Lionel Sanders and Paula Findlay Claim a Canadian Sweep at the Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside and Maximum IRONMAN Pro Series Points

April 6, 2025

- The Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside is the third stop on the IRONMAN Pro Series race calendar with more than 100 professional athletes on the start line - Rudy von Berg (USA) and Gustav Iden (NOR) complete the male professional podium, while Jackie Hering (USA) and Danielle Lewis (USA) earn second and third places respectively in the female professional race

OCEANSIDE, Calif. /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Oceanside, Southern California’s triathlon hotbed, once again played host to the Athletic Brewing IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Oceanside and the third race in the 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series™ on Saturday, April 5.  Against a star-studded field featuring some of the top names in the sport, it was a set of Canadians in Lionel Sanders and Paula Findlay who claimed the titles with a finishing time of 3:47:01 and 4:16:50 respectively. Sanders added a fourth win to his Oceanside tally (previously capturing the title in 2016, 2017, and 2024) while Findlay earned her second win at the event (previously winning in 2021). Sanders and Findlay walked away with 2,500 Pro Series points, $7,500 USD each.

“I went back to old school swim deficits. Don’t get me wrong, I am not content with that, but it just means I was going to have to suffer more on the run. The biggest thing I have done this season is I have prepared properly. There was nothing I did today that I had not prepared for, so there was no fear. I was able to race as hard as I possibly could and even when I got off the bike I was still totally in the game,” said Sanders after his victory.

“I got a little caught up on the bike and wasn’t feeling good,” said Findlay on the finish line, “so I had to really fight hard on the back end of the run. That was probably one of my best (IRONMAN) 70.3 runs. That was the silver lining of not having such a good bike ride is that I had a little more on the run. I am super happy and hearing that Lionel won is sweet!” .

While the air was cold, the heat was on straight off the cannon blast at Oceanside Harbor. It was Greg Harper (USA) who led the men out of the water finishing the harbor swim in a blazing 22:48. Following seconds behind would be Magnus Männer (DEU), Seth Rider (USA) and Casper Stornes (NOR). In the women’s race, Stephanie Clutterbuck (GBR) was first out of the water in a time of 26:12, only 10 seconds ahead of Paula Findlay (CAN) and Lydia Russell (USA).

Despite exiting the water over a minute behind Harper, Norwegian Olympic champion and 2021 IRONMAN World Champion Kristian Blummenfelt quickly made his way to the front early on the bike. However, Blummenfelt’s lead quickly dissolved when he suffered a flat tire 12 miles into the bike course on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, allowing for Justin Riele (USA) and fellow Norwegian star Gustav Iden to take over the lead,dropping Blummenfelt out of contention. A furious chase led by Seth Rider, Casper Stornes, Rudy von Berg (USA) and Ben Kanute (USA) pushed the pursuit. Lionel Sanders held on to the back of the pack but began to make headway pulling into the top 10 by the halfway point, while defending IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange (DEU) faded away, dropping over 6 minutes behind the chase group.

In the women’s race Jackie Hering (USA) managed to make some moves early on working her way into third by the time she passed the 12^th mile timing mat. By the halfway point, a group of Findlay, Hering, and Clutterbuck had surged, of leaving a chase group of Lisa Becharas (USA), Alice Alberts (USA) and Tamara Jewett (CAN) over a minute behind the leaders.

Heading into T2, it was Justin Riele leading back into town, followed quickly by Von Berg, Stornes, Rider, and Kanute all within a minute of each other. In the women’s race, Becharas managed to chase down and a pack that included Findlay and Hering taking an 11 second lead into T2.

The fireworks were on as a gripping battle unfolded on the streets of Oceanside for the run. Seth Rider took the early lead heading out of T2 followed by Von Berg and Iden. However, a charging Lionel Sanders would make his way into fourth by the 5-mile mark. The pace continued to increase, but it was a determined Sanders who would pick off the field, putting down a 1:11:28 run time to take the win, followed by Rudy Von Berg in a time of 3:47:01 and Gustav Iden took third with a time of 3:48:06.

Hering and Findlay, quickly got into control early on the run, followed behind by Danielle Lewis, Jewett and Alexander. While Hering held the lead for the majority of the run, Findlay’s pace proved to be too strong and the Canadian took a firm grip in the final 4 miles. coming into the finish 23 second ahead of Hering to capture her second victory in Oceanside. Jackie Hering would follow in second with a time of 4:17:08 while Danielle Lewis rounded out the podium with a time of 4:18:18.

Top Five Male Professional Results – Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside

Top Five Female Professional Results – Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside

News and Notes 

• Lionel Sanders (CAN) both repeats as champion, and earns his fourth victory at the Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside triathlon, after previously capturing wins in 2016, 2017, and 2024
• Paula Findlay (CAN) earns her second win in seven appearances at the Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside triathlon. Her last victory came at a fall edition of the race in 2021.
• Gustav Iden (NOR), 2022 IRONMAN World Champion and 2019 and 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, earns third place finish and an impressive early season result in his debut performance at Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside.
• Greg Harper, who in his last IRONMAN 70.3 appearance led the men out of the water at the 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, New Zealand, set the fastest swim time of the day with a 22:48, while Stephanie Clutterbuck (GBR) was the quickest female out of the water with a time of 26:12
• While slipping out of contention on the bike due to a flat tire, Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) was the fastest runner of the day, clocking a 1:07:19 in his debut appearance at Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside.
• Justin Riele (USA) had the fastest bike split of the day putting down an impressive 2:05:31; only Lionel Sanders came close to that time, finishing eight places behind in a time of 2:05:37 as he began to claw back his swim deficit.
• Lisa Becharas (USA) set the fastest bike time in the women’s race with a 2:22:34.
• Tamara Jewett (CAN) charged through the field late in the women’s race, with her 1:17:59 run the fastest of the females, moving her from 10th at the end of the bike to finish fourth overall.

Full results for the 2025 Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside triathlon can be found at www.ironman.com/races/im703-oceanside/results. For additional event information, please visit www.ironman.com/races/im703-oceanside.

IRONMAN Pro Series Standings

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based triathlon race series with professional triathletes being able to earn points at 18 select races in 17 locations globally. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series ushers in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters™ with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. For any athlete, only their top five event results count towards their overall Pro Series points and standing, of which a maximum of three IRONMAN results can be counted. How it works can be found here.

Sanders and Findlay ensured both athletes walked away with the maximum IRONMAN Pro Series points available for an IRONMAN 70.3 of 2,500. This weekend’s results mean Sanders moves into 15th place and Findlay moves into 10th place in the standings overall IRONMAN Pro Series standings. Athletes finishing behind the race winner saw their points diminish with every second that ticked off behind the race winner.

Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Standings – Top Five Male (After Three Events)

Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Standings – Top Five Female (After Three Events)     

Full IRONMAN Pro Series standings can be found at proseries.ironman.com.

Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Event Prize Money

In addition to the IRONMAN Pro Series’ $1.7M year-end bonus prize pool, there is an event pro prize purse payout of $2,450,000, distributed across IRONMAN Pro Series events. With the first three IRONMAN Pro Series races complete, a total of $275,000 has been earned by professional athletes so far – leaving $2,175,000 to be claimed at the remaining events.

Top Five Male Prize Money Earned (After Three Events)

Top Five Female Prize Money Earned (After Three Events)

Next Events Coming Up

With the third race of the IRONMAN Pro Series calendar complete, next up is the highly anticipated Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North American Championship triathlon returning to The Woodlands, Texas on Sunday, April 26.

A free replay of the Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside is available to international audiences via proseries.ironman.com or IRONMAN’s YouTube Page, and on Outside+ for those watching from the United States and Canada.

For more information on the IRONMAN Pro Series, visit proseries.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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About IRONMAN Pro Series

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based world series that showcases and rewards top professional triathletes as they vie for points and event prize money, on their way to claiming the title of IRONMAN Pro Series champion and a lion’s share of the lucrative $1.7 million USD year-end bonus prize pool.  Along the way, athletes will battle for the prize money offered at each individual IRONMAN Pro Series triathlon, equating to over $2.5 million USD, as well as coveted world championship qualifying slots. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series ushers in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters – every second behind the race winner equates to a point earned or lost. Incorporating iconic distances, challenging courses, and stunning destinations, every IRONMAN Pro Series race will be broadcast live and free to a global audience. In 2025, the IRONMAN Pro Series will be contested over 18 events and 17 race locations around the globe, including a combination of six IRONMAN^® and eight IRONMAN^® 70.3^® triathlons, as well as the IRONMAN World Championship^® women’s and men’s races and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon. An additional 40 events outside of the 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series will also offer IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 professional racing fields with world championship qualifying opportunities, and over $1.8 million USD in prize money. This creates a total professional prize purse of over $6 million USD in 2025. For more information, visit proseries.ironman.com.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Running Series, IRONKIDS^®, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf^®, UTMB^® World Series trail-running events including the Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB^®, Tarawera Ultra-Trail™ by UTMB^® and Ultra-Trail Australia™ by UTMB^®, Epic Series™ mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world, providing participants 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. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.