Vincent Luis and Georgia Taylor-Brown both ran away with the wins at the Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship Bahrain this morning, proudly wearing the racing red of the Bahrain Victorious 13 team.
While a Bahrain Victorious 13 athlete has won this race every year it has been held since 2015, this is the first time since 2019 that the team has swept the men’s and women’s elite races.
Luis marked a triumphant return to the world’s fastest middle distance course, repeating his feat from 2022 but going six minutes faster. Meanwhile, Taylor-Brown logged a historic fastest debut over the distance.
Starting in the waters off Reef Island, Luis emerged from the 1.9-kilometre swim with a blisteringly fast split in first place, Bahrain Victorious 13 teammate Henri Schoeman on his heels in third.
Out on the flat 90-kilometre bike course, the two-time triathlon world champion and Olympic bronze medalist stayed focused even as uberbikers surged past, riding into the bike-to-run transition in fourth and just over 90 seconds in arrears.
In a master class on run pacing, he began clawing back the deficit to rank third at the 10-kilometre mark before turning on the afterburners to move into the lead in the final kilometres, recording the day’s fastest half marathon on his way to victory.
“It was an aggressive race from the start and the guys went really hard on the bike. I had to let it go for a bit but when I knew the gap was 90 seconds, I felt I could make it up later, and that I did,” said Luis. “It was good to win here and of course it’s good also that Georgia won, so one and one for Bahrain Victorious and hopefully we can repeat this winning streak in the coming years.”
Schoeman rounded out the men’s Top 10 after a crash at the end of the bike leg.
Taylor-Brown put measured effort into the swim and bike legs, ranking fourth throughout both. Going out onto the run in her first-ever half-marathon, the triple Olympic medalist and two-time world champion moved to the front by the third kilometre, then ran shoulder-to-shoulder with eventual runner-up Tanja Neubert until the halfway mark. From that point Taylor-Brown took the lead, holding Neubert off at the finish line with two seconds to spare.
“I’m worried I will never walk again but I’m happy to have done my first 70.3, especially here in Bahrain which makes it even more special,” she said. “To take the win is a surprise and feels so good… The support and enthusiasm really got me through today and knowing Vince got the win before me, I couldn’t let the team down!”
Bahrain Victorious 13 team members also volunteered at the IronKids Run race on Thursday, while Olympic and world champions Cassandre Beaugrand and Alistair Brownlee visited St. Christopher’s Senior School and met with some of the sports program athletes who have become even more engaged in triathlon since last year’s visit.
The race capped the annual Bahrain Victorious 13 team camp which gives Bahrain youth access to and inspiration from the world’s best athletes, underscoring the team’s vision to pursue excellence on the highest level, help grow the Kingdom’s sport scene and inspire its future sports stars.
