The 2023 triathlon season continues in Europe this Sunday with men and women professionals battling it out at IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea, and a professional women’s only field racing at IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz.
IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea
Following in the footsteps of Alistair Brownlee and Kat Matthews who took the win at the inaugural edition of IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea will be fellow Brits Joe Skipper, Andrew Horsfall-Turner, Emma Pallant-Browne, and Nikki Bartlett.
Both Pallant-Browne and Bartlett have started their season strongly, with Pallant-Browne coming off a second-place finish at IRONMAN 70.3 Andorra earlier this month and a victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence in May, whilst Bartlett took the win at IRONMAN 70.3 Marbella in the same month. Lizzie Rayner who came 6th in last year’s edition will undoubtedly be looking to improve on this position with a podium finish.
In the men’s field, this will be Joe Skipper’s first IRONMAN 70.3 race since his DNF at IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai in March 2021. However, he is no stranger to tasting victory on Welsh soil, having won last year’s IRONMAN Wales event. Skipper will be looking to emulate last year’s victory with the likes of Jesper Svensson (SWE), Justus Nieschlag (DEU) and Andrew Horsfall-Turner (GBR) looking to stop him. The men’s field will also feature the likes of Cameron MacNair (ZAF), Jack Moody (NZL) and Thomas Davis (GBR) to name but a few. New to the professional scene this year and coming hot off a third place at IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire in June will be Benjamin Goodfellow who no doubt will be looking to make a statement in his first professional year.
This year will be the second edition of the event and is set to see almost 2 000 athletes taking part. This much anticipated Welsh event which reached sell out status last year will offer men’s and women’s Qualifying slots to the VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, New Zealand on December 14 – 15, 2024.
Here is the full 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea professional start list
1 Pallant-Browne, Emma, United Kingdom
2 Bartlett, Nikki, United Kingdom
3 Rayner, Lizzie, United Kingdom
5 Anderbury, Rebecca, United Kingdom
6 Gillies, Brooke, United Kingdom
7 McDonald, Megan, United Kingdom
9 Bendix Madsen, Sif, Denmark
10 Skipper, Joe, United Kingdom
11 Nieschlag, Justus, Germany
12 Horsfall-Turner, Andrew, United Kingdom
14 Svensson, Jesper, Sweden
15 Davis, Thomas, United Kingdom
16 MacNair, Cameron, South Africa
17 Moody, Jack, New Zealand
19 Halliwell, Brett, United Kingdom
20 Lloyd, Liam, United Kingdom
21 Goodfellow, Benjamin, United Kingdom
22 Grabowski, Michal, Poland
23 Munch, Adam, Denmark
24 Hutchens, Jack, United Kingdom
25 Palmer, Harry, United Kingdom
26 Crudgington, Will, United Kingdom
27 Benito López, Antonio, Spain
28 Arentz, Finn, United Kingdom
29 Munday, Will, United Kingdom
30 Comhair, Dieter, Belgium
31 Steenberg, Scott, Denmark
IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz
The Spain’s Basque Country welcomes athletes to the fourth edition of IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz. With over a decade of triathlon heritage, Vitoria-Gasteiz is a well-known triathlon playground offering astonishing natural landscapes, rich culture, unforgettable Basque gastronomy, and the most passionate and vibrant fans. The event will see over 1 500 athletes take part, including small women’s professional field who will be fighting for a piece of the $50,000 prize purse and a chance to secure a slot for the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii later this year.
The professional women’s field may be small but promises to be exciting, with the event broadcast live on IRONMAN.com/LIVE, IRONMAN YouTube and IRONMAN Facebook channels. The professional battle will see home favourite Gurutze Frades Larralde (ESP) taking on Els Visser (NLD), and Svenja Thoes (DEU), who unfortunately had to pull out of Mainova IRONMAN European Championship Frankfurt just a few weeks ago. The last time Frades Lrralde took to an IRONMAN start line; she produced a memorable performance claiming victory at last year’s IRONMAN Cozumel. She will be looking to replicate that kind of performance again on her home-turf this year.
Here is the full 2023 IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz professional start list
1 Frades Larralde, Gurutze, Spain
2 Visser, Els, Netherlands
5 Thoes, Svenja, Germany
6 Tondeur, Alexandra, Belgium
8 Alberdi, Helene, Spain
9 Uderstadt, Jana, Germany
11 Iemmolo, Julie, France
12 Moriarty, Fiona, Ireland
15 Vesterby, Michelle, Denmark
17 Karlsson, Mirella, Sweden
18 Dahan, Carla, France
