IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells results: US Olympic star ROARS to victory as Belgian ace makes up for Paris 2024 misery

Olympics triathlon stars ruled at IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells on Sunday as they successfully showcased their brilliant skills over a longer distance.

US star Morgan Pearson and top Belgian Claire Michel took the tape in California to end a year which saw them have very different experiences at Paris 2024.

Morgan of course was part of the US Mixed Relay team which claimed a brilliant silver medal, while Claire did not even get to start that race after falling ill on the eve of the big showdown in the French capital.

They were both smiling on Sunday though as they claimed excellent victories, with Claire’s coming in what was her final race as a professional triathlete.

Pro Men – Pearson run puts rivals to the sword

Morgan was right up at the front coming out of the water, just a couple of seconds behind the leader, Norway’s Vetl Thorn. But things were about to change in a big way on the bike.

Heading into T2 the eventual winner was down in 8th and 3:13 off the pace after another US star Dylan Gillespie produced the day’s fastest leg on two wheels – an excellent 2:00:40 – to lead Greek star Louis Woodgate into transition. Thorn and another home favourite Matt McElroy came next – at c. 2:30 back from the lead.

It was now all to play for on the run with Pearson ready to play his trump card, that vaunted ability to close the show in some style. And he did not disappoint by cutting through the field in no time at all to take over from Woodgate at the front by the time they had reached the midway point of the half-marathon.

The rest had no answer to Pearson’s speed and he pulled away to win by just under two minutes from McElroy with Woodgate completing the podium. Morgan’s run leg was unsurprisingly the best of the day, clocked at 1:10:08.

Morgan Pearson Paris Test Event [Photo credit: World Triathlon / Wagner Araujo] — Morgan Pearson was a terrific winner at IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells [Photo credit: World Triathlon / Wagner Araujo]

Pro Women – Michel signs off in style

Michel came out of the water close to the front of the race, just behind American pair Rachel Zilinskas and Erika Ackerlund.

After leading early on the bike though the Belgian star would lose the advantage to the surging Brit Stephanie Clutterbuck, who produced the day’s best split of 2:16:48 despite a crash right at the start of the leg, to edge Zilinskas heading into T2. Michel and Ackerlund were both just over 30 seconds away in third and fourth.

With Clutterbuck then a DNF due to the injuries from that bike crash, it was Zilinskas who led Ackerlund and Michel out onto the run course. But the result was never really in doubt as Claire claimed the lead within the first two miles. By the time they had travelled just under five miles the gap was more than a minute and it was Belgium’s race to lose.

Michel was in no mood to leave any doubt in her final pro outing, and she poured on the power to register the day’s fastest run split (1:22:08) en route to victory by more than three minutes from Ackerlund. Another American, Annamarie Strehlow, came through to complete the podium.