Lionel Sanders’ Season-Opening Streak Continues at Ironman 70.3 Dallas-Little Elm

The inaugural Ironman 70.3 Dallas-Little Elm did not unfold exactly as planned, but for Lionel Sanders, the result was familiar.

Racing Sunday morning in Texas, Sanders claimed victory in his season opener, although the race format was changed due to weather.

Strong winds meant organizers were unable to conduct the swim as scheduled. According to weather reports, winds were 25–35 mph, with gusts exceeding 50 mph. As a result, the age-group swim was cancelled entirely, while the professional field completed a shortened 350m time-trial swim.

Sanders’ swim put him in 46th position with a time of 3:17, but as fans would expect, he made up his deficit on the bike, entering T2 as the fastest on course and high-fiving his young son as he headed out on the run course. But the victory was not yet secured, with American Ari Klau emerging as the primary challenger.

Klau started the run in third position 2:46 behind Sanders, but his strong running pedigree made him a serious threat as the gap began to shrink. By mid-way through the run, Klau had cut the deficit to just 54 seconds, raising the possibility that the pre-race favourite might be caught.

But the momentum didn’t last.

Klau began to fade while Sanders maintained his pace with a sizeable gap on the rest of the field. Sanders controlled the final stages of the race and secured the win.

The result continues a remarkable pattern for the Canadian star. Across 13 season-opening races, Sanders has produced 10 podium finishes and six victories. This also marks three consecutive opening-race wins since 2024, beginning with Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, followed by a defence in Oceanside in 2025, and now the inaugural title in Dallas-Little Elm.