Skold finished ninth at Ironman Lake Placid, qualifying for the Ironman World Championship.
Sam Skold secured her spot at the Ironman World Championship.
But the qualifier didn’t come easy.
The first-year pro from Anchorage took ninth at Ironman Lake Placid, completing the 140.6-mile race in Upstate New York in 9 hours, 30 minutes and 51 seconds.
After a tough 2.4-mile swim that saw Skold exit the water in 27th out of 28 triathletes, the 31-year-old rallied over the next two legs to make up for lost time.
“Had to chase my way to a Kona Qual all day long but managed to snag the last slot with a 9th place finish at IM Lake Placid,” shared Skold on Instagram, who is a part of That Triathlon Life (TTL) Development Team. “Worst swim of my life saved with the best run of my life.”
Skold, who doubles as an Air Force captain and physician assistant at JBER, logged the 11th-fastest time on the 112-mile bike and then capped the competition with the second-fastest run — a marathon — in a blistering 2:55:31, averaging a pace of 6:41 per mile.
That catapulted Skold into the top-10, collecting $2,000 in prize money and earning a coveted spot at the world championships, claiming the fourth and final qualifier awarded at Lake Placid. She also finished as the second American in the competition, 26 minutes after Rachel Zilinskas of Pennsylvania, who took third.
Canada’s Paula Findlay, an established triathlete and co-founder of TTL, topped the competition in 8:47:43.
Skold makes the transition from swim to bike at Ironman Lake Placid. Photo by bodymindbranding
Skold has had a busy year since turning pro last fall, placing fourth at the Ironman 70.3 Dallas-Little Elm in March and seventh at the Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant last month.
An Air Force Academy graduate originally from Colorado, Skold triumphed in her debut at the Alaska Gold Nugget Triathlon in 2025, the biggest and longest-running all-female triathlon in the U.S.
And since 2023, Skold has won the military division three years in a row at the Ironman World Championships. She also placed first overall in the amateur athlete division last fall, in addition to winning the 30-34 age group.
Now with her qualifier in the bag, she’ll gear up for worlds in less than three months, this time as a pro.
The Ironman World Championships are slated for October 10 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
“Excited and so humbled to be going back to Kona in the professional field,” shared Skold on Instagram. “If anyone can make me a front pack swimmer, I’ll pay you my life savings.”
Skold made up significant ground during the bike and run portions at Ironman Lake Placid. Photo by bodymindbranding
