Sam Long had suggested beforehand that it would take a course record to win the men’s race at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside, an event which is often seen as the start of the pro season, at least in North America.
That record mark was 3:44:59, set by Jackson Laundry in 2022.
But in 2026 that was the time required just to make the top 10!
American star Long and Germany’s Jonas Schomburg animated the race as they joined forces on both the bike and run to try and set a pace that would burn off favourite Kristian Blummenfelt, fresh from his 1:06 half marathon which saw him rout a vintage line up at 70.3 Geelong.
Swim progress
In the end it wasn’t quite to be as ‘Big Blu’ powered through the field to take first place, catching Schomburg late on while Long – a 20-time winner at middle and long distance – just missed out on a podium spot as reigning IRONMAN World Champion Casper Stornes collared him in sight of the finish straight.
It was still a tremendous performance by the ‘Big Unit’ though, kickstarted with a swim which saw him around a minute closer to the front of the race compared to his career average.
And writing on Instagram, he said: “I went ALL IN on Oceanside. I knew what it would take to win here. I had the best swim of my career and committed full heartedly on the bike. My power meter never connected so I just raced with ⚾️⚾️. I knew to have a chance I needed a gap on @kristianblu
“I raced against the world champs and brought the race to them. On the run, when I caught @jonasschomburg after he did an early surge I said let’s work together to hold off KB. At that point I was telling myself “the win is the only option, don’t back down!”.
“We kept pulling turns aid station to aid station and I was feeling great until 2 miles left. @casperstornes passed me with 200 meters left and at that point I was trying not to have to walk it in.”
‘Proud of my effort’
Long crossed the line in 3:42:09, almost exactly two minutes behind Blummenfelt – but nearly three minutes inside that old course record.
And he added: “No fear in going after the win; always have the courage to chase your dreams even if you have no right. I am proud of my effort. In Nice I was 25’ off the best in the world and here 2’.
“Congrats to everyone and thank you for all the cheers. I am motivated AF.”
The Nice reference was to the IRONMAN World Champion on the Cote d’Azur last year where he was more than 26 minutes behind race winner Stornes.
And next up for Stornes, Blummenfelt, Long and others is a step back up to full distance at IRONMAN Texas on 18 April.
