It was a day of Brazilian brilliance at Ironman 70.3 São Paulo, as Manoel Messias Dos Santos Junior and Djenyfer Arnold stormed to convincing victories on home soil. Junior sealed the men’s race with a decisive move on the run, while Arnold dismantled the women’s field with a commanding performance across all three disciplines.
From the opening meters of the swim, Arnold made her intentions clear. She exited the water in 26:18 with compatriot Vittoria Lopes right on her heels, and the pair entered T1 together. On the bike, they continued to ride side by side, steadily extending their advantage to more than six minutes over the rest of the field.
Hopes for a tense duel on the half marathon soon evaporated. Arnold surged clear almost immediately, widening the gap with every kilometer. While she pressed on at the front, Lopes faded in the closing stages and slipped back to third. Arnold stopped the clock at 4:14:02 for a resounding victory. Pamella Nascimento de Oliveira ran through to take second in 4:22:06, with Lopes rounding out the all-Brazilian podium in 4:23:52.
In the men’s race, Junior was equally impressive. He exited the swim in a lead group of around 14 athletes, before a select trio emerged on the bike: Junior, Argentina’s Luciano Taccone, and Brazilian veteran Reinaldo Colucci. By the time they reached T2, the chasers were already more than seven minutes adrift.
The run proved decisive. Junior immediately broke clear of his companions and never looked back, his advantage only growing as the kilometers passed. He claimed the win in 3:36:27, with Taccone finishing second in 3:40:15 and Colucci holding on for third in 3:48:37.