Thousands of athletes took on the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina course in Wilmington on Saturday, Oct. 17, the 17th edition of the race.
Out of a field of more than 2,500 athletes, Ryan Luczak, 25, earned the race's fastest overall time, completing the 70.3-mile course in 3 hours, 50 minutes, 46 seconds. The Reston, Virginia resident posted the fastest bike split of the day, finishing the 56-mile segment in 2:07.11.
Luczak finished more than four minutes ahead of Timmy Synowiec, whose 3:55:16 mark was good for second place. Mooresville's Daniel Gossow placed third in 3:59.57.
Florida’s Camila Lupi won the women's race in 4:42:36, edging Cary’s Julie Biggs (second, 4:46:58) and Colorado’s Erin Oliphant (third, 4:49:02).
Athletes from across the country and world competed in the Wilmington race, which sold out to a record 3,500 athletes months in advance.
IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina 2026 race course in Wilmington, NC
Long before it carried the Ironman name, Wilmington’s signature triathlon was known as Beach2Battleship. The world's largest operator of mass-participation sports events purchased the event from the YMCA of Wilmington in 2016, and this year’s competition marks its 17th edition since debuting in 2006, with cancellations in 2018 due to Hurricane Florence and in 2020 because of COVID-19.
The race began with perhaps its most celebrated feature: a 1.2-mile swim near Wrightsville Beach, ranked the No. 3 Best Swim Course in North America in the 2024 Ironman Athlete Choice Awards.
The swim took athletes through Banks Channel, which connects to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
From there, competitors transitioned to a 56-mile bike ride stretching from Wilmington into neighboring Pender County. Cyclists crossed Causeway Drive and traveled along Eastwood Road before making their way through Market Street and College Road. They’ll then head east on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, eventually crossing the Cape Fear River and continuing onto U.S. 421.
The final leg brought athletes back to downtown Wilmington for a 13.1-mile run, ending at Water Street Park for the third consecutive year, with the Battleship North Carolina providing a picturesque backdrop across the Cape Fear River.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Virginia's Ryan Luczak wins 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 NC in Wilmington