Lionel Sanders wins the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 Dallas-Little Elm triathlon. Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images for IRONMAN
Even though it wasn’t part of the IRONMAN Pro Series, this weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 Dallas-Little Elm featured a strong field and some exciting racing. Meanwhile, another inaugural race took place in Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands, which hosted its first World Cup event. We recap those events along with some more race news from Europe.
IRONMAN 70.3 Dallas-Little Elm
When you shorten the swim to 350m it’s always going to tip the scales in Lionel Sanders’ favour. Not that the Canadian needed much motivation to start his season off with a bang – Sanders was back racing after missing much of last year to injury. He’s also had a long history of starting his race season off with a bang – since 2014 he’s won his opening race of the season six times, and been on the podium another four times.
The swim at the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Dallas-Little Elm was cancelled for the age group competitors and shortened to 350 m for the pros thanks to strong currents in the water. The weather conditions remained challenging, especially on the bike as athletes dealt with gusts of 35 to 40 mph (56 to 65 kph) out on the bike course.
None of which seemed to slow Sanders down very much, as he blasted to the day’s fastest bikes split and arrived in T2 22 seconds ahead of Germany’s Leonard Arnold and over three minutes up on the two men expected to be the Canadian’s biggest competition in the race, Andreas Salvisberg (SUI) and American Ben Kanute.
While Sanders remained untouchable out in front during the run, Kanute and Salvisberg would push each other to the limit on the run, with the American getting to the line just five seconds ahead thanks to the day’s fastest run split.
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“It wasn’t smooth or easy in any way, but I’m proud of how I handled the day and the conditions,” Sanders said of the win. Next up for the Canadian will be IRONMAN Texas in April.
(L-R) Ben Kanute, Lionel Sanders and Andrea Salvisberg. Photo: Sam Hodde/Getty Images for IRONMAN
| Place | Name | Country | Time | Swim | Bike | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Sanders | Canada | 3:17:12 | 3:17 | 1:58:35 | 1:11:53 |
| 2 | Ben Kanute | USA | 3:19:40 | 2:43 | 2:02:35 | 1:11:21 |
| 3 | Andrea Salvisberg | SUI | 3:19:45 | 2:45 | 2:02:23 | 1:11:13 |
| 4 | Jannik Schaufler | GER | 3:19:53 | 2:45 | 2:03:21 | 1:10:44 |
| 5 | Sam Appleton | AUS | 3:21:28 | 2:54 | 2:03:15 | 1:12:00 |
| 6 | Louis Buttrick | GBR | 3:22:02 | 2:52 | 2:04:20 | 1:11:28 |
| 7 | Rudy Von Berg | USA | 3:22:15 | 2:57 | 2:02:44 | 1:13:10 |
| 8 | Ben Faeh | SUI | 3:23:00 | 2:44 | 2:03:00 | 1:14:00 |
| 9 | Timmo Jeret | EST | 3:25:33 | 3:18 | 2:04:33 | 1:13:44 |
| 10 | Benjamin Rana | PHI | 3:26:01 | 3:34 | 2:09:08 | 1:09:07 |
Women’s Race: Hering Takes Nailbiter
Jackie Hering is interviewed after winning the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 Dallas-Little Elm race. Photo: Sam Hodde/Getty Images for IRONMAN
On paper this was Jackie Hering’s race to win, but a two-minute penalty on the bike suddenly put some other athletes very much in the mix, forcing the American to pull out all the stops to run her way to victory.
It was hardly a surprise to see Vittoria Lopes out of the water first, and the Brazilian remained out in front on the bike for over half of the bike leg before Annamarie Strehlow and Hering moved to the front of the race. Both Strehlow and Hering picked up two-minute penalties on the bike, though, which put Germany’s Anna Buettner in the mix.
The German managed to open up a gap of about 30 seconds on Hering through the halfway point of the race, and was still 22 seconds up with just under two miles of running to go. Hering was still 11 seconds back with just under a mile left, but surged ahead to take the win by 18 seconds thanks to the day’s fastest run split. Strehlow would hang on for the final spot on the podium by just 17 seconds as American Samantha Skold charged to the finish.
(L-R) Anna Buettner, Jackie Hering and Annamarie Strehlow. Photo: Sam Hodde/Getty Images for IRONMAN
| Place | Name | Country | Time | Swim | Bike | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackie Hering | USA | 3:49:56 | 3:24 | 2:22:48 | 1:19:51 |
| 2 | Anna Buettner | GER | 3:50:14 | 3:36 | 2:22:26 | 1:20:06 |
| 3 | Annamarie Strehlow | USA | 3:53:00 | 3:45 | 2:21:48 | 1:23:31 |
| 4 | Samantha Skold | USA | 3:53:17 | 3:57 | 2:23:30 | 1:21:35 |
| 5 | Minttu Hukka | FIN | 3:54:29 | 3:44 | 2:23:33 | 1:23:25 |
| 6 | Vittoria Lopes | BRA | 3:57:20 | 3:02 | 2:24:50 | 1:26:06 |
| 7 | Adele Likin | USA | 3:57:50 | 3:39 | 2:24:08 | 1:26:03 |
| 8 | Leah Parker | USA | 4:00:47 | 3:38 | 2:25:37 | 1:27:36 |
| 9 | Maia Watson | CAN | 4:02:51 | 3:51 | 2:27:58 | 1:27:14 |
| 10 | Emma Skaug | CAN | 4:04:32 | 3:23 | 2:23:35 | 1:33:59 |
Speaking of Penalties …
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The World Triathlon season got started (WTCS Abu Dhabi race was cancelled due to the Iran War) in dramatic fashion as Spaniard David Cantero Del Campo out-sprinted Germany’s Tim Hellwig for the win, despite serving a 10-second penalty on the run (reportedly a mount-line violation).
After things got stretched out a bit in the swells off the beach in Costa Teguise, by the end of the first loop of the bike there was a huge group together that included all of the race favourites, including Cantero and France’s Dorian Coninx (the 2023 world champion), who had led the way out of the water. Things didn’t change through the end of the 20 km bike, which turned things into a 5 km footrace for the podium spots.
Cantero was off like a shot to start the two-lap run, opening up a four-second gap on Hellwig by the end of the first loop, where he stopped to serve his penalty. Hellwig would fly by the Spaniard, but it wasn’t long before Cantero was running alongside the German setting up the dramatic sprint for the finish. Morocco’s Jawad Abdelmoula rounded out the podium, with Coninx taking fourth ahead of countryman Nathan Grayel.
| Place | Name | Country | Overall Time | Swim | Bike | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Cantero Del Campo | ESP | 00:54:45 | 00:09:07 | 00:29:38 | 00:14:16 |
| 2 | Tim Hellwig | GER | 00:54:48 | 00:09:15 | 00:29:29 | 00:14:19 |
| 3 | Jawad Abdelmoula | MAR | 00:55:01 | 00:09:07 | 00:29:39 | 00:14:31 |
| 4 | Dorian Coninx | FRA | 00:55:02 | 00:09:00 | 00:29:42 | 00:14:34 |
| 5 | Nathan Grayel | FRA | 00:55:03 | 00:09:20 | 00:29:25 | 00:14:35 |
| 6 | Max Stapley | GBR | 00:55:05 | 00:08:57 | 00:29:43 | 00:14:35 |
| 7 | Izan Edo Aguilar | ESP | 00:55:06 | 00:09:17 | 00:29:28 | 00:14:37 |
| 8 | Roberto Sanchez Mantecon | ESP | 00:55:07 | 00:09:17 | 00:29:22 | 00:14:45 |
| 9 | Aurelien Jem | FRA | 00:55:08 | 00:09:11 | 00:29:27 | 00:14:38 |
| 10 | Thomas Hansmaennel | FRA | 00:55:10 | 00:09:20 | 00:29:20 | 00:14:46 |
Eim Holds off Taylor-Brown
With a number of the sport’s biggest names on hand, the inaugural World Cup in Lanzarote was all set to serve as a celebration of the “comeback” queens, but Germany’s Nina Eim would have none of it. After a “year off” that included an insane amount of racing last year, including a fourth-place finish at the 70.3 worlds, Great Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown was on hand to begin her run towards LA in 2028. Eim’s countrywoman Laura Lindemann, who took the sprint to give Germany the gold medal in the Mixed Relay in Paris, was back at a World Triathlon event for the fist time since last May, too. The race also featured the return to racing for Sophie Evans (nèe Coldwell), who was at a World Triathlon event for the first time since the arrival of her daughter Phoebe last year.
Coldwell’s normally quick swim was stalled when someone unzipped her wetsuit and it was 18-year-old Fanni Szalai from Hungary who was first out of the water. Out on the very windy bike course two groups quickly formed, with a lead group of 18 that was driven by Evans and Taylor-Brown. The pair kept the pace moving so hard that even the likes of pre-race favourite Jeanne Lehair (LUX) was spat out the back.
Out on the run course Eim quickly went to the front and Taylor-Brown and Lindemann were able to stay close. The Brit tried to make a move on the final climb of the race, but Eim was more than able to answer, pulling clear herself and getting to the line with a four-second buffer for the win. Taylor-Brown would finish second, with Lindemann rounding out the podium. Spain’s Marta Pinantel had led the women out onto the run course, but would have to settle with fourth, while Evans managed to hold off a charging Lehair (who posted the day’s fastest run split) for fifth.
| Place | Name | Country | Overall Time | Swim | Bike | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nina Eim | GER | 01:02:14 | 00:10:18 | 00:33:18 | 00:16:46 |
| 2 | Georgia Taylor-Brown | GBR | 01:02:19 | 00:10:23 | 00:33:09 | 00:16:50 |
| 3 | Laura Lindemann | GER | 01:02:22 | 00:10:00 | 00:33:33 | 00:16:53 |
| 4 | Marta Pintanel Raymundo | ESP | 01:02:34 | 00:10:14 | 00:33:17 | 00:17:09 |
| 5 | Sophie Evans | GBR | 01:02:42 | 00:10:24 | 00:33:08 | 00:17:15 |
| 6 | Jeanne Lehair | LUX | 01:02:49 | 00:10:10 | 00:34:13 | 00:16:35 |
| 7 | Mathilde Gautier | FRA | 01:02:50 | 00:10:01 | 00:33:30 | 00:17:20 |
| 8 | Miriam Casillas García | ESP | 01:02:55 | 00:10:12 | 00:33:23 | 00:17:27 |
| 9 | Fanni Szalai | HUN | 01:03:04 | 00:09:58 | 00:34:02 | 00:17:05 |
| 10 | Lea Coninx | FRA | 01:03:11 | 00:10:16 | 00:34:07 | 00:16:58 |
Laidlow Pulls Out in Barcelona
France’s Sam Laidlow, the 2023 IRONMAN world champion, lined up at the Barcelona Marathon on the weekend. He’d asked his followers for suggestions on the best plan for the day: head out at 2:20 pace and hang on for as long as possible “and accept that I’ll blow up,” run a 2:30 marathon as easy as possible, or aim for some sort of middle ground and aim for a 2:25 finish.
(As a reference, Laidlow ran a 2:37:19 in Roth last year, and split 2:42:23 on his way to a fifth-place finish at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice last year.)
Unfortunately none of those ended up happening, after going through the first 10 km in 33:48 before pulling out due to cramps at the 14 km point of the race.