Ladies Day at the Norseman: 4 Inspirational Stories

The Norseman Xtreme Triathlon doesn’t ease anyone in. It starts with a leap off a ferry into the cold water of the Hardangerfjord for the swim back to Eidfjord. The race then includes a challenging 180 km bike ride and a marathon run that finishes on Mount Gausta—for those who make the cutoff a a grind up Gaustatoppen to earn the race’s black t-shirt. Those who don’t make the cut off turn around before the brutal final 5 km up to Gaustatoppen and finish near the ski area of Gaustablikk. Here are a few women’s stories that stood out for us this year.

Christelle Rocchi: “When you want, you can”

For France’s Christelle Rocchi, Norseman was a follow-up bucket list race to the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, where she raced in 2023. She competes while holding down a full-time job—a fact she’s fiercely proud of.

“I am not a professional, and I am a woman who works,” she said. “I say: when you want to achieve something, you can.”

The day began, as it does for every Norseman athlete, with the jump. “I was afraid. The cold water, the big ferry, the night,” Rocchi admitted. She convinced herself to jump, and what followed was, in her words, “an experience, wonderful, wonderful.”

Crossing the finish line brought the same disbelief she felt at the IRONMAN World Championship. “It’s a dream, like Kona,” she said. “I have made the world championship IRONMAN, and I have made the world championship for Xtreme Triathlon. I am very proud of myself.”

Asked what’s next, Rocchi wasn’t ready to say. Kona and Norseman were the dream. “I must find another race to have another dream.”

Estee Lariviere: Redemption in a black shirt

Estee Lariviere came into Norseman as she continues an amazing string of races – Kona (IRONMAN World Championship) and Marebella (70.3 worlds) last year, then hitting Lanzarote and Challenge Roth (where she missed going sub-10 by just 27 seconds) this year before taking on the Norseman.  off a big year—Lanzarote, and a Challenge Roth finish that missed the sub-ten-hour mark by just 27 seconds. At Norseman, though, she had one of her best performances: eighth female overall, and a black shirt earned.

“I’m chuffed to bits. I didn’t know that I had a top-10 female in me,” she said. Conditions helped—no rain, which mattered for an athlete who admits she doesn’t handle the cold well. “Don’t ask me why I picked Norseman as a race,” she laughed.

Her swim was the standout leg, coming out of the water third. The bike held up despite the cold on the exposed plateaus, where holding power got tougher than expected. On the run, her coach Mark joined her for the climb up Zombie Hill and all the way to the top.

For Lariviere, the defining feature of Norseman isn’t the swim, the bike, or even the mountain—it’s the support crew. “There are no aid stations, but you have your support crew with you all day,” she said. “You think you know where you’re going to see them, but maybe they’ve changed tactics, so you get really happy to see them.” On the run especially, crews leapfrog ahead to catch athletes at multiple points along the course. “You end up seeing your loved ones more than you would on any other course.” Climbing to the top alongside her crew, she said, was the most special part of the day.

Susanne Buckenlei: Celebrating 50 in style

Susanne Buckenlei has won Norseman three times, but this year’s race was about something different: turning 50, and finishing with her daughter watching her race in person for the first time.

(We featured Buckenlei last week before the race.)

“I was afraid … that I wouldn’t be able keep smiling because of pain and experiencing just how hard the race is—but I never did,” she said. Back pain set in early on the bike, forcing her to adapt. She caught a rare break in the weather—this was her first Norseman ever without headwinds—though the flat sections of the run brought new problems, requiring stretching and breaks she’s not used to needing.

Buckenlei didn’t earn the black shirt this time, finishing instead in white. But she came close, nearly running the whole mountain as she has in years past, and she’s making peace with what that means. “I have a different view on my wins here,” she said. “In that time it felt just natural. But now, always working full time, I have a whole new perspective on being able to win three times.”

The biggest moment of the day wasn’t about the shirt color at all. It was the opportunity for Buckenlei’s daughter, Luna, to see her compete. “That she could see me racing is something so special,” Buckenlei said of her daughter. “There was never the thought about dropping out. Even if I would’ve crawled over the finish line—that was the biggest thing I always said to myself: don’t drop out. Seeing her gave me a big push.”

Powering On Through Mechanical Issues

Swim leader Ilona Eversdijk was powering away at the front of the race when she ran into mechanical issues with her bike – she couldn’t change into the small chainring. Not a big deal if she was racing back home in the Netherlands, where most race courses are completely flat, but at the Norseman it is disastrous. 

Eversdijk soldiered on and managed to get to the finish line, but admitted after the race that her legs were trashed for the run after having to push so hard on the bike to get up the long, steep climbs on her big ring. In the end she would finish 14^th.

What is even more impressive to me, though, is that two days later I saw Eversdijk on the famous Trolltunga hike – a 27-km effort that includes 1,300 m of climbing. After that she said her legs were trashed, but the fact that she completed that 27 km effort in six hours is nothing short of amazing. (And note she’s still smiling!) 

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