Two silver medals for Bahrain Victorious at Ironman Texas

Bahrain Victorious continued its strong presence in the 2026 season after securing second place in both the men’s and women’s races at the Ironman North American Championship Texas, amid a field featuring several current and former world champions.

American athlete Taylor Knibb and Belgian athlete Martyn Van Riel recorded the team’s best results in the race, while new national records for the full Ironman distance were also set for the United States, Belgium, and France, with Vincent Luis also taking part.

In the women’s race, Taylor Knibb repeated her runner-up finish for the second consecutive year. She completed the 3.8-kilometer swim in third place with a time of 53 minutes and 36 seconds, before leading the 180-kilometer bike leg in 4 hours, 22 minutes, and 26 seconds. Knibb continued her strong performance during the marathon, setting a personal best of 2 hours, 54 minutes, and 6 seconds, which was ten full minutes faster than her time in last year’s edition. She broke the three-hour barrier for the first time in her career, before the current Ironman world champion claimed the lead in the final meters of the race.

Her British teammate Kat Matthews, the defending Texas champion, was forced to withdraw after suffering a rear tire issue midway through the race, despite returning to the course after waiting 20 minutes for the bike to be repaired.

On the men’s side, Belgian athlete Martyn Van Riel delivered a strong performance in his full-distance race. He exited the swim among the front group alongside Frenchman Vincent Luis and Ironman 70.3 world champion Jelle Geens. Despite Geens’ strong start in his full-distance Ironman debut, the pressure of the race later forced him to withdraw. Van Riel showed his experience in long-distance racing, leading the race for long stretches before finishing second, just 90 seconds behind the winner. Vincent Luis also finished fourth, securing his first qualification for the Ironman World Championship in Kona.

With these results, the number of Bahrain Victorious athletes qualified for the Ironman World Championship rose to four, further confirming Bahrain’s growing presence in global endurance sports. The team now continues its preparations for upcoming events, with Portuguese athlete Vasco Vilaça heading to Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to compete in the opening round of the World Triathlon Championship Series WTCS.