Trailing by nearly 17 minutes after the swim, the officer pedalled her way to a course record time on the bike to move into contention.
Wild then triumphed over Katie Phipkin in the run to claim the silver medal behind runaway leader Franziska Hofmann. The result also saw her qualify for next year’s Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
Elsewhere, former soldier Kat Matthews claimed a silver medal in the 2025 staging of that event after battling a world-class field – and blistering heat – in Kona.
The 34-year-old, who left the army in April, finished 35 seconds behind winner Solveig Lovseth to secure her third runner-up spot at the contest.
“I am proud of my performance and happy to finish strongly,” she said. “I experienced the challenge of Ironman for sure today.”
