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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.