IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga results 2025: Long and Alexander win as swims are CANCELLED

It was an American double as Sam Long and Grace Alexander took the wins in great style at IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga.

IRONMAN officials had announced on Friday that the swim leg was cancelled due to a strong-flowing river being over the threshold limits which meant both races started with a bike time trial start.

And both events were close after the bike before the run settled things.

It was Long’s first victory since his success at IRONMAN Chattanooga last September, while Alexander hadn’t been on the top step of the podium since May 2023.

It was a USA clean sweep of both podiums too, read on to find out how things panned out…

Pro Men – Long continues fine form

The time trial start for the bike made it tricky to know who was going best, especially as Long was one of the later starters.

But when things played out it soon became obvious that Long and Jackson Laundry (CAN) had clocked virtually identical times – 1:56:50 and 1:56:54 respectively – and they were well clear of their rivals, with nearly two minutes back to John Killeen (USA) in third.

But once the run got under way it was clear that Long, second last week to friend and rival Lionel Sanders at 70.3 St George, was the man to beat.

He clocked a 1:10:21 half marathon and that saw him win by nearly four minutes, with fastest-of-the day splits of 1:08:34 and 1:08:14 from Matt McElroy and Jason West moving them up to second and third respectively on an all-American podium.

Pro Women – Alexander kicks clear

Alexander too was quickest on the bike, but again not by much.

She was on 2:16:51, with Adele Likin 24 seconds back and then came Jess Smith (USA) at +1:16 and Britain’s Jodie Stimpson at +1:58.

But on the run the gaps quickly went out – before the halfway point Alexander had a buffer of two minutes and when all the times were in she had 3:02 to spare over runner up Smith, with Carolyn Olsen (USA) in third.