Taylor Knibb three-peats as Ironman 70.3 World Champ!

Taylor Knibb’s 2024 was already a career year. Then she went out and dominated Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Taupō.

Knibb has now won the title for three straight years. The performance looked like so many others — a good swim, followed by a field-destroying bike and determined run to cut down the finish line tape first. Knibb was in fifth place out of the water, but by just eight kilometers into the second leg she had a 42-second lead over second-place. By the end of the bike, she led by nearly five minutes, and would cruise to a 1:15 win over second-place Kat Matthews, the only other competitor within five minutes of the champ.

“I was super excited just to be on the start line. I was cautiously optimistic— it has been a long year, but for some reason I really wanted to race,” Knibb said. “The race definitely had its ups and downs. But it was an amazing race and experience as a whole and I was grateful for the opportunity.”

The win wraps up a spectacular season. Knibb won all six of her middle-distance starts this year, beginning with Ironman 70.3 Oceanside in April, and all four of her T100 Triathlon World Tour races to win the series’ world championship title. She also earned the coveted title of United States cycling time trial national champion to qualify for the Olympics as a rare two-sport athlete. And though her individual races in Paris didn’t go as she hoped after she took a hard fall in the women’s time trial (she took 19th in both that event and the women’s triathlon) she still earned a silver medal in the mixed relay triathlon, her second career Olympic medal.

Safe to say, Knibb’s trophy case is bursting at this point.

“This year as a whole is hard to put into words quite yet. I’m super grateful for it and all it entailed,” Knibb said. “In many ways, it exceeded expectations. However, there’s also a massive disappointment with how Paris went that’s hard to merely ignore. But, as a whole, I’m just super grateful for the season and excited for the next year and beyond.

“Now I get to take a break, and then I get to start preparing for 2025!” 

Knibb now heads into the offseason with some much needed (and very well earned) rest. What’s next is hard for anyone to say. We’re still searching for her ceiling, and Knibb is constantly seeking new challenges — “I love racing, I love putting myself out there.” Whatever comes, we can’t wait to watch. 

Matthew Marquardt entered Taupō within striking distance of taking the coveted Ironman Pro Series overall title. Unfortunately a bad cramp struck at the worst time, forcing Marquardt to stop twice and stretch his quads early into his bike leg.

The setbacks knocked Marquardt out of contention early for the result he wanted. He knew that his shot at the overall title was gone. But Marquardt races for more than personal accolades. He began a career in pro triathlon despite also doing full-time med school because he knew he could also make a difference in the world by bringing attention and raising money for cancer research. He races with the initials of friends and family who have been touched by cancer on his fork. And he thought of them as he persevered through the pain.

“Ironman 70.3 Worlds Taupo turned out to be arguably the most challenging race I have ever competed in,” Marquardt said. “By the time I got moving again, I was well in last place and struggling to push even 50% of the power I normally would push on the bike. The combination of the pain, isolation, and dreams slipping away meant that I have never been as close to quitting as I was that day. 

“But while I knew my shot at a good place in the race and the Ironman Pro Series title was gone and that the next 3.5 hours would be full of suffering, I was also determined to finish to respect my fellow racers and honor the people whose initials are on my bike.”

Marquardt would eventually find his legs roughly 75 minutes into the bike, but cramps struck again on the run. He would finish 35th on the day, well off his expectations, but good enough to move into fourth place on the Pro Series overall standings to cap an otherwise strong and consistent season. He finished with three Ironman podiums — third at Ironman Texas and Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant, and second at Ironman Lake Placid — and 15th at Ironman World Championships in Kona.

“To be fourth in the world for the Ironman Pro Series during my third season racing triathlon is an incredible privilege and an accomplishment that I am certainly proud of,” Marquardt said. “I am looking forward to tackling the Pro Series again next year and hopefully moving onto the podium.”

Next year, Marquardt expects to be taking on many of the same races he did in 2024. Though with his med school schedule only ramping up, the challenge doesn’t get any easier. It’s going to be another incredible battle for the most interesting man in triathlon.

“I am now going to spend five days exploring New Zealand before heading back to the US for the holidays,” Marquardt said. “I’ll only have a short break before medical school starts up again on January 6th. This time, I begin rotations in the hospital which will be a fun new adventure and challenge!”