Santa Barbara’s Lauren Capone won the women’s 20-24 category at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Henderson, Nev. on Sunday, Sept. 11.
Capone, who competes for Elite Racing Team, completed the event in 4 hours, 52 minutes, 52 seconds, edging out the second place competitor by 35 seconds.
“It was a tough day with over 5,000 feet of climbing and all totally exposed to the sun and heat,” Capone said. “I felt really strong and smooth on the bike. The bike is where I’ve made the most improvement this season and I still feel that I’m only scratching the surface. The run course was especially challenging, both physically and mentally. I started the run in second place about four minutes down and had to be patient, pace myself, and run my own race. I took the lead with one mile to go. Those final miles were very tough. It was a great course and an awesome competition.”
The 70.3 event is half of the Ironman distance with 70.3 representing the sum of the mileage of all three disciplines. The event consists of a 1.2 mile swim, followed by a 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run.
“LC is such a great athlete, I’m so proud of her for this World Championship title,” said Mateo Mercur, head coach of the Elite Racing Team as well as the UCSB Triathlon Team. “After graduating from UCSB, LC chose to stay in Santa Barbara to continue to train with me. She’s had an awesome season and now she’s a World Champion. LC has a very bright future and I’m thrilled to be her coach. She’s such a great person and it’s a real joy to coach her every day.”
Capone qualified for the World Championships by winning the amateur women’s title at the Ironman 70.3 in Lawrence, Kan. on June 12.
