Triathlon legend Javier Gomez of Spain held off Luciano Taccone of Argentina by 1:57 with a race-best 1:10:04 half marathon and Luisa Baptista of Brazil dominated the women’s field by an 8:04 margin to take top honors at Ironman 70.3 Pucon.
Gomez trailed top swimmer Vincent Trewhela of Chile by one second, finished third by 3 seconds after the bike segment, then sealed the deal with his race-best 1:10:04 half marathon to finish in 3:50:54 with a 1:57 margin over Taccone and 7:17 over third place finisher Reinaldo Colucci of Brazil.
By a much more comfortable margin at the end, Baptista tied Macarena Salazar Ezquerra of Chile for the swim lead at 27:11, charged into a 7:34 lead after a by-far-best 2:23:55 bike split, then secured the victory with a race-best 1:19:31 half marathon that brought her to the finish in 4:17:12. Baptista won by an 8:04 margin over Chilean multiple Olympian Barbara Riveros and a whopping 25:41 over third place Romina Palacio of Argentina.
Men
Vincent Trewhela of Chile led the men’s swim with an 24:10 split that gave him a one second lead over Gomez, 3 seconds over Gaspar Riveros of Chile, 44 seconds over Martin Munoz of Chile, 49 seconds over Taccone and 51 seconds over Colucci.
After a race-best 2:09:51 bike split, Martin Ulloa of Childe seized the lead by a fraction of a second over Taccone, 3 seconds over Gomez, 4 seconds over Colucci (2:09:52 bike split) and 6 seconds over Trewhela.
Given his Hall of Fame credentials, the legendary Gomez unleashed a race-best 1:10:04 half marathon that brought him to the line in 3:50:54 with a 1:57 margin over Taccone and 7:17 over third place finisher Colucci.
Lest anyone forget, the 38-year-old Gomez is a 5-time ITU Olympic distance World Champion, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist, the 2014 and 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Champion, the 2019 ITU Long Distance World Champion, the 2012 XTERRA World Champion, the 2013 Escape From Alcatraz champ and the 2019 Ironman Malaysia winner.
Women
Baptista and Macarena Salazar Ezquerra tied for the lead with equal 27:11 swims, which gave them a 1 second margin over Barbara Riveros of Chile, 2 seconds over Cataline Salazar Ezquerra of Chile and 4 seconds over Romina Palacio of Argentina.
Baptista seized the women’s race by the throat with a women’s-fastest 2:23:55 bike split which gave her a 7:34 lead on Riveros (2:31:31 split), 14:14 over Pamela Tastets of Chile, 14:16 over Valentina Carvallo of Chile, and 14:17 over Romina Palacio of Argentina.
Baptista secured the win with a women’s race-best 1:19:31 run split – 32 seconds faster than Riveros – which Baptista an 8:04 margin over Riveros and 25:41 over third-place finisher Romina Palacio of Argentina.
The win gave Baptista another top finish after her win at the 2019 Lima Pan American Games, fourth place finishes at the 2020 Valencia World Cup and the 2019 Huatulco World Cup.
Ironman 70.3 Pucon
Pucon, Chile
January 9, 2022
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Men's Results
1. Javier Gomez (ESP) S 24:11 T1 3:15 B 2:10:42 T2 2:43 R 1:10:04 TOT 3:50:54
2. Luciano Taccone (ARG) S 24:59 T1 3:14 B 2:09:54 T2 2:43 R 1:12:04 TOT 3:52:51
3. Reinaldo Colucci (BRA) S 25:01 T1 3:18 B 2:09:52 T2 2:50 R 1:17:12 TOT 3:58:12
4. Vincent Trewhela (CHL) S 24:10 T1 3:16 B 2:10:45 T2 3:08 R 1:20:46 TOT 4:02:05
5. Gaspar Riveros (CHL) S 24:134 T1 3:14 B 2:21:12 T2 3:59 R 1:18:43 TOT 4:11:19
6. Danilo Melo (BRA) S 31:45 T1 3:45 B 2:18:10 T2 3:24 R 1:19:17 TOT 4:16:18
7. Martin Baeza Muñoz (CHL) S 24:54 T1 3:21 B 2:19:56 T2 3:23 R 1:27:32 TOT 4:19:05
8. Jose Pablo Salazar Ezquerra (COL) S 30:04 T1 3:45 B 2:22:59 T2 3:13 R 1:24:35 TOT 4:24:35
9. Jorge Orrego Rivera (CHL) S 37:31 T1 3:55 B 2:39:22 T2 4:05 R 1:24:53 TOT 4:49:44
Women's Results
1. Luisa Baptista (BRA) S 27:11 T1 3:27 B 2:23:55 T2 3:09 R 1:19:31 TOT 4:17:12
2. Barbara Riveros (CHL) 27:13 T1 3:24 B 2:31:31 T2 3:07 R 1:20:03 TOT 4:25:16
3. Romina Palacio (ARG) S 27:16 T1 3:59 B 2:37:36 T2 3:25 R 1:30:40 TOT 4:42:54
4. Macarena Salazar Ezquerra (CHL) S 27:11 T1 3:39 B 2:37:59 T2 3:19 R 1:33:02 TOT 4:45:08
5. Pamela Tastets (CHL) S 30:08 T1 3:26 B 2:35:14 T2 3:28 R 1:34:02 TOT 4:46:17
6. Valentina Carvallo (CHL) S 32:05 T1 4:05 B 2:32:39 T2 3:13 R 1:40:18 TOT 4:52:19
7. Catalina Salazar Ezquerra (CHL) S 27:13 T1 4:21 B 2:44:23 T2 4:08 R 1:35:18 TOT 4:55:21
