Lionel Sanders has come back from drug and alcohol abuse to become one of the most popular athletes in the sport. Last year he did everything right, built a 10 minute lead over Patrick Lange off the bike and followed that with a 2:51 marathon. He was caught in the last few miles of the run, but his second place to Patrick Lange was a huge breakthrough for Lionel here in Kona. This year he is here to win.
Julie Moss is the woman who helped put the sport of triathlon and the Ironman on the map. Her finish in February of 1982 changed our sport forever and her new book ‘Crawl of Fame’ was just released. Julie’s grit and never-say-die spirit helped to make the sport what it is today.
Josh Amberger & Ashleigh Gentle are one of our elite tri couples. Josh led the way out of the swim last year here in Kona and has had a solid season. Ashleigh is coming off winning the Grand Final of the WTS Series in a sprint finish on the Gold Coast of Australia.
James Cunnama surprised himself by finishing fifth last year. Both he and his coach Brett Sutton thought 2018 would be his year. A major bike crash that left him five double fractured ribs and a punctured lung early in the season was bad. Becoming a daddy of Jack three days after the crash was aw...
