It was all systems go again for Mr ‘Yo Yo Yo’ at IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman as Sam Long finished on top of the podium once more on Sunday.

But the 29-year-old American has revealed how he needed a little help from his family to get round in Maryland – and dedicated his win to them afterwards.

‘The Big Unit’ has already won at IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga and finished second at IRONMAN 70.3 St George this season, after opening the year with an eighth-placed finish at the Singapore T100.

‘Big Unit’ on IRONMAN Pro Series win

Writing in an Instagram post, he said: “This win was for the family. 🦵🦵🦵 On a day where nothing felt great and everything came hard, I had to dig deep and find a way to get it done.

“I truly believe one metric of greatness is measured by how small you can make the gap between your good days and your bad ones.

“I was tested early, with the entire chase group looking at me to make something happen (shoutout to @jacksonlaundrytri for stepping up and doing work on the bike).

“I kept thinking back to St. George, where we played the group game and let the front go. Not this time. On the run, I saw my beautiful family—and my triplet brother, at his first race since 2017—and I knew I had to make it count.”

Sam’s nod to LCB

Long knows chances to win races can be few and far between and was determined to notch his second of the season – and gave a cheeky nod to Britain’s Lucy Charles-Barclay, who finished first in the women’s pro race.

He said: “With a full @t100triathlon schedule this year, chances to race for the win are limited. It was now or never. And as The Media kindly reminded me this week: ‘If you ain’t first, you’re last.’ Congrats to everyone who finished.

“Fun fact: @lucycharles93 and I once again matched each other’s finishing positions (bring back men’s and women’s Kona already 😂). Huge respect to @tfoleyracing and @matt_tri17 awesome sharing the podium with you both.”