Kona women’s start list announced

On Thursday, Oct. 6, history will be made at the Ironman World Championship with two days of racing in Kona. All the women competing at this year’s worlds, along with a few men’s age groups, will compete on Thursday, while the rest of the men will race on Saturday, Oct. 8.

“With two days of racing, we will have an opportunity to witness these incredible athletes like never before in what is sure to be a historic pair of race days,” said Andrew Messick, Ironman Group president and CEO.

He’s not kidding, either. While the pro women’s field will be missing Kat Matthews, who was hit by a car while training in Texas on Sunday, the rest of the world’s top full-distance competitors appear ready for a big day on the Big Island.

Five-time Ironman world champion Daniela Ryf, who dominated the first world championship event of the year in St. George, Utah, is back in Kona as the prohibitive women’s favourite, but she’ll have to be on form to take the win, for sure. Matthews would have been wearing race #2 in the event, but will no longer be part of the stacked field. 2019 champion Anne Haug was third in St. George on a course that she felt didn’t suit her at all – she’s much more comfortable with the rolling hills and heat of Kona. Lucy Charles-Barclay will be in Kona to race, which was a bit of a surprise as she spent so much of the year injured, but look for her to blaze out of the water and onto the bike, then lead for a lot (if not all) of the bike.

Some other names to keep an eye on include a resurgent Sarah True who has returned from maternity leave with impressive wins at Eagleman 70.3 and Ironman Lake Placid. She took fourth in Kona in 2018, so she knows how to race near the front on the Big Island. Sarah Crowley was third in Kona in 2019 and appears to be rounding into that kind of form again with wins this year at Ironman Australia, Ironman Cairns and Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz.

Canada’s Jen Annett makes a return to the Big Island again this year. In 2019 she was hit by a media motorcycle early on in the bike and was unable to finish the race. She’ll return to see if she can use her prodigious bike skills to improve on her 25th-place finish from 2018 and complete an impressive year that’s seen her finish second at both Ironman Des Moines and Ironman Mont-Tremblant.

Here’s the list of the pro women who will be racing next week: