Eneko Llanos of Spain and Heather Jackson of the U.S. prevailed on a sunny day at Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Llanos and Jackson have shared the top of the podium last November as they also won the men's and women’s titles at Ironman Arizona.

Men

To thunderous cheers of his home town fans, 42-year-old Eneko Llanos won the inaugural Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz by a decisive advantage. Adding icing on the cake, Llanos broke the 8-hour mark with a 7:55:16 time which gave him an 11:39 margin of victory over Josh Amberger of Australia and 12:46 over Peru Alfaro of Spain.

Llanos began his quest with a 4th-best 48:11 swim split which gave him a 1:23 deficit to swim leader Josh Amberger of Australia. By 71km of the bike leg, Llanos took the lead by a few seconds over Antony Costes of France, Peru Alfaro of Spain and Amberger. While Alfaro dropped back, Llanos posted a race-best 4:16:15 bike split, leading Costes and Amberger into T2.

By 11 kilometers of the run, Llanos established a 2:18 lead on Amberger and 4:50 on Costes. Wrapping up the victory, Llanos finished with a 2:46:51 marathon which gave him am 11:39 margin of victory.

The win was his 8th Ironman victory, coming after 2007 Lanzarote, 2010 Lanzarote, 2011 Texas, 2011 Arizona, 2013 Melbourne and 2013 Frankfurt and 2018 Arizona. Llanos’ other significant performances include 2nd place at the 2008 Ironman World Championship, 1st at the 2003 ITU long distance World Championship and 3 wins at the XTERRA World Championship.

Women

By an even greater margin, Heather Jackson of the U.S. unleashed a dominant bike split and a women’s-best marathon to outpace Nina Derron of Switzerland for her 5th career Ironman victory. Jackson overcame a 3:38 deficit to swim leader Judith Corachan of Spain with a women’s best 4:43:43 bike split that gave her a 6:16 lead over Nina Derron of Switzerland at T2.

Offering no encouragement to her chasers, Jackson increased her lead to 11 minutes at 15 kilometers of the run. After a women’s-best 3:06:03 marathon, Jackson finished in 8:52:10 with a 13:23 margin of victory over Derron and 21:27 over 3rd place finisher Judith Corachan of Spain.

Jackson’s win was her fifth Ironman triumph, coming after victories at 2015 Ironman Coeur D’Alene, 2016 Ironman Lake Placid, 2018 Ironman Lake Placid and 2018 Ironman Arizona.

Jackson’s other premier performances include a 5th, 4th and 3rd at the Ironman World Championship, a 2nd at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, and 4 wins at the Wildflower long course.

Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
July 14, 2019
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

Results

Men

1. Eneko Llanos (ESP) 7:55:16 S 48:11 T1 2:12 B 4:16:15 T2 1:47 R 2:46:51
2. Josh Amberger (AUS) 8:06:55 S 46:45 T1 1:57 B 4:18:03 T2 2:09 R 2:58:02
3. Peru Alfaro (ESP) 8:08:02 S 48:06 T1 2:06 B 4:27:27 T2 2:40 R 2:50:14
4. Miquel Blanchart Tinto (ESP) 8:19:39 S 54:09 T1 2:11 B 4:31:06 T2 2:00 R 2:50:14
5. Carlos Lopez Dias (ESP) 8:27:20 S 48:03 T1 2:22 B 4:36:55 T2 2:50 R 2:57:11

Women

1. Heather Jackson (USA) 8:52:10 S 58:07 T1 2:10 B 4:43:43 T2 2:09 R 3:06:03
2. Nina Derron (SUI) 9:05:33 S 55:30 T1 2:19 B 4:52:26 T2 2:24 R 3:12:55
3. Judith Corachan (ESP) 9:13:37 S 54:32 T1 2:22 B 5:08:31 T2 2:09 R 3:06:05
4. Joanna Soltysiak (POL 9:19:00 S 59:01 T1 2:18 B 4:52:18 T2 2:02 R 3:23:22
5. Federica De Nicola (ITA) 9:25:18 S 1:04:22 T1 2:44 B 4:54:36 T2 2:27 R 3:21:10