Knibb, Long Dominate on Home Turf to Claim Wins at IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder

BOULDER, Colo. (June 10, 2023) — Colorado’s Taylor Knibb showed why she was last year’s IRONMAN 70.3 world champion with a dominating performance on her home turf at this year’s IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder, besting local pros Holly Lawrence and IRONMAN 70.3 North American champion Jeanni Metzler.

Boulder’s Sam Long continued his winning streak with an equally impressive performance in the men’s race, taking the win by nearly five minutes over Lionel Sanders and Chris Leiferman.

Knibb Tops Women’s Field

Knibb didn’t waste any time establishing her dominance, coming out of the swim in second just three seconds behind Lauren Brandon with main rivals Jeanni Metzler and Holly Lawrence about two minutes back.

Once on the bike, Knibb took the lead and and posted a bike split of 2:06:08, allowing her to enter T2 with a 6:36 cushion over Lawrence, now in second place. Brandon entered T2 in third position, 9:16 behind, with Metzler close on her heels at 10:36 down.

Out on the run, Knibb added a few more minutes to her lead with a 1:22:24 half marathon, crossing the finish line for the win in a total time of 3:56:34. Metzler and Lawrence battled it out for second place with Lawrence holding off a fast charging Metzler by under a minute to take second in 4:04:39. Metzler posted a 1:20:28 run split to finish third in 4:05:26.

Long Tops Men’s Field

After recent wins at IRONMAN 70.3 Gulf Coast and the IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship, Boulder High School alum Sam Long didn’t have to travel far for this win. Unlike Knibb’s performance, Long had to fight for the lead on the bike after coming out of the water, along with main rivals Lionel Sanders and Chris Leiferman, two minutes down behind defending champion Matthew Sharpe.

Long posted the day’s best bike split (1:53:11) to race to the front of the field, entering T2 nearly four minutes up on Leiferman, Sharpe, and Sanders. Long increased that lead slightly over the run, crossing the finish line for the win in 3:33:23.

The race for the next two spots on the podium came down to a final sprint with Sanders just edging out Leiferman to take second place in 3:38:13. Colorado’s Leiferman rounded out third in 3:38:14.