Ironman 70.3 La Quinta marked Lionel Sanders’ first race back after several months away due to injury. True to the character he has become known and loved for, Sanders showed he was fully committed to fighting for “the W,” even as Sam Long ultimately pulled away on the run to take the victory.
As fans would expect, both Sanders and Long started the day with significant deficits out of the water. Long exited the swim in 20th position, 2:58 down from the leaders, while Sanders came out 22nd, 3:12 back.
The race reshaped on the bike as Sanders surged to the front by kilometre 76. By the time the athletes entered T2, the battle for the podium had narrowed to four: Long, Sanders, Jackson Laundry, and Federico Scarabino.
Long led out of transition, and while Sanders made early efforts to close the gap – bringing it down to roughly 10 seconds at the 7km mark – Long steadily pulled away from there. However, given the limited run training Sanders had managed through months of injury, his efforts to stay in contention had fans on the edge of their seats.
What followed was a fierce duel for second and third between Sanders and Laundry, with Sanders surging late to secure an impressive second place, 2:49 behind Long, with both athletes securing a slot for the 2026 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice.
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