IRONMAN 70.3 Kraków 2026: Stępniak defends by 20 seconds
The second edition of IRONMAN 70.3 Kraków ended exactly as the crowd would have scripted it. Kacper Stępniak defended the title he won last year, taking a head-to-head fight with a Dane right before the line on Kraków’s Main Square. In the women’s race Nikki Bartlett came out of the water more than a minute down and rode to the win anyway. The race was held on Sunday 2 August 2026, in temperatures reaching 30°C.
Men: 20 seconds after 113 kilometres
Germany’s Hannes Butters led out of the water (21:12), just ahead of Marc Dubrick and Cenzino Lebot. Stępniak (21:19) and Daniel Baekkegaard started the bike a few seconds later, in the same group.
On the 90-kilometre course through Wieliczka and Bochnia, Stępniak took the initiative straight away and cut the lead group to five. When Baekkegaard lifted the pace over the final 30 km of the bike, Johannes Vogel and Butters lost contact. Three men started the run: Stępniak, Baekkegaard and Dubrick.
Dubrick lost touch in the first kilometres of the half marathon, though not because he cracked. The American put down the fastest run of the day, 1:11:35, and still could not close the gap. Baekkegaard stayed with the Pole stride for stride until the last few metres. Stępniak attacked just before the line and won in 3:36:37, 20 seconds ahead of the Dane (3:36:57). Dubrick completed the podium in 3:38:22.
A year ago Stępniak won the inaugural edition in 3:39:40. This year’s time is three minutes quicker, against considerably sharper competition.
Women: Bartlett takes back 1:41 on the bike
Italy’s Lilli Gelmini led out of the water (24:45). Nikki Bartlett reached T1 in eighth place, 1:41 behind the leader.
On the bike the Briton started taking that back immediately. She was fourth before the 45-kilometre mark, took the lead a few kilometres later and never gave it up. At T2 she held 1.5 minutes on Brooke Gillies and Megan McDonald, with Francesca Crestani chasing.
Places behind Bartlett kept changing on the run. The front did not. The Briton won in 4:08:26. Crestani ran through for second (4:09:59), and France’s Aurelia Boulanger took the last podium spot with the third-fastest time (4:10:45).
The Poles: Stępniak was not alone
Behind the winner, Jacek Krawczyk took fourth in the PRO classification in 3:41:24, only three minutes down on Dubrick. The fastest Polish woman was Agnieszka Gadomska, seventh in 4:16:51.
More than 2,000 athletes from several dozen countries started, so on entry numbers Kraków in its second year already sits alongside Poland’s older races over this distance.
The course: from Zakrzówek to the Main Square
The swim was held in Lake Zakrzówek, a flooded quarry inside the city limits of Kraków. The bike course ran from there through Wieliczka to Bochnia and back, mostly along the DK94, which makes it a fast leg that rewards strong time triallists. The run finished on the Main Square, still a rare thing for age-groupers racing in Poland. Few events in the country finish in the middle of a major city.
Thinking about Kraków in 2027?
Two editions are not enough to draw hard rules, but one thing is already visible: an August date means heat. In 2026 the thermometers showed close to 30°C, and on a half marathon after 90 km on the bike that counts for more than the course profile. If you are planning to race here, train in the heat and rehearse your hydration strategy on brick sessions instead of improvising on the day.