Age Groupers in Marbella: the UK’s Estée Larivière and Her Year of World Championships

November 7, 2025

Ironman 70.3 World Championship Marbella Age Group Bikes

The UK’s Estée Larivière has had quite the end to her season, as she is in Marbella, Spain, ready to compete at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship just weeks after racing in Kona at the full-distance worlds. She says she had a rough day on the Big Island last month (she certainly wasn’t the only one), so she is eager to bounce back with a good performance in Spain.

Larivière is British, but she grew up in France, where she still lives today. She was an equestrian athlete for much of her childhood, but she took up running later in life. She found her way to triathlon after getting injured and being unable to run, so she started cross training with swimming and cycling.

“The rest is history,” she says. “It started out as a real challenge. I didn’t really know what an IRONMAN was, but it sounded cool and it sounded scary and I thought I have to do one.”

She says she has “a bit of a Type A personality,” so she is always looking to chase spots at the world’s biggest events. She has already qualified for the 2026 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France, she is registered for Challenge Roth, and she won a slot to Norseman, but she says she would still really love to get back to Kona next October.

“That means I have to do another full distance [to qualify],” Larivière says. “And if I then qualify for Kona, that would mean four full-distance IRONMAN races in a year, which is perhaps a bit much. But you know, I like a challenge.”

Before she can focus on Kona and her 2026 schedule, Larivière has Marbella to worry about. She said she is a bit worn out after Kona, so she isn’t shooting for anything crazy in Spain.

“Kona was a really tough day out for me,” she says. “So the goal [this weekend] is to have fun, to stay safe, to enjoy the vibes.”