Taylor Knibb stole a first Ironman World Championship in Kona after Norway's defending champion Solveig Løvseth crumbled while leading with a mile to go.
Taylor Knibb is the new queen of Kona. The American triathlete claimed her first Ironman World Championship title in Hawaii after one of the most stunning finishes the race has ever produced.
With a mile left on the marathon, it looked finished. Norway's defending champion Solveig Løvseth had gone to the front inside the final 10km and stretched her advantage to more than a minute over Knibb. She looked composed and in control, the picture of a champion on her way to a repeat.
Then it all unravelled. Løvseth collapsed while leading, and the race turned on its head. Knibb, who had kept pushing, overtook her rival in the final kilometer and carried that momentum to the line to seal the win.
The men's race had its own storyline. France's Vincent Luis won the men's title on his Kona debut, arriving at the sport's toughest stage and leaving as world champion.
For Knibb, it is a career-defining victory. For Løvseth, it is a brutal reminder of how little separates triumph from heartbreak over 140.6 miles in the Hawaiian heat.
