Lionel Sanders is “not interested” in Ironman races anymore

As Canadian star Lionel Sanders gears up for the most important part of his 2023 seasons, he and YouTube parter Talbot Cox have posted a number of videos highlighting his training and plans for the year. Those, along with a new podcast from Super League Triathlon, provide some interesting insights into Sanders’ plans for the next few years.

2023 Season

In a video posted a few weeks ago, Sanders outlined both his goals and race plans through the rest of the year.

“The goal is to get back on the world stage,” Sanders said. “I am not interested in Ironman anymore. I feel like I am a shell of myself … and I am not able to do what I want to do because my body is not there.”

Sanders said that he has a new found focus on recovery. This week’s video focussed on an intense track workout with a group that included Sanders’ rival Sam Long. In the video Sanders pointed out that this was just part of the toughest week of training he’s done in many years.

Sanders will focus on the PTO US Open in Milwaukee, then the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland. After that he’ll head to Ironman 70.3 Michigan, Ironman 70.3 Augusta. After a break, he’ll start building into the 2024 season with a return to Ironman 70.3 Indian Wells.

Best races still ahead of him

In a podcast posted on the Super League site this week, Sanders said that he still believes he has his best races ahead of him. That belief, in part, stems from what he saw of three-time Kona champion Jan Frodeno, who set the course record on the Big Island at 38, and remains a contender at 41.

Sixth seemed like a win for Lionel Sanders at the Arena Games Powered by Zwift Montreal

In the podcast, which was recorded just before this year’s Arena Games in Montreal, Sanders provided some insight on what appears to be steering him away from full-distance racing.

Part of that comes from his frustration with his performance in Kona last year, which he feels was his worst Kona performance. After his runner-up finish in St. George, Sanders invested a lot in terms of time and resources to prepare for the world championship in Hawaii, only to have things go south on race day – he would finish 34th.

Sanders also cites the prevalence of motorcycles at the front of the race as an issue for poor swimmers, who will struggle to get into contention because, Sanders believes, those at the front of the race are getting benefits from the vehicles around them.

“If you can swim, on the Ironman side of things it’s basically semi-draft legal,” Sanders said. “The draft zone hasn’t been changed since the beginning of our sport. The speeds have gone up, up, up, but the rules haven’t changed.”

“Is the door shutting on the guys like me who can’t swim front pack?” he continued. “I’d say we’re getting there because of media vehicles. The combination of our sport growing and various entities coming in and helping the sport … which is great, but that may be shutting the door on me. If I was trying to come up now, it would be a lot harder. Small races, there’s still media … and they greatly affect the race, and pack dynamics for better or worse.”

“I can tell you if you want to come up as a weaker swimmer, as I did, if you think 400 watts is a lot of wattage, well, you’re going have to change that, because that’s what is going to be required to bridge the gap now,” Sanders said. “If you can really swim well and continue to improve your swimming and then push 400+ watts until you’ve bridged to the front. There’s no riding steady or riding your own power. Those days are gone.”