Chelsea Sodaro had to wait a little while to get her 2025 triathlon season officially started, but it was absolutely worth the wait.
The 2022 IRONMAN World Champion had been planning to get her year under way at IRONMAN Texas in April, but came down with an illness during race week and was forced into a late withdrawal.
Then the 36-year-old star headed for Utah and the last edition of the iconic IRONMAN 70.3 St George, but was a DNF there with her body still not fully back from that pre-Texas sickness.
Sodaro back on song
On Sunday though Chelsea was back for real as she chased home British superstar Lucy Charles-Barclay in a terrific race at IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman.
Sodaro was just under two minutes behind Lucy after a 27:09 swim – no surprise there given LCB’s known prowess in the water, and the gap grew to just over three minutes after a 2:10:03 bike leg.
Chelsea had plenty of work to do on the run but she was up to the task and quickly started taking time out of the deficit. She got it down close to a minute but was unable to reel in the ultra-consistent Charles-Barclay.
At the line she was just 1:11 away in second, having run a 1:17:26 half marathon – bettered only on the day by Germany’s Daniela Kleiser (1:15:24).
Afterward the delight was clear for Sodaro as she reflected on her first proper race of the 2025 season.
Chelsea delighted with her day
Writing on her Instagram account, she said: “Stoked to get my 2025 season started, officially! 🥈 Whew. What a ride! 😂
“Had a lot of type 2 fun today on the race course in Cambridge. Checked off some big process goals and learned where I still have some work to do! More than anything, I’m stoked to be happy and healthy and back in the game. And so grateful for my amazing team that rides the highs and lows with me. 🙏🏻
“Big congrats to all the gals out there today, especially @lucycharles93 for an awesome win! Loved the battle.”
Now Chelsea can look ahead to the rest of 2025 with confidence as she builds towards the biggest goal of all – that return to Kona in October for the IRONMAN World Championship.
