issue #203: Sept. 16, 2026
Presented by Mint & Honey Co.
Sure, sure, there was a massive world championship this past weekend and we re-launched the Triathlonish podcast yesterday with an episode all about 70.3 Worlds. But the biggest news of the week: I did my first Hyrox (or Hyrox-like event). And you all, whatever the haters hate, it’s super fun. Also, I actually hands-on-knees mid-race blew myself up and was crippled for two days. And also, I 100% started Googling to find the next one.
I think that officially makes me a lifestyle athlete now.
Even though I additionally promised to do Jan Frodeno’s SGRAIL race here in three weeks — and will probably dust off my TT bike for it 😬 because triathletes gonna triathlete. Come join me in trying to remember how to Olympic-distance triathlon.
Now, let’s get to your weekly newsletter: Lots of tidbits, results, and more races races races.
- Kelly
Au revoir Nice *French emojis*
Subtitled: Does anyone love triathlon more than Taylor Knibb and Kristian Blummenfelt? I’d say no.
My husband asked me why Taylor was doing 70.3 Worlds + UCI Worlds + Ironman Worlds, while Lucy CB was just focusing on Ironman, and I said: Because Taylor just loves it all too much, she can’t help herself, it’s all just SO FUN, aren’t you having fun!? (Zero criticism. She’s a 4x world champ, there’s nothing to criticize. Fun is fast, and you only get so many years at this level so you better enjoy them.)
We re-launched the Triathlonish podcast yesterday with a very (very) detailed episode about the 70.3 World Championships from me and our on-the-ground co-host Tim Heming. So I won’t repeat here all the industry and broader multi-sport things we covered extensively and in-depth: The numbers, the history, the money, the big announcements.
🎧 Go listen (or watch on Youtube for clips from the Nice finish line too): Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube
Women’s race
I watched the start of the bike, thought ‘OK, Taylor’s going to win,’ and went to bed because it was 11 p.m. here. Honestly, I could have been wrong, things happen, but I was right.
Full race recap. Interviews with the pros here and here. Results here.
Taylor Knibb - 4:19:24
Julie Derron - 4:23:30
Alanis Siffert - 4:25:10
Solveig Lovseth - 4:25:50
Marjolaine Pierre - 4:26:38
My surprises of the race: I underestimated Alanis Siffert in third. I thought she was better at the longer distances and this course wouldn’t suit her. I was wrong. I think Imogen Simmonds also got slightly under-rated in 7th. People (including me) might have just overlooked her following her 2025 and her understandable lack of a desire to grab a spotlight now.
Other end of the spectrum: I always think Kat Matthews is going to pull it out and just run her way onto the podium, because she so so frequently does. She didn’t quite this time — nursing a run injury, which happens — but I didn’t see that coming, even when I heard rumors about the injury a few days before. I too had irrational optimism, lol.
A thought for Kona: Quite a few people looked like they were solid but carrying training fatigue: Solveig, Paula Findlay, Laura Philipp. I would keep an eye on those people.
Also a reminder that Julie Derron and Imogen Simmonds will be racing in Hawaii.
Men’s race
Obviously a very different style than the women’s. 27 men out of T1 together. Too many lead changes to count on the run. A descent that made me very very nervous to watch, but that Gustav Iden says was under control so believe him if you want. Lots of complaining about draft packs and Race Ranger lights, but really what are ya gonna do.
Full race recap here. Interviews here and here. Results here.
Hayden Wilde - 3:50:51
Kristian Blummenfelt - 3:51:09
Jelle Geens - 3:52:40
Gustav Iden - 3:53:16
Lasse Nygaard Priester - 3:54:08
My surprises of the race: I’ll admit it: I didn’t think Hayden Wilde would even podium. I thought he was tired — he has a big September (raced Supertri, has T100 this upcoming weekend, then WTCS Finals) — and I thought he’d just get rolled. Boy was I wrong about that. I had pretty much everyone else in the right order after him, but minus him.
And, if anyone said they had Michele Bortolamedi in their top ten beforehand, they are lying now.
For Kona: I’d worry about the Norwegians. All of them.
French odds & ends
Since we did cover far too much dense detail in the podcast, I’m only going to add a few 70.3 Worlds tidbits.
The fastest bikes and the bike count. (Triathlete/Instagram)
Kristian’s 1:05 Strava run file and Gustav Iden’s fastest bike file. (Strava)
Ironman posted the Col de Vence times. I had a hard time finding the right segment on Strava, because even in this day and age there are too many Strava segments, but if you want to see the overall leaderboards I think this is it. (Instagram/Strava)
As Tim explained on the pod, there was evidently a crash as the front pack of pro men came into T2 on the Promenade — the moto head-on’d into an age-grouper coming out of T1, and then almost took out the whole group. Sounds like everyone is OK. (Triathlete)
Taylor Knibb went on The Triathlon Hour to talk about her race. And Jelle Geens went on his own show, All In Triathlon, to talk about his race. (Youtube/Apple Podcasts)
We talked lots of the numbers on our show: And as far as I can tell there were 3,003 women who started (though started is a little tough, since it’s more like ‘who checked in and had a chip/bib’) & 2,689 women who finished; there were 3,498 men who started & 3,145 who finished. (Spotify)
We also talked about the big heavily rumored Salomon title partnership deal (and my estimate at how much the deal is worth). The next question I keep coming to is: Why, what is Salomon’s goal? (WWD)
Which, speaking of, in case you were wondering, Salomon does have a super shoe. (Outside Run)
Mint & Honey Co.
As I’ve mentioned a few times, one of the things that’s nice working with Lynette at Mint & Honey Co. is that she really understands and is a part of both the triathlon and running communities but also the growing wellness and health spaces. So I asked her to explain what she thinks it means to combine wellness and endurance:
“To me, the intersection of wellness and endurance sports combines the grittiness of exploring what you’re capable of physically and mentally, while nourishing your body with real food, doing workouts you actually enjoy, spending time with loved ones, prioritizing recovery and sleep, and ensuring you have alone time.
Wellness is supposed to make you feel well, not overwhelmed. Before the optimization boom of biohacking, wearables, tracking everything, we subconsciously lived healthy, active lifestyles.
I find it important to be in this intersection personally and professionally because recognizing the line between over-optimization and understanding the numbers allows us to live in a balanced way with flexibility.”
Reach out to Lynette to find out what Mint & Honey Co. can do for you as an athlete, a brand, a race director, or even just as a person also passionate about endurance & wellness.
From the races
There were a lot of other races this past weekend and quite a few on the calendar this upcoming weekend, so we’re just going to try to hit the highlights.
WTCS Karlovy Vary: Lots of crashes in the rain. Big shoutout to Georgia Taylor-Brown for the win three years after her last one. Good to see her back on top. And Alex Yee looks like he’s starting to return to WTCS form — didn’t quite hunt down Dorian Coninx but close.
IM Wales: Speaking of rain. Another big shoutout to Nikki Bartlett for winning this one.
Challenge Samarkand: Sam Laidlow did have to walk but did also win. So make of that what you will.
Results: WTCS Karlovy Vary + the standings ahead of the Championship Final next weekend, IM Wales, Sunshine Coast 70.3, Challenge Samarkand, Challenge Almere
Mark your calendars
T100 French Riviera: In which Hayden Wilde continues his epic September. Joined by quite a few of the guys who raced in Nice.
WATCH: Saturday 2 a.m. ET/11 p.m. PT the night before on Youtube
The -ish
Some of the other things worth knowing about this week in our sports — or that I just think are interesting.
This was a sweet homage from Daniel Baekkegard to The Norwegians. (Instagram)
Daniela Bleymehl won’t finish off her career in Kona, like she was hoping. Because, unfortunately, most of us never get that fairytale ending and that’s OK. (Instagram)
Challenge Roth was happy to report all the doping tests conducted in-race were negative. Which I feel like you should actually have mixed feelings about. (Roth)
An athlete died during the swim of the Wisconsin 70.3, which is the fourth death in Madison (full and half). I’ve done that race, my husband’s done that race, I love that race; no idea why or what’s happening. (The Athletic)
The World Ultimate Championships — track, guys, they’re talking about track & field — is meant to be something exciting in the off-years, a shorter and more money and more pizzazz meet, and a way to test innovations. It happened this past weekend and, despite the fact that you probably didn’t know that, it sorta succeeded. (The Athletic)
Canyon made LeBron James a massive 3XL custom bike. (Velo)
Just a thought but maybe we don’t need high school sports content creators. (Front Office Sports)
Lots of people on podcasts this week: Jenny Simpson was on Rich Roll to talk about her heart stopping, Chelsea Sodaro was on Trail Society, and Kilian Jornet talked to Jan. (Youtube/Apple Podcasts)
Kate Courtney’s RedBull movie is pretty solid and way to go Etienne on the shooting and producing it. (RedBull TV)
Here’s a little more about the Canadian runner who disappeared on the Matterhorn. (Outside)
Seems like all retired gold medalists are getting into ultra trail running. Jessie Diggins was next up, winning her first 100-miler. (MPR News)
Of course, we can’t not mention the pro winner who had explosive diarrhea at the Hyrox in Beijing. So I’ll just say while it is not uncommon for elite athletes to shit themselves in triathlons, I think the primary difference is that in marathons or Ironmans if you accidentally poop you’re only really impacting yourself (and it tends to happen during the later portions of the run, outdoors, almost finished). In Hyrox, which is an indoor competition, you’re sharing equipment and space with all the other athletes who come after you (and this was very much not self-contained, it was running down her legs, and it was early in the competition — so). I absolutely feel bad for her, I think she just did what she’d trained to do (continue competing), and she doesn’t deserve the amount of viral-ity that’s now happened, but I think most criticisms have less to do with her as an athlete and more to do with the impact it had on other athletes. (NY Post/The Athletic)
“We Are Pleased to Announce the Acquisition of Hell by UTMB®” (Zoe’s Substack)
One last thing
I do not think I would have finished (or started) this half-marathon.
Support Triathlonish partners: Reach out to Lynette at Mint & Honey Co. to connect about ways to find potential partners, create earned media, and build campaigns for and from athletes.