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Oct. 14—Samantha Skold had a quiet confidence entering the 2025 Ironman World Championships.
Skold, a 31-year-old captain in the Air Force stationed out of Anchorage's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, had a successful 2024 race, finishing in the top four of her age group.
That trust in her abilities and training was confirmed Saturday as Skold not only won the 30-34 age group, but was also the fastest overall woman racing as a non-professional.
"After that, I was like, 'I think I can actually make it for the big win,' " she said. "So leading into the entire season of training, I kind of had this little belief in the back of my head that I do think I can take over the overall win here at the age group championships."
"I didn't tell anyone about it. It's just more or less the kind of a goal that I kept telling myself inside."
The race, held around Kona on Hawaii's Big Island, was a test of will for each of the competitors.
With temperatures that pushed toward 90 degrees and high humidity and winds, the race was a battle of attrition, according to Skold.
"Kona is known for brutal heat when you're running through the lava fields," she said. "The water temperature was a little bit hotter than it has been in years past as well. I think it was about 81 degrees when you're swimming, so everyone's core temperature was significantly elevated."
Her time of 9 hours, 34 minutes, 59 seconds was significantly faster than her 2024 time of 10:16:41 at the race held in Nice, France.
She arrived a week early for this race, which allowed her to be able to ride the full bike course multiple times and take practice runs at the hottest part of the day.
But for an athlete who trains mostly in Alaska, the high temperatures are an extra challenge. She said she started training for the heat about two months out. It includes a lengthy sauna session after her swim training.
"You just sit in the sauna until you can't take it anymore," she said. "And then when you're biking indoors, you just bike on a trainer in full layers, multiple jackets on, a hat on and no fan, and you just sweat it out."
Skold cruised to an easy victory at the Gold Nugget Triathlon in Anchorage in May. At that time, she said the swimming was undeniably the weakest component of the three triathlon disciplines.
[Previously: After late change of heart, Samantha Skold takes 2025 Gold Nugget Triathlon]
But she said it's been an emphasis for her summer training routine. She worked with Grant Gamblin at the Aquatic Foundation of Alaska's Yeti swim group and the masters group at The Alaska Club and has made major improvements. Her time in choppy Hawaii waters was five minutes faster than it was two years ago.
"Swimming is one of those sports where you try harder and you swim slower, so it's really just trying to slow down and feel the water," she said.
Skold received her pro card earlier this year and plans on testing the professional field in some races in 2026. The win over the weekend gave her an extra boost of confidence.
"It's incredibly intimidating, especially when you're at this race and you're on the same course as the pros," she said. "But after taking the overall age group, when I think I've kind of topped what I can do here on the age group realm, it gave me a lot more confidence to take that professional card."
The overall women's pro winner, Solveig Løvseth, finished the race in 8:28:27. So while Skold was still a ways back from the top of the class, her time was still competitive among pros at 33rd overall.
She said she hopes to race five or six professional races worldwide in 2026, but she also has to juggle that schedule with a full-time job as a physician assistant with the Air Force.
"My leadership within the Air Force and at JBER has been really, really supportive, so I'm really excited to see where that goes," she said.
There are plenty of hurdles for triathletes who train in Alaska, including the limited ability to do open-water swims. And in the winter, workouts often include as much skiing as running and biking. But Skold, who has two more years on her current contract, said she has been welcomed in by the community and has thrived in the state.
"It definitely would be more advantageous to not live in Alaska, but I just love that state too much," she said.
Continue reading...
Skold, a 31-year-old captain in the Air Force stationed out of Anchorage's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, had a successful 2024 race, finishing in the top four of her age group.
That trust in her abilities and training was confirmed Saturday as Skold not only won the 30-34 age group, but was also the fastest overall woman racing as a non-professional.
"After that, I was like, 'I think I can actually make it for the big win,' " she said. "So leading into the entire season of training, I kind of had this little belief in the back of my head that I do think I can take over the overall win here at the age group championships."
"I didn't tell anyone about it. It's just more or less the kind of a goal that I kept telling myself inside."
The race, held around Kona on Hawaii's Big Island, was a test of will for each of the competitors.
With temperatures that pushed toward 90 degrees and high humidity and winds, the race was a battle of attrition, according to Skold.
"Kona is known for brutal heat when you're running through the lava fields," she said. "The water temperature was a little bit hotter than it has been in years past as well. I think it was about 81 degrees when you're swimming, so everyone's core temperature was significantly elevated."
Her time of 9 hours, 34 minutes, 59 seconds was significantly faster than her 2024 time of 10:16:41 at the race held in Nice, France.
She arrived a week early for this race, which allowed her to be able to ride the full bike course multiple times and take practice runs at the hottest part of the day.
But for an athlete who trains mostly in Alaska, the high temperatures are an extra challenge. She said she started training for the heat about two months out. It includes a lengthy sauna session after her swim training.
"You just sit in the sauna until you can't take it anymore," she said. "And then when you're biking indoors, you just bike on a trainer in full layers, multiple jackets on, a hat on and no fan, and you just sweat it out."
Skold cruised to an easy victory at the Gold Nugget Triathlon in Anchorage in May. At that time, she said the swimming was undeniably the weakest component of the three triathlon disciplines.
[Previously: After late change of heart, Samantha Skold takes 2025 Gold Nugget Triathlon]
But she said it's been an emphasis for her summer training routine. She worked with Grant Gamblin at the Aquatic Foundation of Alaska's Yeti swim group and the masters group at The Alaska Club and has made major improvements. Her time in choppy Hawaii waters was five minutes faster than it was two years ago.
"Swimming is one of those sports where you try harder and you swim slower, so it's really just trying to slow down and feel the water," she said.
Skold received her pro card earlier this year and plans on testing the professional field in some races in 2026. The win over the weekend gave her an extra boost of confidence.
"It's incredibly intimidating, especially when you're at this race and you're on the same course as the pros," she said. "But after taking the overall age group, when I think I've kind of topped what I can do here on the age group realm, it gave me a lot more confidence to take that professional card."
The overall women's pro winner, Solveig Løvseth, finished the race in 8:28:27. So while Skold was still a ways back from the top of the class, her time was still competitive among pros at 33rd overall.
She said she hopes to race five or six professional races worldwide in 2026, but she also has to juggle that schedule with a full-time job as a physician assistant with the Air Force.
"My leadership within the Air Force and at JBER has been really, really supportive, so I'm really excited to see where that goes," she said.
There are plenty of hurdles for triathletes who train in Alaska, including the limited ability to do open-water swims. And in the winter, workouts often include as much skiing as running and biking. But Skold, who has two more years on her current contract, said she has been welcomed in by the community and has thrived in the state.
"It definitely would be more advantageous to not live in Alaska, but I just love that state too much," she said.
Continue reading...
