Tamara Jewett, one of middle-distance triathlon’s fastest runners, has announced she’ll make her full-distance debut at IRONMAN Texas.
The Canadian, 15th in the PTO’s world rankings has been in the top two of the standings for the run every year since 2021, with only Ashleigh Gentle currently ahead of her, so the prospect of her tackling the marathon at the end of an Ironman is an enticing one.
Last year saw her focus on the T100 Triathlon World Tour before a top-10 finish in the 70.3 World Championships in New Zealand in December.
But in 2025 the emphasis is very much on the IRONMAN Pro Series judged on the provisional schedule she’s announced for the first part of the season.
‘Now is the right time’
Writing and speaking on her Instagram page, she revealed: “Having spent a long time talking and thinking through the many options for this season, my team and I have decided to try out this full distance Ironman thing and see where that goes 😊💪🏻🏊🏻♀️🚴🏼♀️🏃🏼♀️
“I don’t know whether I will love, hate or feel something in between for the distance, but I’ve been increasingly itching to test that, and my tummy tells me that now is the right time 😊”
Setting out her schedule, like many of the top pros she will start her campaign at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside on April 5, which she won in 2023, followed by that full IRONMAN debut at Texas three weeks later, with those two races the first in North America in the Pro Series.
Two more 70.3s will follow in May and June and then IRONMAN Lake Placid is on the calendar for July 20 and, if everything goes to plan, a third IRONMAN will likely come with the World Championships which are back in Kona this year for the women.
Another big move
Explaining more, she said: “I have been sort of curious for a couple of years now as to what it would be like to race the full distance.
“Rather than returning to the T100 Tour I’ve decided that this is an exciting new challenge for me.
So I’ve signed up for IRONMAN Texas on April 26th which is also my birthday so maybe it was meant to be!
“It’s been really daunting over the past month and a bit trying to build my mileage up to even more than what it is when I’m doing 70.3 training.”
And much of that training will also be around San Francisco rather than Toronto as Jewett and partner Chris, who has got a new job in California, are relocating, though she added: “My network around Toronto is really, really important to me so I’ll be back and forth.
“So a lot of different things happening this season and I’m really excited for the race schedule we’re putting together.
“We’ll make more decisions after Texas on what the rest of my schedule will look like and see how I react to doing such a long race, both physically and psychologically.”
Are we in a triathlon boom, or hurtling towards burnout? Laura Siddall on the growth of the sport
