Taylor Knibb Overcomes Marathon Deficit, Firmly Holds Lead in the Energy Lab

Taylor Knibb is looking smooth on the run course in Kona. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

Lucy Charles-Barclay and Taylor Knibb came to race on Saturday. First, Knibb overcame a more than two-minute deficit on the bike to catch Charles-Barclay, then she passed her and rode up the highway, building a 100-second lead of her own.

On the run course, Charles-Barclay wasted no time chasing Knibb down, erasing the 1:40 gap to the front of the race and passing the American. Charles-Barclay opened up a gap over Knibb, but it never got higher than 21 seconds.

Just before the half-marathon mark, Knibb caught Charles-Barclay, who was stopping at every aid station and taking on as much water and ice as she could. Knibb separated herself from Charles-Barclay just before the Energy Lab. Knibb entered the Energy Lab just as the race clock hit seven hours, and she was looking remarkably strong and smooth.

Lucy Charles-Barclay moved into the lead on the run course, but she slowed considerably ahead of the Energy Lab. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

Battling the heat, Charles-Barclay continued to stop at aid stations. She refused to give up, but with every stop, she watched Knibb pull away further and further down the road. Fifteen miles into the run (approaching the flat section of the Energy Lab), Knibb’s lead had grown to 1:19. Charles-Barclay was still making forward progress, but it was definitely Knibb’s race to lose.

Further back on the marathon course, Norway’s Solveig Løvseth was was running only slightly quicker than Knibb, sitting 4:45 behind the lead. Kat Matthews was also running well after dropping 2024 IRONMAN world champion Laura Philipp, but she was more than 10 minutes behind the lead.

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