Can St. George’s Final IRONMAN Event Live Up To the Hype?

Paula Findlay competes at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in 2022. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

Lionel Sanders has won the IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship in St. George four times (2021, 2018, 2017, 2016). Paula Findlay is the defending champion, and finished second there in 2022 when it was the world championship. Sam Long is the two-time defending men’s champion and lost to Sanders in 2021 in a dramatic sprint. Magnus Ditlev was third in that race and is fresh off an impressive performance at IRONMAN South Africa. Chelsea Sodaro, who proved she can do well on courses with challenging bikes thanks to her third-place finish in Nice last year, was all set to compete at IRONMAN Texas a few weeks ago, then had to pull out at the last minute due to illness. Jackie Hering, who was only 19 seconds behind Findlay at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside, will also arrive with lots of motivation to compete for the win. With all the firepower set to start on Saturday morning (bear with me – I’ll get to more of the men and women to watch below), along with the drama of a final day of racing in the city that has, over the last decade and a bit, become synonymous with tough, competitive IRONMAN racing, it’s hard to imagine we’re not in for a treat as triathlon fans when it comes time to follow the coverage.

There will be roughly 80 pros competing in the second IRONMAN Pro Series 70.3 event in North America this weekend, along with roughly 2,500 age group athletes. They’ll take on the challenging course that’s renowned for the cold swim, incredibly tough bike course with the famous climb in Snow Canyon State Park and a rolling run course that keeps competitors honest right to the finish line.

How to Watch

We’ll have more on IRONMAN’s history in St. George tomorrow – today we’ll focus on the pro race, which you’ll be able to watch live starting at 6:30 am MT/ 8:30 am ET. The coverage will appear exclusively on Outside TV for American and Canadian fans, while others will be able to watch the coverage through proseries.ironman.com, the IRONMAN Triathlon YouTube Channel, DAZN, iQIYI and L’Equipe Live, depending on where you live.

Prize Money and Points

The race features a US$75,000 prize purse. Here’s the breakdown:

• 1st – $12,000
• 2nd – $7,000
• 3rd – $4,250
• 4th – $3,500
• 5th – $2,750
• 6th – $2,250
• 7th – $2,000
• 8th – $1,500
• 9th – $1,250
• 10th – $1,000

The winner will earn 2,500 points towards the IRONMAN Pro Series standings.

Women’s Race

Findlay arrives in St. George having won 10 70.3 titles, including the win in Oceanside in April and, of course, St. George last year. The Canadian has displayed impressive all-around ability over the years, but really thrives on the tough bike course in St. George, so she’ll be tough to beat. Sodaro was rumoured to be extremely fit heading into the race in Texas, so she’ll certainly be one to watch, especially if the American 2022 IRONMAN world champ can stay close on her new ride (we wrote about her move to Ventum last month) and be able to use her running talents to move to the front. Hering started the year with an impressive race in Oceanside and was almost as consistent in all three disciplines as Findlay – the 40-second deficit from the swim ended up being the big difference. The American is no-doubt eager to continue to earn Pro Series points in order to compete for the overall series win after finishing second last year. Lotte Wilms (NED), who finished one spot behind Hering in the Pro Series last year, is also competing and looking to earn points towards a top finish in the series. Add American Danielle Lewis (winner in Lake Placid last year) to the list of potential podium finishers after her third in Oceanside.

While I can’t realistically imagine they will be pushing for the podium, I can’t help but provide a shout out to Laura Siddall (44) and 51-year-old Mel McQuaid. The Brit is competing in her last year of pro racing and bouncing back from an injury-shortened 2024, while McQuaid just keeps going strong after becoming the oldest woman to qualify for Kona as a pro in 2023.

You can see the full pro list (women’s and men’s) here.

Another Long/ Sanders showdown?

Lionel Sanders outsprints Sam Long at the 2021 race. Photo: IRONMAN

I am guessing both Sanders and Long would be thrilled to find themselves at the front pushing the pace over the last few miles of the run as they did four years ago, but that’s not going to be an easy task based on the men they’ll be facing. Ditlev was third in that race, in just his third year of pro racing, and he’s definitely racing at a much higher level now. The bike course is right up his alley and he’s much stronger on the run these days, so, as long as he’s recovered from South Africa, he’ll likely be at the front by the end of the ride. Long, Sanders and Ditlev all do well on tough bike courses, especially because they can use their bike strength to overcome any swim deficits. Ditlev has really worked on his swimming this year, so he’s likely to be the first of those three onto the bike – the North Americans will have to push really hard to keep the gap into T2 from becoming too much even for their impressive run talent to overcome.

Last year’s runner-up, Ben Hamilton (NZL), was 12th in Texas two weeks ago, so one would imagine his legs won’t be feeling the best starting the run after the tough St. George bike. Ditto for Matt Hanson, Cameron Wurf and Matthew Marquardt. Trevor Foley pulled out of the race in Texas, so look for him to be motivated for a big day on Saturday. Sanders’ countryman, Jackson Laundry, has raced well in St. George in years past (he’s finished in the top 5 in all but his first race there) and is another man to watch. Then there are the draft-legal speedster types including Aussie Jake Birtwhistle, along with Americans Matt Mcelroy, Seth Rider (the 2024 Olympian who finished fourth at Oceanside) and Tokyo Olympian Kevin McDowell, who should certainly be at the front early – whether or not they’re ready to compete for the podium on a strength-based course like St. George will be the question their legs will be asking them, especially if they’re still near the front heading up Snow Canyon. (You can add Canadian Olympian Matt Sharpe to that list as well – he’ll likely be near the front of the swim along with Marc Dubrick.)

One wild card to add to the mix is Aussie Max Neumann, who has struggled since his huge win in Ibiza a few years ago. Can he get back to the form that saw him win two IRONMAN races and take fourth in Kona in 2022?

Should we expect some fireworks in St. George on Saturday? Of course – especially because there’s likely some names on the large list of pros I haven’t mentioned who could factor in the race.

You can see the full pro list (women’s and men’s) here.

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