GUSTAV IDEN (NOR) AND LUCY CHARLES-BARCLAY (GBR) UTILIZE DOMINANT PERFORMANCES TO TAKE THE TITLES AT THE INTERMOUNTAIN HEALTHCARE IRONMAN 70.3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY UTAH SPORTS COMMISSION
ST. GEORGE, Utah (September 18, 2021) – After two-years of anticipation for a world championship event, St. George, Utah, took the global spotlight this week as fans and athletes alike witnessed the remarkable lineup of pro athletes at the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN® 70.3® World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission. Featuring moderate temperatures, striking landscapes, and some unpredictable weather, the Land of Endurance lived up to its billing with Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) taking the top spot for the first time as women’s world champion while Gustav Iden (NOR) defended his 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship title, making it two-in-a-row.
Gustav Iden defends IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship title
Following his quick rise and stunning 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship win as a seemingly unknown challenger, Norwegian professional Gustav Iden crossed today’s finish line with an unrivaled race that has cemented him as a force for others to catch. Coming out of the swim pack in 17th, Iden made up lost time by battling it back on the bike, passing fellow athletes early on. Even though heavy showers and hail poured down on athletes for a portion of the run, Iden remained undeterred and unstoppable, crossing the finish line in 3:37:13 at the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission, nearly four minutes ahead of second place athlete Sam Long. The podium rounded out with an impressive performance by Daniel Baekkegard (DEN), who finished in 3:42:24.
Top five professional men’s results:
| PLACE | ATHLETE | SWIM | BIKE | RUN | FINISH |
| 1 | Gustav Iden (NOR) | 24:54 | 1:58:58 | 1:11:32 | 3:37:13 |
| 2 | Sam Long (USA) | 25:54 | 2:00:48 | 1:12:11 | 3:41:09 |
| 3 | Daniel Baekkegard (DEN) | 23:51 | 2:03:00 | 1:13:23 | 3:42:24 |
| 4 | Miki Taagholt (DEN) | 23:54 | 2:03:02 | 1:14:00 | 3:43:07 |
| 5 | Jackson Laundry (CAN) | 24:50 | 2:01:54 | 1:14:38 | 3:43:24 |
Lucy Charles-Barclay wins first IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship title
From the firing of the start cannon to the finish line tape, Lucy Charles-Barclay dominated the women’s professional field with prowess and a determination to win that wouldn’t be denied. Charles-Barclay put together a stellar race that was years in the making after one second-place IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship (2018) and three second-place IRONMAN World Championship (2017, 2018, 2019) finishes. Crossing the finish line on Main Street in 4:00:20, Charles-Barclay soaked in the roar of the crowd, leading to tears of joy as she embraced her husband, Reese, and realized her goal of an IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship title. South African Jeanni Metzler had an impressive day of her own, running her way into a second-place finish with a time of 4:08:39. Meanwhile, Taylor Knibb in only her second ever IRONMAN 70.3 finished the world championship in third just 11 seconds behind Metzler.
Top five professional women’s results:
| PLACE | ATHLETE | SWIM | BIKE | RUN | FINISH |
| 1 | Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) | 24:36 | 2:14:54 | 1:18:48 | 4:00:20 |
| 2 | Jeanni Metzler (ZAF) | 26:08 | 2:20:17 | 1:20:12 | 4:08:38 |
| 3 | Taylor Knibb (USA) | 26:05 | 2:18:23 | 1:22:18 | 4:08:50 |
| 4 | Katrina Matthews (GBR) | 28:14 | 2:17:43 | 1:22:37 | 4:10:45 |
| 5 | Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) | 28:13 | 2:18:03 | 1:23:42 | 4:12:10 |
More than 3,500 athletes checked-in to start the days race including the impressive professional field, tackling a 1.2-mile (1.9km) swim that took place in the Sand Hollow Reservoir in Hurricane, Utah followed by a challenging 56-mile (91.3km) bike course that led athletes through stunning desert landscapes with 3,442 feet (1,049 meters) of elevation gain and an unforgettable climb into Snow Canyon State Park and surrounding Washington County. The IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event was capped off with the two-loop, 13.1-mile (21.2km) run course through Red Hills Parkway and saw athletes finish in historic downtown St. George. In order to qualify for the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, more than 50,000 age-group athletes competed to earn slots at over 45 IRONMAN 70.3 events held worldwide.
The 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship saw athletes from over 85 countries, regions and territories compete in this world-renowned event, ranging in age from 18 to 84.
More professional race details will be available at www.ironman.com/news_article/show/1184264 with the broadcast of the event available on Facebook Watch via the IRONMAN Now® Channel. Full results for the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship can be found at
www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/70.3-world-championship/results.aspx.
The next edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship returns to St. George, Utah with a two-day event on October 28-29, 2022. The 2023 edition moves to Lahti, Finland on August 26-27.
For additional event information, please visit www.ironman.com/worldchampionship70.3.
In 2006 the inaugural IRONMAN® 70.3® World Championship was held in Clearwater, Florida becoming another test for the world’s elite triathletes. Since that auspicious beginning, the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship has grown in stature and popularity moving first to Henderson, Nevada in 2011, where athletes encountered a more challenging terrain and then to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec—its first stop on the new “global rotation” for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. The event reached European soil for the first time ever in 2015, with Zell am See, Austria, hosting an epic and memorable event. In 2016, the race moved from the mountains to the beaches of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. In 2017, the race returned to the United States, taking place in Chattanooga, Tennessee where it became a two-day event for the first time. In 2018, the event reached the African continent for the first time and was hosted in Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa. Continuing the rotation, 2019 saw the French Riviera and Nice, France play host to the ever-growing IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event. More than 200,000 athletes register to participate annually in a series of qualifying races, consisting of over 100 events in locations such as Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, North America, South Africa, and Switzerland. Hosting more than 5,000 athletes from around the world, participants in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship have ranged in age from 18 to 85-plus. In 2021, the event takes place in the Red Rocks of St. George, Utah on September 18 in the United States and again on October 28-29, 2022, before shifting to Lahti, Finland on August 26-27, 2023. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship.
The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll® Running Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf®, Ultra-Trail® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, road cycling events including Haute Route®, and gravel racing like Gravel Epic®, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.
About Advance
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