IRONMAN 70.3 Oregon Results 2023: Lionel Sanders wins at last, Lewis reigns again

Lionel Sanders ended a 13-month drought without a major victory as he romped to success at IRONMAN 70.3 Oregon on Sunday.

‘No Limits’ took the spoils in trademark fashion, blasting the bike leg to bridge up to the lead heading into the run, and then dominating on the closing half-marathon. Chile’s Martin Ulloa claimed second with America’s Trevor Foley third.

American Danielle Lewis was an impressive winner of the women’s Pro race, romping clear on the run to reign supreme from Lesley Smith and Batya Beard.

PRO Men – Sanders too good

Sanders came out of the water in 17th position, 1:38 off the pace in the early going. Up front it was American Marc Dubrick leading the way.

‘No Limits’ wasted no time in starting to eradicate that gap as the bike leg got into full swing, and by the 34-mile mark he had passed everybody to lead from Chile’s Martin Ulloa with Trevor Foley 33 seconds back in third.

The top three matched each other for pace over the second half of the bike leg, and Ulloa entered T2 with Sanders right behind him and Foley 33 seconds further back. It was now all to play for on the run but Sanders would start it a heavy favourite.

The 35-year-old Canadian took over at the front early and gradually built what would turn out to be a comfortable winning lead. Ulloa and Foley plugged on gamely behind, but they were no match for Sanders.

At the line Lionel was 3:33 clear of Ulloa and 3:41 in front of Foley as they claimed the podium places. It was Sanders’ first victory since IRONMAN 70.3 Mont Tremblant in June 2022.

PRO Women – Lewis takes the win again

New Zealand’s Teresa Adam and American star Rachel Olson came out of the water together, with an advantage of 24 seconds over the rest of the field. Fifty-year-old Melanie McQuaid, who made the podium at IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene last month, was fourth just under a minute back, with eventual winner Lewis in 14th at +1:40.

Lisa Becharas, who had been sixth coming out of the water, quickly started to take control on two wheels, and surged to the front of the field on the bike. Meanwhile Lewis was also making up significant ground through the field to move into second at the halfway point of the leg. McQuaid meanwhile was hanging tough in third.

By the time the field reached T2, Becharas still held the advantage but she was now only 1:25 ahead of Lewis, with the run to come. McQuaid was just over five minutes off the pace in the final podium position.

Lewis wasted no time in asserting on the run, passing Becharas within a couple of miles and quickly building a dominant lead as her main rival started to flag. It was Smith who came through to take second as Lewis finished just under eight minutes in front to win the race for the second consecutive year. Beard finished well to claim the final spot on the podium.