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IRONMAN 70.3 St George start lists: Epic clash in store as Lionel Sanders headlines stellar field for final edition of an iconic race

What a showdown we have in store in Utah next weekend
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IRONMAN 70.3 St George takes place for the final time on Saturday week, and we have an all-star triathlon cast fitting of the occasion.

2025 IRONMAN South Africa winner Magnus Ditlev is set to clash with IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside victor Lionel Sanders, with the Canadian’s close friend and rival Sam Long adding a third superstar into the mix.

Both Sanders and Long are multi-time winners of the race – Lionle winning in 2016, 2018 and 2021 and Sam the two-time defending champion after scintillating displays in 2023 and 2024.

On the women’s side, Paula Findlay adds further interest from a Canadian perspective as the defending champion, while 2022 IRONMAN World Champion Chelsea Sodaro makes her eagerly-awaited seasonal debut.

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Which Pro men are racing?

It’s hard to look past bib numbers one, two and three on the men’s side with Long, Sanders and Ditlev set to dual in Utah.

‘The Big Unit’ is the two-time defending champion and is formidable over the 70.3 distance – having finished on the podium in four successive races – and he has won seven events since December 2022.

Collins Cup 2022 Lionel Sanders Sam Long photo credit PTO
Sanders and Long go head-to-head at IRONMAN 70.3 St. George [Photo credit: PTO]

For 2025, Long’s focus is on PTO’s T100 Triathlon World Tour, and it will be interesting to see how well he transitions back to the traditional middle-distance after being well beaten in Singapore.

His storied friendship/rivalry with Sanders will certainly go under the microscope here. The Canadian is equally as adept over the 70.3 distance and has found a new lease of life in the off-season – taking a more relaxed approach to training and amending his nutrition.

Sanders produced a sensational run to break the field at 70.3 Oceanside in early April and has won three consecutive starts over the 70.3 distance. The pair last faced off at Oceanside in 2024, with Sanders besting Long by just over a minute. However, prior to that, Sam had defeated Lionel in eight consecutive races.

The wildcard in the mix is Denmark’s Ditlev, who is competing in his first 70.3 race since the 2022 World Championship where he finished third. His last two seasons have been spent competing in the T100 and over the full distance, but his stunning victory at IRONMAN South Africa shows the kind of form he can bring to the table.

Ditlev has finished ahead of Long in seven of their last nine meetings, and has beat Sanders in three of his last four starts.

Although the race is being billed as a clash between the top three, other names to look out for include pro cycling star Cam Wurf, IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong runner-up Jake Birtwhistle of Australia, IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast champion Ben Hamilton of New Zealand – who also finished second behind Long in St. George last year – and IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga winner Matt Hanson of the United States.

Bib NumberNameCountry
M1Sam LongUSA
M2Lionel SandersCAN
M3Magnus DitlevDEN
M4Ben HamiltonNZL
M5Jackson LaundryCAN
M6Jake BirthwhistleAUS
M7Trevor FoleyUSA
M8Justin RieleUSA
M9Cam WurfAUS
M10Marc DubrickUSA
M11Sam AppletonAUS
M12Colin SzuchUSA
M13Matthew MarquardtUSA
M14Matt McelroyUSA
M15Seth RiderUSA
M16Robert WilkowlecklPOL
M17Matt HansonUSA
M18Dylan GillespieUSA
M19Nicholas ChaseUSA
M20Matt RalphsRSA
M22Andre LopesBRA
M23Matthew SharpeCAN
M24Max NeumannAUS
M25Adam FeighUSA
M26Connor WeaverUSA
M27Jose Luis Cordova PerezMEX
M28Brian FoltsUSA
M29Klodian MitriUSA
M30Zach AldrichUSA
M32Danilo PimentalBRA
M33Chris HammerUSA
M34Devin VolkUSA
M35Connor FordUSA
M36Ross BaldwinUSA
M37Kyle WarrickUSA
M38Kevin BishopUSA
M39David GuenthardtUSA
M40Adam GouletUSA
M41Albert AskengrenSWE
M42Kevin McDowellUSA
M43Brad BischoffUSA
M44Yang PanUSA
M45Jayden KuijpersNZL
M46Alexandre BanvilleCAN
M47James BilbreyUSA
M48Johnathan DolanUSA
M49Alejandro Garcia SanchezESP
M50Matthew GuenterUSA
M51Jamie HayesUSA
M52Soren JensenUSA
M53Scott LudfordUSA
M54Drew JordanUSA
M55John KilleenUSA
M56Max KohilUSA
M57Mark RomanoUSA
M58Ben RandallUSA
M59Armando AbaunzaPAN
M60Avraham ManaISR
M62Ryan SedlvecUSA
M63Kelly ThompsonCAN

Which Pro women are racing?

There is also a defending champion on the women’s side as Canadian superstar Findlay looks to build on her IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside victory. The 35-year-old has six wins over the 70.3 distance in the past three years and is a contracted athlete on the T100 Triathlon World Tour in 2025 – likely to appear at San Francisco T100 at the end of the month.

Paula Findlay IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside 2025 Finish Line
Canada’s Paula Findlay takes the tape to win IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside 2025 (Photo – Getty Images for IRONMAN).

Lotte Wilms of the Netherlands has been given the number two bib. A three-time winner over the 70.3 distance – albeit her last victory coming back in 2022 – she’ll look to use her formidable swim to put pressure on the rest of the field. Findlay has beaten Wilms on all five occasions the pair have met on the start line.

Sodaro makes her 2025 bow after withdrawing from IRONMAN Texas due to a virus, while IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside runner-up Jackie Hering and third-place finisher Danielle Lewis re-oppose Findlay in Utah.

Lisa Becharas is perhaps a name to watch out for – she set a blistering bike split at Oceanside – while Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes is another interesting contender.

Bib NumberNameCountry
F1Paula FindlayCAN
F2Lotte WilmsNED
F3Chelsea SoderoUSA
F4Jackie HeringUSA
F5Danielle LewisUSA
F7Kaidi KiviojaEST
F8Lisa BecharasUSA
F9Joceyln McCauleyUSA
F10Danielle FauteuxCAN
F11Rachel ZilinskasUSA
F12Batya BeardUSA
F13Laura SiddallGBR
F14Melanie McQuaidCAN
F15Freya McKinleyUSA
F16Christine MasseyUSA
F17Alexandra WattUSA
F18Annamarie StrehlowUSA
F19Vittoria LopesBRA
F20Nicole FalcaroUSA
F21Simone MitchellGBR
F22Alayna SzuchUSA
F23Carolyn CarterUSA
F24Rebecca YungingerUSA
F25Lydia RussellUSA
F26MarSloane TilleyUSA
F27Marissa LovellUSA
F28Jenna HauflerUSA
F29Christine McKinleyCAN
F30Annette RogersUSA
F32Katie SpoelmanUSA
F33Liz LiceaUSA
Stuart Dick
Written by
Stuart Dick
Stuart is a graduate of the University of Sunderland with a masters' degree in Sports Journalism. He spends a lot of his time running and cycling around West Yorkshire, England.
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