Originally published at: Can Gregory Barnaby Win the IRONMAN Pro Series? Meet the Italian Contender - Slowtwitch News
No, it is not a name that you typically associate with Italy. The son of a couple from the UK (mom from London, dad from Bristol), Gregory Barnaby was born in Verona, Italy, 33 years ago. He did his first triathlon in a swimming pool in 2000, and has pretty much been hooked ever since. All that devotion has really paid off in 2024 – Barnaby heads into the final two races of the IRONMAN Pro Series with a shot at the overall title.
Formerly a member of the Italian national team competing at draft-legal World Triathlon events, Barnaby had already decided he would be moving to long-course racing at the end of 2019, realizing that he wasn’t likely to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
“I thought it (long-distance triathlon) was more for me,” Barnaby said in an interview near the famous Busselton Pier a few days before the IRONMAN Pro Series race in Western Australia. “I always suffered with the really, really fast pace, especially on the run. I was a lot better over the long distance, even in training, so I probably could have switched before, but I mean, even short course has taught me so much that I take into long course.”
After competing in numerous half-distance races in 2021 and 2022, Barnaby’s big breakthrough came at IRONMAN Israel in 2022. The Italian ran alongside Patrick Lange for 25 km before the German was finally able to drop him. Barnaby ran a 2:35:33 marathon split (compared to Lange’s 2:30:31) and would finish third. (Denmark’s Daniel Baekkegard was able to hold him off.) In 2023 Barnaby made his IRONMAN World Championship debut in Nice, finishing eighth.
Based on those results, it should hardly be a surprise that Barnaby is now in the running to take the IRONMAN Pro Series. At the start of the season, though, the Italian didn’t appear to be on track for the success he’s enjoyed. He found out after pulling out of T100 Miami that he had a broken rib, which meant he couldn’t get started on the Pro Series races until IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca in May. He surprised himself and his coach, Luca Zenti, with a third-place finish there. In June Barnaby had a tough day in Cairns, finishing eighth. Things really turned around, though, In Frankfurt, where Barnaby finished third at the IRONMAN European Championship. He then moved up two spots at this year’s world championship, finishing sixth in his Kona debut.
IRONMAN Pro Series
With only one “counting” 70.3 on his IRONMAN Pro Series resume for 2024, Barnaby is just a few points behind American Matthew Marquardt and a couple of hundred points ahead of Kristian Hogenhaug (who also have a race in hand) heading into the final two series races. Hogenhaug is also here in Busselton, and all three will be in Taupo in a few weeks, too.
You can see the standings here.
“My goal at the beginning of the season was to finish in the top-five of the series,” Barnaby said. “I’m there now – I’m fifth – but now my goal is to finish higher because the season has gone so well.”
Barnaby was aware that giving himself a couple of shots for a decent score would be advantageous, which is why he and girlfriend Giorgia Priorone came to Australia after his race in Kona. It also provides some insurance in case something goes wrong at either race.
So, what would it mean for Barnaby to take the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series and the US$200,000 bonus cheque for the winner?
“It would mean the world to me,” he said. “I’ve been in the sport for almost 25 years now, and doing it professionally for the last 12 years. It can be tough at times. The sport is changing and there’s more money involved, but it hasn’t always been like that. It wouldn’t just be the money, it would be an amazing achievement for me.”
Lest you think the pressure might get to him, it is worth noting that Barnaby has a reputation for being calm heading into races.
“Yeah, its a lot of money, and, yeah, it’s a big, big ambition to win the Pro Series, but I’m normally pretty relaxed before races and I think that is one of my strengths,” he said. “Now I’ve trained well and I can perform well. I know I’ve done the work and I don’t let the pressure get to me. I just want to race my best at each individual race. I already put a lot of pressure on myself, so I don’t feel too much pressure from the outside.”
So, to answer the question posed in the headline of this story, yes, it would appear that Gregory Barnaby is a likely contender to take the IRONMAN Pro Series this year.
Gregory Barnaby’s Bike (Training Set Up)
Since we caught up with the Italian a few days before the race, his bike hasn’t be completely set up for race day.
Frame: Trek Speed Concept
Wheels: Vision. (On race day he’ll use a 91 SL on the front with a Vision Disc.)
Cockpit: AeroCoach (Minini is one of his sponsors!)