Javier Gómez Rings in the New Year with Victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon
At the foot of the spectacular Villarrica Volcano, Javier Gómez rings in the New Year with victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon in Chile.
And what better setting for the former five times short course World Triathlon Champion to commence his new venture as a long-distance triathlete than on beautiful Ironman circuit of Pucon, Chile, with its active snow-capped Volcano looming over the race course.
For Gómez, 2022, promises to be a year for the 38-year-old to maintain an upward-trajectory as he balances his triathlon career moving from Olympic Distance to Long-Distance Triathlon
As the Spaniard lined up at Pucon Beach for the 1900m swimming circuit in the Villarrica Lake with a new intake of elite triathletes as well as an old guard of established long course athletes, it was Gómez who was in a leading group of three as they exited the water in a time of 24:11 minutes.
Exiting T1 for 90k bike course that crossed the Palguin Hot Springs, Gómez used his wealth of knowledge not to push too hard on the bike and maintained an even pace with the front leaders of five entering T2 with a bike time of 2:10:42.
Out of T2 and onto the 21k challenging run section with number of tough ascents to Pucon’s Peninsula. No doubt the Spaniard was saving his strenght for this section and it was not long for the leading group of runners to understand why Gómez was one of the fastest triathletes on the Olympic circuit as he started to pull away from his rivals in the first 2km. He maintained that lead as he ran through Pucon’s downtown with the support of a cheering crowd as he crossed the winning line with a run time of 1:10:04 some two minutes ahead his nearest rival the Argentine Luciano Taccone.
For 2022, sit back, relax, and watch the Spaniard exhibit his extraordinary skill and physical ability, in the sequel ‘The Legend Continues – Part 2!’
Top 5 Pro Men Results
- 1. Javier Gomez (ESP) – 3:50:54
- 2. Lucino Taccone (ARG) – 3:52:51
- 3. Reinaldo Colluci (BRA) – 3:58:12
- 4. Vincent Trewhela (CHI) – 4:02:05
- 5. Gaspar Riveros (CHI) – 4:11:19
