
There are some names still not qualified for the Ironman World Championship, and with just two races left – Ironman Leeds (UK) next week and Ironman Copenhagen on August 17, one month out from Nice – time is running out.
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World Triathlon Para Series in Montreal results: An undefeated athlete wins again, a French podium sweep, and more
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The fourth stop on the World Triathlon Para Series in Montreal, Canada, led to some impressive results.
Lauren Parker (AUS) once again dominated in the PTWC. She finished two minutes ahead of Americans Emilia Perry (H1) and Kendall Gretsch (H2). Parker has been dominant for several years now, both in paratriathlon and paracycling. Not content with winning gold medals and breaking records in two sports, Parker has been testing herself on the snow, with a look at competing for Australia in the Winter Paralympics.
In the men’s PTVI, it was once again a Brit on top, but not Dave Ellis (and his guide Luke Pollard) this time. Ellis wasn’t racing in Montreal, but it left a great opportunity for up-and-coming Briton Oscar Kelly (and guide Jack Hutchens). It was Kelly’s first win at the World Series level. He was seventh at the Paris Paralympics and is one to watch in the coming years.
American Mohamed Lahna put in an impressive performance, overcoming a minor issue with his running prostheses to finish in second place behind Belgium’s Wim De Paepe. What is probably more impressive is that this race (a sprint) is just two weeks after Lahna raced and completed Challenge Roth in 10:57. It was nine years since Lahna last raced a long distance, but he still managed a PR, and then recovered to finish second in Montreal.
In the PTS2 it was Australia’s Anu Francis who took the win, fairly convincingly over American Allysa Seely and the rest of the women. Francis has been improving with every race, and remains undefeated in 2025, having also won in Yokohama and Devonport, as well as the Oceania Triathlon Para Championships in Mooloolaba. But Montreal was the first race where Francis faced a bigger start list with some greats of the sport.
It was a deep field in the men’s PTS4, but ultimately the day saw a French clean sweep of the podium. Pierre-Antoine Baele took the win, ahead of Antoine Lamarche Poulain and Gregoire Berthon.
In the PTS5, Canada’s Stefan Daniel made the most of racing at home to take the win. It was a close race with Ireland’s Tom Williamson, who pushed Daniel all the way. The Canadian was able to get away on the run for the win.