220 Triathlon May 2026

Last year’s Ironman World Champs in Kona was a battle for the ages. We watched gobsmacked as the women’s race saw favourites Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) and then Taylor Knibb (USA) crash out on the run leg in brutally hot and humid conditions. While Norway’s Solveig Løvseth took the win, just behind her was a Great British powerhouse – Kat Matthews. At that race the former army physio turned pro triathlete secured her third second place finish at an Ironman World Championship event but as we discover in our interview with the star this month, she’s still got plenty to come. That race was almost a stepping stone to seeing what’s possible. The athlete’s analytical approach to training and curiosity to see how far she can push herself is maybe one…

THE BIG PIC Reigning T100 champion Hayden Wilde (NZL) gets his 2026 season underway at Ironman 70.3 Geelong on 22 March. The Kiwi, who will be back on the T100 circuit in Singapore at the end of April, would finish third behind Belgium’s Jelle Geens in second and Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt in first.…

TIM HEMING Cutting through the spin of tri to address the issues that matter, Tim is a sports journalist who has written extensively on triathlon for the national press. What are your triathlon goals? For newcomers to swim, bike and run, the answer is usually simple: get fitter, improve, complete a target race, and enjoy the medal, T-shirt and bragging rights. But for many, that’s where the journey ends. While the British Triathlon Federation doesn’t publish clear repeat participation figures, the shape of the data is telling: with around 120,000 estimated active triathletes and race entries at a similar number across a season, many athletes appear to be racing only once. A membership base around a quarter the size of total participation further underlines the challenge, suggesting a large proportion…

Hidalgo’s best results to date The young Brazilian is no stranger to a podium or six. Here are his highlights so far… 2nd overall, 2025 WTCS 5 x WTCS podiums, inc. victory in Alghero, 2025 1st, Ironman 70.3 Brasilia, 2025 10th, 2024 Paris Olympic Games Miguel Hidalgo doesn’t just want to win races, he wants to change what’s possible. At 26, the Brazilian has already done something no athlete from his country has achieved before: standing on the top step of a WTCS podium. His breakthrough victory in Alghero in May last year wasn’t a flash of brilliance, but part of a season that confirmed his arrival among the sport’s elite, culminating in second place overall in the World Triathlon Championship Series standings. Add a top-10 finish on his Olympic…

At first glance, it would be easy to assume that everything comes naturally to Kat Matthews. Watch the British triathlete glide through an Ironman marathon or dismantle a field on the bike and the effort can appear almost casual. Needless to say, it isn’t. “I think that’s something people often misunderstand,” she says. “When you say I made it [Ironman New Zealand, which she won in March] look easy, it still hurts. It’s still really hard.” Matthews’ understated toughness – equal parts composure and quiet resilience – has become one of the defining characteristics of her racing style. Since taking part in her first full Ironman as a pro at the end of 2019, the former British Army physiotherapist has risen rapidly to become one of the most formidable athletes…

In early February, Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt uploaded a post to his Instagram account that left endurance athletes and fans in awe. Blummenfelt, pictured in a lab, rode against a computer screen that displayed a VO2 max score of 101.1ml/kg/min. Before Blummenfelt’s test, the highest VO2 max recorded was by Norwegian cyclist Oskar Svendsen in 2012. Blummenfelt’s effort was an unprecedented show of physiological strength, but how does that figure relate to performance? And what other metrics matter when it comes to you becoming a strong, holistic triathlete? Here, we reveal the key areas you must focus on. Not only that, we also show you how and, importantly, when… VO2 MAX Blummenfelt’s bellows translates to record-breaking performances. As a snapshot, in 2021 he set the Ironman world record of 7:21:12 at…