IRONMAN 70.3 Bahrain 2025 results: New world best for GTB as she and Luis defend titles

Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) and Vincent Luis (FRA) defended their IRONMAN 70.3 Bahrain titles in superb style with clear-cut wins.

Taylor-Brown, who made her middle-distance debut at this event 12 months ago, was locked together with fellow Brit India Lee and Australia’s Natalie Van Coevorden for the swim and the bike before she asserted on the run.

And, unless we’re mistaken, her sensational overall time of 3:51:19 looks easily the quickest ever by a woman for a middle-distance or ‘half IRONMAN’ race, certainly eclipsing American Taylor Knibb’s 3:53:02 when she won the 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Finland, which was a second quicker than German Laura Philipp’s 3:53:02 previous record from 70.3 Dubai a year earlier.

Meanwhile GTB’s partner Luis also had to shake off a couple of rivals after the bike before he too proved strongest on the run. The in-form pair will now round off their seasons by making the short hop to Qatar for next week’s T100 Grand Final.

Pro Women – Record-breaking display by GTB

Rarely do you get a start list of just four women these days but that was the case here, though that didn’t prevent a close battle for all of the swim and the bike – and a record overall time.

Four effectively became three during the swim as Lee led out Van Coevorden and Taylor-Brown, with the trio distancing Rachael Tatko (USA) by more than five minutes.

Onto the bike and there was never much between the front three – Lee was into T2 fractionally ahead of the other two, with Van Coevorden first out.

But on the run it was all about Taylor-Brown – by the end of the first of four laps she was 32 seconds in front of Van Coevorden, with Lee over a minute back and Tatko more than half an hour behind by this stage.

Taylor-Brown extended her advantage on laps two and three and although Van Coevorden closed slightly on the fourth loop there was still more than two minutes between them when the line came.

And GTB’s time of 3:51:19 looks to have re-written the record books. That is caveated by the fact that all the bike times – both women and men – were markedly quicker than 12 months ago in Bahrain but that is to take nothing away from a brilliant display.

Pro Men – Vince off the mark for 2025

Luis has had to deal with a couple of injury issues this season but all the indications were that he was starting to get back towards top form following a top 10 at the 70.3 Worlds and then a top five in that chaotic men’s T100 race in Dubai recently.

And that was reinforced here – he was in the front group of four in the swim alongside Chase McQueen (USA), Vasco Vilaca (POR) – who was making his middle-distance debut – and Valentin Wernz (GER).

It was similarly tight on the bike as McQueen and Vilaca stuck with Luis throughout as the trio came into T2 together.

But on the run it was one-way traffic – Luis eased 24 seconds clear of McQueen on the first of four laps and kept the pressure on after that. He was over a minute clear by halfway, with Vilaca by now up to second and the pattern continued as the gap rose to a minute-and-a-half after lap three.

Luis crossed the finish line in an impressive 3:29:08 which was three minutes quicker than his overall time last year. Vilaca was second, just over two minutes back, with Belgium’s Pieter Heemeryck in third.

It was Luis’ first win of the season and sets him up nicely for 2026 which he has hinted could be his last before retirement.