Olympic silver medallist Javier Gomez has announced that he will be returning to racing this month, as the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion looks to get back into the fold following more than a year and a half out of action through injury and other issues.
Having last raced in January 2022, when he won IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon, Gomez has suffered similar struggles to his great rival Alistair Brownlee during his long course career so far, with the pair both unable to find the winning formula to race consistently and keep injuries at bay since stepping up from the Olympic distance.
In some welcome news, however, it seems that Gomez is now once again healthy and ready to go, after announcing on social media that he will be racing on back-to-back weekends in his home country of Spain over the coming weeks in what the 40 year old hopes will be a fresh chapter for his full distance racing.
“Thank you to everyone for your support over these tough months”
Having only been able to race once since the summer of 2021, Gomez might be a little rusty when he toes the start line in the Santander City Triathlon next week, but that thought will barely feature in the mind of the multiple time World Champion, as he finally gets to line up following what he described as a very “tough period”.
“Enjoying training in Pontevedra and happy to announce that I’ll be racing again! It’s been a long time dealing with many different problems and a few injuries, so it will be great to toe the line again.
“I’ll start with 2 national races, @triatlonciudadsantander @santander_es@santanderexperiences Sept 10th and @epictriathlon.es the following weekend. Thank you to everyone for the support during these tough months. I’m excited to see you out there!”
Whilst it is yet unknown if Gomez intends to make a full scale return to top level competition, it is likely that the way his body reacts to the rigours of racing in Santander and Cabanes will play a large part in his decision making process for what comes next on the agenda.
With any luck, triathlon fans might yet get to see one final showdown between Brownlee and Gomez, as both great rivals try and strike the balance between fitness and injury in a race to match their short course achievements in long distance triathlon before making their way into retirement.
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