Harry Palmer has won IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea for the third year in a row — on a morning so hot the swim was declared non-wetsuit.
Fellow Briton Lizzie Rayner took the women’s title, her first Experience Oman IRONMAN Pro Series victory, after race leader India Lee crashed 10km from the end of the bike leg.
Around 2,700 athletes took on the course on Sunday morning, with crowds lining streets across Swansea for one of the biggest events in the city’s sporting calendar.
With temperatures soaring across Europe this weekend, organisers ruled the swim non-wetsuit — yet the pace stayed high, with both professional fields finishing just seconds outside the swim course bests.
In the men’s race, French Olympian Pierre Le Corre led the swim from start to finish, with Malachi Cashmore first through transition and onto the bike.
Germany’s Mika Noodt led much of the bike leg before crashing out midway, leaving Palmer, Kieran Lindars and Josh Lewis first into the final transition.
Palmer led the half-marathon throughout, crossing the line in 3:50:27. Lindars took second — just two weeks after racing the IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt — while Belgium’s Joran Driesen charged past Simon Viain late in the run for third.
Palmer admitted the win had not come easily. “Even up to maybe 10k, I thought maybe a top five would be a challenge,” he said. “I wasn’t feeling so good. I was in a pretty negative place mentally… but I just kept patient.”
The Welsh crowds, he said, made the difference: “The support is incredible. I’ve never raced anywhere like it. I don’t know what it is about the Welsh support, but they just bring it to another level.”
In the women’s race, India Lee led an all-British front pack through the swim and stayed in control for most of the bike leg.
But around 10km from the end of the ride, Lee crashed and her chain came off — and Rayner, who had been steadily closing, swept into a lead she never gave up.
Rayner dominated the run to win in 4:23:56, with France’s Anne-Sophie Pierre second and Poland’s Marta Lagownik overtaking Rebecca Anderbury in the final 5km for third.
“I can’t really comprehend it actually — it feels amazing,” Rayner said. “I wanted to break the curse of Swansea that I’d put on myself… that last 6k I was cramping really bad. The run course is super hard because it is just that long straight — you see your competitors at every turn.”
Both winners collected $7,500 and maximum Pro Series points, while Lindars’ runner-up finish lifted him eight places in the season-long standings.
Full results from the 2026 race are available on the IRONMAN website.
