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👋 Welcome back
Hello, you lovely, lycra-clad legends 🏊♀️ 🚴♀️ 🏃🏼
Welcome back to your regular dose of swim-bike-run goodness. Whether you’re deep into race prep, clinging to winter base miles, or just here for the triathlon gossip (no judgement), we’ve got plenty for you to get stuck into…
LATEST: The endurance news headlines
HEARTBREAK: Lindsey Vonn crashes out of the Winter Olympics
NEW RACE: Versailles 70.3 is added to the IRONMAN calendar
REVEALED: What is needed for LA28 Olympic qualification
VO2 MAX: Workouts that WILL improve your score
It’s time to take a break from your training and enjoy your Daily Split… ☕️ 🧑💻
Taylor Knibb is looking to once again compete at the Olympic Games for the USA. [IRONMAN]
🏃🏼 Quick splits
🥇 Knibb ready for LA28 quest: American superstar Taylor Knibb says she is planning on making a switch to short-course triathlon in 2026 as she bids to represent her country at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Read more HERE.
🚴♂️ Kingma focuses on the bike: Dutch triathlete and Olympian Maya Kingma has signed with the UCI Women’s Pro Continental Team, Aromitalia 3T Vaiano, as she turns her 2026 focus towards road cycling. Read more HERE.
🫡 Massive respect to you guys: Kiwi legend Hayden Wilde reveals his true feelings for the pro cycling community after joining them in last week’s New Zealand Elite Road National Championships. Read more HERE.
👏 Award for inspirational Pawel: Leading ultrarunner and inspirational coach Pawel Cymbalista has become the first winner of the prestigious new Scottish Award for Emerging Excellence in Mountain Culture. Read more HERE.
🧑🦽➡️ Silver Bullet ready to roll: Swiss wheelchair races Marcel ‘Silver Bullet’ Hug is aiming for a record-equaling London Marathon victory this year, as he aims to match British Paralympic hero David Weir’s tally of eight. Read more HERE.
🏁 Race news
❄️ Winter Olympics
The opening weekend of the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina certainly provided us with a fascinating spectacle of thrills, spills and emotions as medals were won, athletes put their skills and endurance to the test… and the legendary Lindsey Vonn left us all stunned as she crashed out of the Women’s Downhill and was airlifted to hospital.
Here is your Olympic wrap-up: 🥇🥈🥉
American Vonn had decided to race despite suffering a torn ACL the week before, but she was only a matter of seconds into her run when she lost control and crashed out. Clearly in serious pain – her agonising screams could be heard on TV coverage – she was airlifted to hospital and underwent surgery on a fractured leg. Last night, Vonn issued a statement on her Instagram page, which read: “We take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall… I tried, I dreamt, I jumped.”
We wish this brave competitor well in her lengthy recovery.The women’s downhill was won by an American, however, as Breezy Johnson took gold ahead of Emma Aicher (GER) and Sofia Goggia (ITA).
Other endurance medals went to Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen, who won the men’s downhill gold ahead of Italians Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris, while Sweden’s Frida Karlsson won the women’s 20km skiathlon, and the men’s gold went to Norway’s Johannes Klaebo.
Europe dominated the biathlon mixed relay 4×6km, with France taking gold ahead of Italy in second and Germany taking the bronze medal.
Check out all the latest news, results and schedule on the official site HERE.
🏰 Palace of Versailles to host IRONMAN 70.3
The stunning Palace of Versailles will host a new IRONMAN 70.3 event on July 12 this year. [IRONMAN]
The historic city of Versailles will serve as an exciting new host of IRONMAN 70.3 this summer when the Château de Versailles (Palace of Versailles), provides a spectacular and culturally rich backdrop for what promises to be an incredible event.
A 15-minute train ride from the centre of Paris, Versailles will host the event on July 12 this year, with the three disciplines taking in the very best of the local region.
General registration opens on February 12, but you’d better be quick, this promises to be one very popular race for the 2026 calendar.
🏊♀️ Swim: Athletes will start with a truly iconic swim in the historic ‘Pièce d'eau des Suisses’ (‘The Pond of the Swiss’) – a vast 13-hectare basin dug between 1679 and 1682 by a regiment of Swiss Guards – with the majestic Palace of Versailles as their backdrop.
🚴♀️ Bike: The one-loop rolling bike course will take athletes through the City of Versailles and the surrounding areas, including the picturesque villages of the Chevreuse Valley.
🏃♂️ Run: For the run portion, athletes will return to the Pièce d'eau des Suisses and travel through the Potager du Roi (‘King’s Kitchen Garden’), famously created for King Louis XIV, before culminating with a spectacular finish on the ‘Avenue de Paris’, directly in front of the Palace.
Find out more about the Versailles 70.3 HERE.
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🔍 The BIG issue: Changes to LA28 qualifying
The qualification process for the LA Olympics in 2028 has been revealed. [World Triathlon]
World Triathlon has announced its qualification system for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 – providing expanded opportunities for developing nations to compete.
There will again be three triathlon events in LA, with the women’s individual race the first gold medal to be awarded at the Games, followed by the men’s equivalent and then the Mixed Relay a few days later.
A wonderful opportunity to celebrate and showcase the sport in front of a global audience, the governing body has agreed with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to try and broaden its representation among developing nations.
World Triathlon President Antonio Arimany said: ‘There isn’t anything in world sport quite as powerful as the Olympic Games, and we are proud that we have taken our commitment with both the Olympics but also the development and growth of our sport one step further.
“We have successfully advocated for a historic expansion of the ‘New Flag’ rule and, for the first time in our Olympic history, there will be two dedicated qualification spots per continent for nations not otherwise qualified.
“This is not a minor adjustment; it is a structural change designed to open the door wider for athletes from developing triathlon nations to step onto the blue carpet in Los Angeles. This ensures that the Olympic dream is a realistic, tangible target for more of your athletes than ever before.”
Antonio Arimany was elected as the new World Triathlon President in October 2024. [World Triathlon]
An in-depth look at the new qualification rules
The triathlon qualification process for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 opens on May 18, later this year, and will conclude on May 18, 2028.
As in previous editions, the total quota will be 55 men and 55 women taking part in both the individual and team relay events.
Mixed relay: The host country (USA) is guaranteed two men and two women (one Mixed Relay team), provided they have eligible athletes.
Mixed relay: The winners of the 2026 and 2027 World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships will each secure two men and two women quota places for their National Olympic Committees.
Mixed relay: There will be 16 men and 16 women allocated places via the World Triathlon Mixed Relay Olympic Qualification Ranking. The highest-ranked NOC from each of the five continents (from continents without NOCs already qualified and within the top 15) will receive 2-2 quotas, with the remaining spots filling the quota based on rank.
Individual: There will be 21 places available through the individual Olympic Qualification Ranking as of May 18, 2028. For NOCs that have already secured 2-2 places via Mixed Relay or Host pathways, their top two-ranked athletes in both genders will not be considered for these individual spots.
Individual: For the first time ever, the ‘New Flag’ pathway has been expanded to include two dedicated spots per continent (one via Continental Games, one via World Triathlon Ranking). This major update ensures that up to ten athletes (two men and two women per continent) from countries not otherwise qualified will have a guaranteed pathway to the Games, significantly increasing opportunities for emerging nations.
Individual: A maximum of two Universality Place invitations (two men, two women) will be awarded by the Tripartite Commission to eligible under-represented NOCs.
Across all categories, athletes must have been born on or before December 31, 2010, have represented the same National Federation throughout the qualification period, and be ranked within the top 160 of the World Triathlon Ranking by May 18, 2028.
NOCs with at least three athletes in the top 30 may qualify up to three athletes per gender; all others are limited to two.
👩💻 Trending in triathlon
We should all know by now just how hard the Norwegian trio of Casper Stornes, Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden push themselves in training – their interpretation of the much-vaunted Norwegian Method is almost legendary in the sport.
But what we probably didn’t realise is just how hungry this type of training makes an athlete… until now, that is. Thanks to an insight into their world provided by IRONMAN World Champion Casper Stornes last week, when he posted a series of images from their latest warm-weather get-together in Lanzarote.
Clearly, the adage ‘Train BIG, Eat BIG’ is something these boys abide by… flick through the link below as they tuck into huge burgers and massive milkshakes. 🍔 🥤
📅 This week on 247Endurance
Emily Bell asks a simple question, but one which is likely to cause much debate… if you were looking to create a TRI superhero to break the 8-hour barrier in women’s full-distance triathlon, which three athletes would you merge together to come up with the best swim, bike and run?
Indeed, why stop there? Let’s also pose the same question in the men’s field: who would you have down as your swimmer, your cyclist and your runner to ensure you got the fastest possible time?
Or, how about mixing things up even further and picking one trio with two women and a man and another with two men and a woman? It’s the perfect game to play for your next Triathlon-themed dinner party… For info, we’ve gone for a mixed trio of Lucy Charles-Barclay, Sam Laidlow on the bike, and either Big Blu or Laura Philipp on the run. Beat that if you can… Reply Here
World of Triathlon LIVE is a new triathlon exhibition taking place at Excel London 28-29 March 2026. Whether you're a pro-competitor, an age-grouper, an avid racer, a novice, or just curious about all things swim, bike, run, World of Triathlon LIVE, powered by TriDot, has something for everyone. Early Bird Tickets still available! BOOK HERE
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