It was a race featuring a star-studded field, primarily composed of North American world-class athletes, but naturally, there could only be one winner. That turned out to be Jason West, who secured the win at Ironman 70.3 Northern California thanks to a lightning-fast 1:08 half marathon. In the women’s race, Grace Alexander proved untouchable, leading for nearly the entire day to claim a well-deserved victory.
After the swim, it wasn’t the biggest names leading the men’s field. Gregory Harper exited the water first in 25:41, followed closely by Brennen Smith and Simon Shi, with Jason West only in fourth, just 39 seconds back. High-profile contenders like Jackson Laundry (+0:54), Colin Szuch (+3:00), Sam Long (+3:01), and Lionel Sanders (+3:02) faced larger deficits, setting up a clear task for the bike leg.
Objective observers likely expected powerhouses like Long and Sanders – especially riding together – to make up ground. While they did manage to surge forward to fourth and fifth positions, they couldn’t close the gap to the front. Up ahead, Laundry set a fierce pace, breaking away solo. By the time he reached T2, he held a two-minute lead over Jeremy MacLean, while West entered 3:15 back, with Long and Sanders trailing by 3:54.
On the run, West put on a masterclass, tearing through the field like a greyhound in pursuit of the lead. By the 10k mark, he had bridged the gap to Laundry. Though his lead didn’t expand dramatically after that, he steadily ran his way to a decisive victory.
West took the tape in 3:39:23, while Laundry secured a strong second place in 3:41:13. Long rounded out the podium in third (3:43:50), with Sanders finishing fourth in 3:45:35.
Grace Alexander unmatched; American cruises to impressive victory
In the women’s race, there was virtually no doubt as to who would take the crown, save perhaps for the very opening phase. New Zealand’s Rebecca Clarke set the early pace in the water, exiting in 27:22 – just under half a minute ahead of Grace Alexander.
Once on the bike, the American bridged the gap to Clarke in short order and quickly took solo command of the race. Alexander continuously stretched her lead all the way to transition, entering T2 with a 2:21 buffer over a charging Emma Skaug, who had moved up into second place.
During the half marathon, Alexander’s lead was shaved down slightly and never felt entirely comfortable, yet the cushion remained substantial enough to keep any panic at bay. Alexander sealed the victory in 4:17:02. Clarke mounted a late charge on the run to recapture second place, finishing in 4:18:28, while American Clare Dasso also made late gains on the run to claim third in 4:19:02.
