IRONMAN 70.3 St. George men's results: Brilliant Sam Long wins back-to-back titles – Elite News

The consecutive champion, Sam Long defended his title at IRONMAN 70.3 St. George this weekend with a stunning performance to continue a phenomenal run of form this season.

The 28-year-old, who has five podiums in five races so far in 2024, and has only been beaten by Magnus Ditlev, Lionel Sanders And Yuri Colognewas a class above the rest in Utah in the middle distance on Saturday.

By winning his first IRONMAN Pro Series race, Long cemented his place among the best in the world today and looks nearly unbeatable after a seventh consecutive podium finish.

Nager Quenet takes charge

South Africa's Nicholas Quenet took the lead out of the water in St. George, as the 27-year-old clocked 22:46 in the 1900m swim to enter transition just ahead of Germany's Magnus Manner and ten seconds ahead of Marc “The Shark” Dubrick.

In the first chasing group, veterans such as Justin Metzler and Antony Costes had a deficit of around +0:40, with a few rookies for company, while further back, two pre-race contenders, Rob Wilkiowiecki and Justin Riele, were eliminated at +1:11. .

Among the other big names, Jackson Laundry split a time of 25:22 for the second year in a row, as the Canadian left the swim +2:36 behind in 26th position, with Long swimming more than half a -minute slower than in 2023 and starting the cycle with a +3:17 deficit.

Bike Long shows its class

On the bike course, the question quickly became when Long would arrive in front, as he immediately began to make up his deficit and, by the second timing mat, had halved his gap to Manner, Quenet, Costes and Maximillian Sperl . in front.

Blowing through the pack during the first hour on the bike, the Boulder native was within sight of the lead pack at the 25.6-mile checkpoint and by the halfway point, had fought his way up to the sharp end of the race and dropped everyone except Sperl.

After urging Sperl to take more corners up front, Long lost patience and, during the final stages of the moto, quickly dropped the German and made his way to transition alone, with a lead of +0:51 at the start of the race.

Behind Long and Sperl, the devastation of the American's bike split in less than two hours was evident, with Quenet third in T2 more than three minutes behind, and top pros such as Laundry, Dubrick and Dane Miki Taagholt more than five minutes ago.

Recording of the course and consolidation of the crown

Dominating the run, Long had no one nearby to challenge him, but continued to push the pace, with the course record potentially up for grabs.

Consolidating his lead over Sperl in second, Long was +3:24 ahead of his old cycling companion at the halfway mark, with New Zealander Ben Hamilton chasing Quenet in third place alongside Frenchman Costes.

During the second half of the race, Long continued to bring everything out of himself, and by the end of the course he doubled the gap to Hamilton, who had moved into second, as the American crashed the course record with a time of 1:10:46. run divided.

Finishing in 3:39:17, Long was almost four minutes faster than last year and continued his brilliant form, with seven podium finishes dating back to IRONMAN Maryland in September 2023.

In second place, Hamilton made the trip from New Zealand worth it, as he confirmed his third place finish at IRONMAN New Zealand. In third position, Costes managed to overtake Quenet in the final stages and resist rapid pressing.

Results IRONMAN 70.3 Saint-George 2024

Professional men

Saturday May 4, 2024 1.9km / 90km / 21.1km

• 1. Sam Long (United States) – 3:39:17
• 2. Ben Hamilton (NZL) – 3:46:52
• 3. Antony Costes (FRA) – 3:48:19
• 4. Jackson Laundromat (CAN) – 3:48:22
• 5. Nicolas Quenet (RSA) – 3:48:49
• 6. Michael Weiss (AUT) – 3:51:38
• 7. Maximillian Sperl (GER) – 3:51:38
• 8. Marc Dubrick (United States) – 3:53:31
• 9. Justin Riele (United States) – 3:54:22
• 10.Robert Wilkiowiecki (POL) – 3:54:55