Fan favourite Sam Long returned to winning ways – the 22nd of his pro career – and Olympian Kirsten Kasper made it an American double on home soil at IRONMAN 70.3 Boise in Idaho.

The latest stop on the IRONMAN Pro Series saw Long produce an incredible bike leg to tee up his win, taking the tape nearly five minutes ahead of compatriot Ari Klau, with Blake Harris (CAN) just getting the better of short-course legend Vincent Luis (FRA) for third.

And in the women’s race it all boiled down to the closing stages of the run as Kasper’s short-course speed saw her overhaul Hannah Berry (NZL) and Hanne De Vet (BEL).

Men’s race – ‘Big Unit’ bosses it

Choppy conditions meant the age-group swims were cancelled while the pros started a few minutes later than planned – and over an adjusted course of two smaller loops rather than one L-shaped route.

Switzerland’s Ben Faeh showed the way, ahead of Luis and just a couple of seconds separated them at the Aussie exit midway through.

When they exited the water a second time it was the same one-two and just as close, Brock Hoel (CAN) was 41 seconds back in third, with Joshua Berles (GER) in fourth and Sam Osborne (NZL) in fifth and everyone else more than a minute back.

Long was 20th at +2:32 and well within range given his bike and run prowess.

And the ‘Big Unit’ soon unleashed that power – it took him just 20 miles to overhaul Faeh and move into the lead and he proceeded to shatter the course record with his time of 1:52:37, two-and-a-half minutes inside the previous mark.

Faeh was nearly three minutes back in second, Luis was at 4:13 in third, with five and more minutes back to the rest.

Any thoughts that Luis would start to close on Long early on the run were quickly dispelled – the gap between that pair was 5:05 after 5km, with Faeh also losing ground in second.

And Long was never under threat, dominating throughout to win in 3:32:25, with a run split of 1:10:45.

Klau had a quickest-of-the-day half marathon to move into second while Harris pipped Luis for third in the closing stages, Faeh had to settle for fifth and Matt Hanson (USA) was sixth.

“I called (today’s race) the game of revenge, but it was truthfully revenge for myself. I just haven’t shown what I am truly capable of lately,” said Long who was asked how he performed so well without a bike computer during the race. “IRONMAN’s tag line is Anything is Possible, and sometimes I feel like we put our own limits on ourselves.

“This is win number 22 of my professional career so I have confidence when I say to myself, I know what I am doing. Today’s race was a bit about trusting myself, trusting my body, and knowing I had what it takes to get it down. Hats off to all the other guys out there. I’m really proud to race such tough field.”

Women’s race – All down to the run

Jenna Campbell (USA) was first at Aussie exit but Kasper, Rebecca Clarke (NZL), De Vet and Berry were all within five seconds.

On the second lap, Clarke forged ahead with Kasper right on her feet and De Vet, Campbell and Berry all close up and a gap of nearly a minute to Kate Curran (GBR) and Grace Alexander (USA) in sixth and seventh respectively.

The bike was all about De Vet – she took the lead early on and gradually eased clear of the rest.

By the time she reached T2 she was over a minute and a half ahead of Berry, with Kasper having nearly five minutes to make up in third.

And the margin between the front two went up to two minutes by the time they left transition and it held steady for the first 5km of the run.

But it started to drop dramatically after that – and no one was moving faster than Kasper.

By the halfway point De Vet was 1:01 in front or Berry, with Kasper now less than two minutes back in third and with 5km to go the trio were separated by just seconds.

Berry briefly took the lead only for Kasper to jump past straight away en route to her second 70.3 victory from just three attempts as she also looks to combine middle distance racing with qualifying for LA2028.

She finished 1:14 ahead of Berry, with De Vet rounding out the podium.

“My goal was to have a good swim and hopefully get some time on the girls, but they were right there with me,” said Kasper after her victory. Then on the bike, it was a solo ride most of the day. I knew I was going to give up some time, but just tried to not give up too much time. And on the run, I just went to my race plan and chipped away at it. I’m just ecstatic to come away with the win.”

When asked if she felt suited for middle distance racing after only her third IRONMAN 70.3 race, Kasper added, “Yeah, it still feels long. About 80K into the bike I was ready to get off. But I come from a run background so I actually love being able to race the half marathon and see how fast I can go.”

IRONMAN 70.3 Boise 2026 results

Saturday 25 July 2026 – 1.9km / 90km / 21.1km

Pro Men

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Swim	Bike	Run	Overall
1	Sam Long	USA	26:06	1:52:37	1:10:45	3:32:25
2	Ari Klau	USA	27:50	1:57:09	1:08:32	3:37:21
3	Blake Harris	CAN	25:21	1:58:22	1:10:36	3:37:52
4	Vincent Luis	FRA	23:36	1:59:08	1:11:42	3:37:59
5	Ben Faeh	CHE	23:34	1:57:55	1:14:05	3:38:50

Pro Women

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Swim	Bike	Run	Overall
1	Kirsten Kasper	USA	25:41	2:12:13	1:19:33	4:00:50
2	Hannah Berry	NZL	25:56	2:08:13	1:23:51	4:02:05
3	Hanne De Vet	BEL	25:54	2:06:48	1:27:16	4:03:29
4	Lydia Russell	USA	29:09	2:13:22	1:20:36	4:07:18
5	Rebecca Clarke	NZL	25:41	2:15:50	1:28:27	4:14:00