Americans Sam Long and Grace Alexander took the wins at IRONMAN 70.3 Gulf Coast on Saturday.

Long was the winner the last time this event featured a men’s pro race in 2023 and the ‘Big Unit’ was the favourite to defend his title going into this year’s renewal.

He was 1:22 behind after a shortened swim but produced his customary strong bike leg to power into the lead and closed it out on the run to see off Seth Rider and Marc Dubrick in an all-American podium.

Alexander meanwhile overhauled Danielle Lewis (USA) early on the run and then held off a charging Vittoria Lopes (BRZ) to win by 20 seconds.

Both Long and Alexander will now aim for quickfire doubles as they head to 70.3 Chattanooga next weekend bidding to repeat last year’s victories there.

Pro Men – Yo Yo Yo defends his crown

The ocean swim for all athletes was reduced from 1.9km to 1km, with organisers explaining: “Due to water conditions impacted by overnight swells, IRONMAN has made the decision to shorten the swim portion of today’s race to 1,000m. In conjunction with local officials, we have implemented this course adjustment to maintain the integrity of the competition while prioritizing participant well-being.

“Swim start will be 1,000m east of swim exit, in front of the Holiday Inn High Rise. Athletes will swim east to west, parallel to the shore. Swim start will be delayed 30 minutes, and will now be at 6:10 AM for male professionals, 6:15 AM for female professionals, and 6:25 AM for age group athletes. The water temperature is 74.7 F/23.7 C. All other segments of the race will proceed as planned.”

That was a very different route compared to what was scheduled and it was Greg Harper (USA) who was out of the water first in 07:10, with Dubrick and Rider just behind him. Long at this point was in 20th, 1:22 adrift, with his strongest two disciplines to come.

Dubrick was out of transition first and he, Rider and Benjamin Zorgnotti (PYF) led the way early on the bike as they put 38 seconds between themselves and the rest.

But Long was soon on the premises, joining that trio by the halfway point. Four then became three as Dubrick dropped back and late on it was Long who opened up a 20-seconds advantage on the other two by T2.

His bike split of 1:49:32 was seriously impressive, though Zorgnotti wasn’t far behind in 1:50:38. There was talk of a record 70.3 time but any number of variables play a part, not least the shorter and easier swim. And it was still a few seconds behind Sam Laidlow’s best half distance mark anyway.

So the ‘Big Unit’ was in pole position starting the run but Rider wasn’t letting him have things all his own way, pegging the gap at 30 seconds after the first of three 7km laps.

It was pretty much the same (28 seconds) at the end of lap two and it was only in the last few kilometres that it started to go up, Long crossing the line in 3:11:41 after a 1:10 half marathon.

Rider was a good second at +1:20, with Dubrick working his way back to third.

Pro Women – All change on the run

As with the men, it was a shortened and closer-to-the-coastline swim but some things don’t change and it was no surprise to see Lopes at the head of affairs once again as she was first out of the water in 8:05, seven seconds ahead of Alexander, with Clare Dasso (USA) at +38s in third.

Lewis was 12th, 1:35 down, but she soon worked her way up to third early on the bike as Lopes and Alexander continued to show the way.

After 60km Lewis was sharing the lead with Alexander as Lopes lost touch and that pattern continued until Lewis forged clear in the closing stages as she reached T2 with a 34-seconds advantage, with Lopes nearly four minutes back in third and the rest with at least seven minutes to make up.

That gap between Lewis and Alexander quickly went out to over a minute early on the run but then towards the end of the first of those three 7km loops the race changed complexion, with Alexander taking over in front as Lewis had some stomach issues to deal with.

When the bell went for the final lap, Alexander looked in control, 1:20 in front of Lopes, who was now up to second, with a further half minute back to Lewis.

It did close up markedly late on but Alexander had enough of a buffer as she stopped the clock in 3:42:31, with Lopes just 20 seconds behind after a half marathon (1:21:45) that was nearly three minutes quicker.

IRONMAN 70.3 Gulf Coast results

Saturday 9 May, 2026

Pro Men

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Swim	Bike	Run	Overall time
1	Sam Long	USA	8:33	1:49:32	1:10:38	3:11:41
2	Seth Rider	USA	7:16	1:51:07	1:11:40	3:13:01
3	Marc Dubrick	USA	7:15	1:53:17	1:10:26	3:14:09
4	Benjamin Zorgnotti	PYF	7:47	1:50:38	1:15:40	3:17:20
5	Ari Klau	USA	8:43	1:55:29	1:10:13	3:17:46

Pro Women

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Swim	Bike	Run	Overall time
1	Grace Alexander	USA	8:12	2:06:03	1:24:41	3:42:31
2	Vittoria Lopes	BRZ	8:05	2:09:28	1:21:45	3:42:51
3	Danielle Lewis	USA	9:40	2:04:12	1:28:39	3:45:49
4	Ekaterina Shabalina	KAZ	9:00	2:16:10	1:19:30	3:48:30
5	Shiva Leisner	DEN	9:25	2:11:07	1:24:34	3:48:50