After a dominant season, and a brutal disappointment in Kona, LCB raced the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in a way only she could. Her performance was transcendent, honoring herself, and the memory of her husband Reece's grandfather, who had recently passed. He was her biggest fan, keeping the medal from her Kona win next to his chair.

"I felt his presence and it allowed me to have wings throughout the race," she said.

With flawless execution from start to finish, Lucy delivered the fastest swim (25:05) and run in the world for the win.

The most perfect race. The most epic comeback. The most incredible Athlete of the Year.

There's an indescribable pressure that comes with racing on your home turf. Matt ate it up and turned it into a thrilling breakthrough to win the WTCS Final in Wollongong — exploding out of the start, feeding off the crowd, and pinning it wire to wire for the win. That heart-pounding performance capped off a record-setting year — he's the first athlete ever to win 4 WTCS events in a single season — and showcased everything that makes Matt a champion: discipline, the relentless pursuit of excellence, and endlessly inspiring joy.

Hats off to Matt, Athlete of the Year.

Some records are broken. Some are obliterated. Laura Philipp didn't just lower the IRONMAN World Record (to 8:03:13!) — she redefined what we think is possible over 140.6 miles. Laura's next-level Hamburg performance dropped the women's record by over 7 minutes — and put it tantalizingly close to breaking 8 hours. A feat even more incredible considering she didn't learn to swim until she was 24. This was the Performance of the Year.

Racing at home can be both exhilarating and pressure-packed. At the WTCS Championship in Wollongong, Matt met the moment. He fed off the crowd, exploding off the start line and pinning it all the way to the finish, refusing to give an inch. That's not just great racing. That's preparation, talent, and passion all wrapped up into the Performance of the Year.

Taylor came within 3K of winning the IRONMAN World Championship before she collapsed with nothing left to give. For hours, she raced on the edge, pushing her body to the limit, toeing the line between transcendence and tragedy, in the most epic Kona battle of the last decade. For having the guts to throw out playing it safe and truly race — with such ferocity, intensity, and heart — on the world's biggest stage, Taylor earned Breakthrough of the Year.

Coming back from a serious injury is hard. Coming back and lining up at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice — in only your third full IRONMAN — and then absolutely smashing the race? That's something only Marten could do. From the cannon, he delivered a gutsy performance, leading chunks of the swim and bike, then — despite a lack of run training — throwing down a 2:40:46 marathon to cinch 4th. For this gritty, thrilling showing in Nice, Marten earned Breakthrough of the Year.

Fastest mom at the IRONMAN World Champs gets the coveted title of MOTY! Making her Kona debut just a year after giving birth to daughter Poppy, Holly Lawrence crushed it. On a tough day, she delivered a smart, calculated performance to take 6th place in 8:52:40 — and become the world's fastest mom.

Just a few months before Sam's second son, Sebastian, was born, Sam toed the line at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice and lit the course on fire, clocking the 9th-fastest marathon of the day (2:39:10) to finish 14th — and win the title of world's fastest dad. YO YO YO FOTY!