IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea 2023 results: Wins for Pallant-Browne and Benito López

Emma Pallant-Browne notched her eighth middle-distance win in the last 14 months with a clear-cut victory from Nikki Bartlett in a British one-two at IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea.

And in the men’s race the run also proved decisive as Spain’s Antonio Benito López powered clear to add to his already-impressive results this season.

Pro Women – Emma runs away from rivals

There was not too much separating the seven-strong women’s Pro field after the 1.9k swim in the Prince of Wales Dock at Swansea Waterside.

Five athletes – Sif Bendix Madsen (DEN), and British quartet of Megan McDonald, Brooke Gillies, Lizzie Rayner and Pallant-Browne – all exited the water within a matter of seconds, and they had an advantage of approaching three minutes on one of the pre-race favourites in Bartlett.

They would all know that the former elite rower would be chasing hard once on dry land and with top-10 finishes at the last two 70.3 World Championships, she would not be fazed by such a deficit on arrival at T1.

However, by the 25km-mark on the bike only Pallant-Browne was able to keep tabs on Bendix Madsen, though the Dane would then start to pull clear and by the time she reached T2 her advantage was 2:42 – but would that be anything like enough against one of the sport’s strongest runners?

That was answered emphatically early on as Pallant-Browne breezed to the head of affairs and started to stretch clear.

At the halfway point she led by nearly four minutes and the next question was whether Bartlett could make it a British one-two by catching Bendix Madsen.

And with just under 5km to go Bartlett did indeed move into second and that was how it stayed through to the finish.

Emma Pallant Browne wins IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea 2023 — Pallant-Browne was in a class of her own on the run

Pro Men – Benito López times it perfectly

Germany’s Justus Nieschlag – winner of IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote in March – showed his long-time WTCS skills in the water, when stopping the clock at 21:58, a full 27 seconds clear of home athlete, Andrew Horsfall-Turner. The Welshman, who raced last weekend at IRONMAN Switzerland, had Harry Palmer (GBR), Thomas Davis (GBR), Scott Steenberg (DEN) and Benito López for company.

Benito López was second here last year, and has since gone on to win IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon and take an eventful second place at the World Triathlon Long Distance Championships in Ibiza this season.

Nieschlag, who appeared the race favourite once it was clear that Joe Skipper had opted for IRONMAN Lake Placid next weekend rather than Swansea, had opened up a lead on the bike but a puncture would drop him from first to fifth as Horsfall-Turner took over.

And by the time they reached T2 he had over five-and-a-half minutes in hand from a group of four – Jack Moody (NZL), Nieschlag, Palmer and Benito López.

Nieschlag’s race ended early on the run as he jogged back to transition but up front Benito López was making rapid gains on Horsfall-Turner and the catch came at almost exactly the halfway point.

Moody too was relatively close at that point but the Spaniard powered clear for an impressive win, finishing nearly three minutes clear thanks to a 1:10:34 marathon. Dieter Comhair of Belgium just pipped Moody for second in the closing stages as Brits Horsfall-Turner and Palmer took fourth and fifth.