The footage was shocking and went viral around the globe: mainstream media wrote more about the collapsing Solveig Løvseth than about winners Taylor Knibb or Vincent Luis. Completely overcome by the heat, defending champion Løvseth went down multiple times during the final kilometer of the Ironman World Championship in Kona, walked in the wrong direction completely disoriented at times, remained lying on the ground for dozens of minutes, but ultimately managed to walk across the finish line. Instead of an almost certain victory, she eventually finished eighth.
The question quickly arose: Should Ironman have intervened, and should medical staff have protected the Norwegian athlete from herself by pulling her from the race? We asked you that exact question, and the results are clear: the vast majority of you think they shouldn’t have. A staggering 59 percent believe that Løvseth was the only one who had the right to make the decision to withdraw from the race.
Still, sixteen percent of voters felt it was irresponsible to let the athlete continue, while an additional twelf percent believed she was not even in a state to make such a decision responsibly. Another twelf percent thought it was entirely unnecessary to pull Løvseth from the race altogether.
