2022 Champion Chelsea Sodaro Out of Kona Ironman World Championship

2022 Ironman World Champion Chelsea Sodaro has withdrawn from this year’s title race in Kona due to illness, Triathlete confirmed today via Ironman.

The news comes after Sodaro was notably absent from yesterday’s pre-race pro press conference, with Ironman confirming it was their decision to not invite the American this year. “We would love to have had her,” Ironman told Triathlete. “There were six incredible women on that stage, we have all of these amazing women’s stories to tell, and we wish we could tell all of them.”

Sodaro was the first former Ironman World Champion not to be invited to the official pro press conference in recent history. She was also absent from the Ironman media guide and an On-sponsored athlete press conference on Monday.

Since her surprise win at her rookie performance in 2022 — where she became the first American woman to win the event since 1996 — Sodaro has had a mixed bag of results at the world championship: sixth at Kona 2023, a strong third at Nice 2024, and a DNF in 2025. Sodaro mostly flew under the radar this season, with her only race credit a 16th-place finish at Ironman Lake Placid in July, where she validated her slot for the 2026 Ironman World Championship.

Sodaro had kept her illness under wraps in the days leading up to the race, at least on social media. Only yesterday, Sodaro posted snaps from recent shakeout swims at the pool and in open water; a few days prior, she shared a video of riding on the Queen K, saying, “Pretty amazing what can happen when you keep showing up and keep believing in what you’re working toward. Let’s gooo.”

Sodaro’s departure means only three of four past champions on this year’s women’s start list will toe the line at tomorrow’s race: defending champion Solveig Løvseth, 2024 Nice champion Laura Philipp, and 2023 champion Lucy Charles-Barclay.

The women’s pro race will begin Saturday at 6:30 a.m. Hawai’i Time (12:30 PM ET/9:30 AM PT) and will be broadcast on Ironman’s YouTube channel. The Triathlete team is also on the ground, bringing you live updates.

UPDATE: Sodaro confirms Kona 2026 withdrawal

In a video posted to Instagram after publication of this article, Sodaro confirmed her withdrawal, saying she tested positive for influenza A and is devastated. “I’m devastated to say the least,” she wrote in the caption of the video. “Up until 24 hours ago, this is the first time I’ve been healthy at the start of world champs since 2022 and I was beyond excited to see what I could do. Sport can be incredibly cruel, but I also know that the sun will come up tomorrow and there will be more start and finish lines for me.”

Full transcript of Chelsea Sodaro’s Kona 2026 withdrawal announcement:

Hi, friends. I will not be starting the Ironman World Championships tomorrow. This morning, I tested positive for influenza A. Apparently, it’s going around the island. I started to feel a little bit off midday yesterday, and then my body kind of – yeah, got the flu last night. I’m obviously devastated. This is the first time that I have been able to show up to a world championship healthy since 2022. So I was really excited to see what was possible for my mind and my body. We almost got there, just didn’t get luck on our side these last 36 hours. I have the best team around me, weathered a lot of storms, so I will be back at another start line, another finish line, whenever I can get my body ready to go again. Thanks for all the support, especially from my incredible partners. I’m wishing all of the racers the best of luck tomorrow. It’s looking like you’re going to get a proper Kona day, so enjoy it. It’s a privilege and such an honor to race on this island.