Jeremy MacLean caused one of the biggest surprises in recent triathlon history when he saw off the likes of Sam Long to take his maiden pro victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga.
He had only raced three times before at middle distance – seventh at Challenge Turku and 17th at 70.3 Indian Wells in 2024 and then a DNF at 70.3 Swansea in 2025, a year which was massively impacted by injury.
There was a hint of what was to come though at the recent St. Anthony’s Triathlon when he clocked the fastest 40km bike leg.
And wearing bib #42 he was third out of the water at Chattanooga before another brilliant bike leg put him at the front of the race – and he just held on from Ari Klau on the run.
‘Gonna be tough to beat’
It capped an unforgettable few days for the Brit-American, a junior at college in the States who earlier in the week had celebrated his 21st birthday. As he put it: “Turned 21 on Monday and won my first pro race on Sunday. Gonna be tough to beat.”
It was all the more impressive as that race-winning performance on the bike came after he dropped a shoe on the mount line which forced him to chase hard for 30 mins to get back to the front where he and Benjamin Zorgnotti then rode away from the rest.
He’s since published the data from the bike and that’s prompted plenty of congratulation messages from fellow pros for his breakthrough win – you can check out the figures below.
MacLean also revealed that cramping issues on the run have held him back but hopefully they are now a thing of the past and there was additional cause for celebration as he’s now booked his spot at the 70.3 Worlds in Nice.
‘I own it’ says Long
The big favourite for the victory had been defending champion Sam Long, who had won 70.3 Gulf Coast the week before.
However the ‘Big Unit’ was never able to get on terms and he explained afterwards in a classy post on Instagram how the day had panned out, saying: “I realized pretty quickly it was going to be an immensely difficult day, so I tried to rely on mental fortitude, experience, and grit to get everything I could out of myself. I did the best I could with what I had today.
“It was amazing to see @jeremymaclean_ take the win. His enthusiasm was palpable. It was also inspiring to see @matthansontri show what is still possible at 42 years old.
“The last week was a lot. I’m a guy who has historically done back to backs really well, but this was the first one that misfired.
“Maybe too much travel? Maybe I was still riding the high from last week and didn’t realize how much it took out of me? Maybe I need to adapt as I get older?
“Either way, I own it and need to either find a “new way” or be better if I do this style of racing again.”
