Vincent Luis won the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona wearing a black Coros Pace 4, a $249 (£229) watch that weighs 32g on its nylon band. The Frenchman crossed the line in 7:47:27, 1:35 ahead of Gustav Iden, in what he had announced would be both his first Kona and the last race of his career.
Pace 4 sits below Pace Pro and Pace 4 Pro in the Coros range, yet it carries the AMOLED screen and dual-frequency GPS of the more expensive models. Luis didn’t need anything bigger!
The winning watch
Coros rates Pace 4 at 41 hours of GPS in its All Systems mode and 19 days of daily use. Whilst no one needs 41 hours for an Ironman, Luis needed under eight hours of it, so battery life was never a concern, even with the screen set to always-on 😉
The watch has a triathlon multisport profile that switches from swim to bike to run with a button press, and it supports cycling power meters. Neither is available on the similarly priced Forerunner 165, although I’m sure he could have afforded a more expensive watch like the FR 970 had Garmin sponsored him. Coros also has a microphone, so athletes can record voice notes after a session or drop a Voice Pin mid-run like “Mile 24, it’s hurting.”
| Coros Pace 4 | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | £229 / $249 / €269 |
| Weight | 32g nylon band, 40g silicone band |
| Display | 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen |
| GPS battery | 41 hours (All Systems), 31 hours (dual-frequency) |
| Daily use | 19 days, 6 days with always-on display |
| Thickness | 11.8mm |
| Launched | November 2025 |
Coros has since launched Pace 4 Pro at £389. Full figures are on the official Coros Pace 4 page.
How Luis won
Luis emerged from a choppy swim in 48:30, part of a front pack of about 20 led by Marten Van Riel in 48:16. The cannon fired at 6:20am in rain and a heavy swell in Kailua Bay, and the first ten men out of the water were separated by 12 seconds.
He stayed near the front for the whole 180km ride and reached T2 in sixth, about six minutes behind Magnus Ditlev. Ditlev made his move on the climb to Hawi, rode 4:06:47, and started the marathon 1:27 ahead of Sam Laidlow.
Ditlev held a four-minute lead for two-thirds of the marathon. He slowed coming out of the Natural Energy Lab, stopped at the aid station just past mile 19 and then walked. Luis passed him at the mile 21 aid station, and Iden followed him through.
Iden closed to 44 seconds with five miles left, but Luis was back to more than a minute ahead with a mile to go. Ditlev eventually did not finish.
Men’s podium
| Place | Athlete | Swim | Bike | Run | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vincent Luis (FRA) | 48:30 | 4:15:41 | 2:38:35 | 7:47:27 |
| 2 | Gustav Iden (NOR) | 50:09 | 4:17:09 | 2:36:57 | 7:49:02 |
| 3 | Matthew Marquardt (USA) | 48:24 | 4:11:27 | 2:43:57 | 7:49:58 |
| 4 | Gregory Barnaby (ITA) | 50:09 | 4:11:22 | 2:44:43 | 7:51:01 |
| 5 | Pierre Le Corre (FRA) | 48:28 | 4:20:46 | 2:38:49 | 7:53:28 |
Race facts
- Luis is the first Frenchman to win the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii.
- It is his third world title, after the ITU World Championships in 2019 and 2020.
- Iden ran the fastest marathon of the day, 2:36:57, despite a three-minute drafting penalty on the bike. His 2022 Kona run course record is 2:36:14.
- Iden’s points took the IRONMAN Pro Series title and its $200,000 bonus. Jonas Schomburg was second and Kristian Blummenfelt third.
- Marquardt also served a three-minute drafting penalty, went into the tent first, and came out eighth. His third place is the third podium for an American man at the World Championship in the last decade.
- Barnaby rode the fastest bike split among the finishers, 4:11:22.
- Van Riel led the swim in 48:16 and finished 36th after a 3:32:48 marathon.
- Sam Long rode from 42nd out of the water to finish sixth.
- Blummenfelt moved into second at halfway on the run and faded to eighth.
- Defending champion Casper Stornes did not start after a training crash.
- Five pro men did not finish: Ditlev, Laidlow, Patrick Lange, Trevor Foley and Jamie Riddle. Lange, the 2024 champion, was racing Kona for the last time.
- Laidlow withdrew before mile four of the run with a blood flow problem in his left leg, which he says will need surgery.
- Men and women raced on the same day in Kona for the first time since 2019.
The women’s race
Taylor Knibb won the women’s race in 8:36:29 after Solveig Løvseth collapsed inside the final mile while leading. Laura Philipp ran 2:50:42, the fastest women’s marathon, to finish second and win the women’s Pro Series. Julie Derron was third on her Kona debut, and Kat Matthews fourth. Løvseth finished eighth.
Quick answers
What watch did Vincent Luis wear to win Kona?
Vincent Luis wore a black Coros Pace 4 to win the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona.
How much does the Coros Pace 4 cost?
Coros Pace 4 costs £229 in the UK and $249 in the US.
Can the Coros Pace 4 last a full Ironman?
Coros Pace 4 is rated at 41 hours in All Systems GPS mode and 31 hours in dual-frequency mode, which covers even the slowest Ironman finish.
Does the Coros Pace 4 have a triathlon mode?
Coros Pace 4 has a triathlon multisport profile and pairs with cycling power meters.
Who won the 2026 Kona men's race?
Vincent Luis won in 7:47:27, ahead of Gustav Iden (7:49:02) and Matthew Marquardt (7:49:58).
Who ran the fastest marathon at Kona 2026?
Gustav Iden ran the fastest men’s marathon in 2:36:57, and Laura Philipp ran the fastest women’s marathon in 2:50:42.
Last Updated on 13 October 2026 by tfk the5krunner
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID
