Canadian triathlete
Lionel Sanders
Sanders at Mont Tremblant 70.3 2018
Full name Lionel James Sanders Born (1988-02-22 ) 22 February 1988 (age 38) [ 1] Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[ 1] Weight 72 kg (159 lb)[ 2] Country Canada Sport Triathlon Turned pro 2013
Lionel James Sanders (born February 22, 1988) is a Canadian professional triathlete winner of the 2017 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships . He has 33 first place finishes in Ironman 70.3 races and 5 first place finishes in full Ironman events.[ 3] Ironman World Championship .[ 4] [ 5] 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship held in Mont-Tremblant , Quebec .[ 6] [ 7] Andreas Raelert .
Born in Windsor, Ontario , Sanders attended the University of Windsor , and later transferred to McMaster University in Hamilton where he ran for the cross-country running team.[ 8]
In 2013 Sanders began to race local Ontario Multisport Canada triathlons. Sanders officially began his professional triathlete career in September when he continued his win streak by taking first place in 70.3 Muskoka.[citation needed The following year Sanders went on to have a successful 2014 Ironman 70.3 season with notable wins at the Ironman 70.3 races in Muncie, Racine and Steelhead.[ 9] 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championships Sanders finished his first Ironman distance race as a professional at Ironman Florida on November 1, 2014; an event he won. In that race, the swim was cancelled due to poor conditions.[ 10]
Sanders had a string of 70.3 victories in 2015, combined with some learning experiences at the Ironman distance. At Ironman Texas, Sanders struggled under the oppressive heat & humid conditions, fading on the run and taking fourth. At Ironman Mont Tremblant, Sanders had a disappointing performance, finishing fifth. This was Sanders's first time competing at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii where he finished 14th. Sanders went on to Ironman Arizona, finishing with a time under 8 hours to take his first official full distance victory (a year before he won Ironman Florida, however the swim was cancelled).[citation needed
On November 20, 2016, Sanders set a new world record for the full distance triathlon at Ironman Arizona, with a winning time of 7:44:29. The previous record, held by Marino Vanhoenacker , had stood for five years.[citation needed Sanders' 2016 Record was broken by Tim Don in 2017 Edition of Ironman Brazil in Florianopolis.[ 11]
In 2017, Sanders won ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in Penticton , British Columbia, Canada. Sander's won all but one 70.3 race that he entered, the exception being 70.3 St. George, where he finished second to Alistair Brownlee .[ 12] Ironman World Championship in Kona Hawaii through mile 23 of the marathon before being passed by Patrick Lange. Lionel would hold on to finish second.[ 13] [citation needed In full distance racing, Sanders placed 2nd at Ironman Mont-Tremblant and 29th at the Ironman World Championships.
On October 23, 2020, Sanders broke the Canadian national hour record with a distance of 51.304 kilometres.[ 14]
On the 18th of July 2021 Lionel Sanders joined Jan Frodeno in Allgäu , Germany trying to beat the long-distance world record in triathlon. This was a 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike and 42.2 km run. Frodeno broke his own record while Sanders came within eight minutes of the old record while also setting two personal best splits with the swim and the bike. His results were: 50:59 – 4:00:26 – 2:50:31 with a final time of 7:43:28.[ 15] [ 16]
Sanders has been public about the substance abuse problem that eventually led him to sign up for the 2010 Ironman Louisville in late 2009.[ 17] [ 18] Hamilton Spectator [ 19]
Sanders is married and has a son who was born in 2022.[ 20]
Date
Race
Distances
Time
Rank
May 11, 2013
IronHawk Duathlon
5k - 30k - 5k
1:20:37
1st
May 26, 2013
Caledon Sprint Triathlon
400m - 15k - 5k
49:49
1st
June 2, 2013
Ontario Duathlon Champs
10k - 40k - 5k
1:44:09
1st
June 8, 2013
MSC Binbook Triathlon
750m - 30k - 7.5k
1:20:27
1st
June 16, 2013
Ontario Sprint Tri Champs
750m - 20k - 5k
57:21
1st
June 22, 2013
MSC Welland Triathlon
750m 30k - 7.5k
1:19:08
1st
July 6, 2013
MSC Huronia Triathlon
1500m - 40k - 10k
1:58:48
1st
July 13, 2013
MSC Gravenhurst Triathlon
1500m - 40k - 10k
1:59:02
1st
July 21, 2013
Canadian AG Nat.Tri Champs
1500m - 40k - 10k
1:50:54
1st
Aug 11th 2013
Windsor Triathlon
800m - 32k - 6k
1:14:40
1st
Sept 8th 2013
Muskoka Ironman 70.3
2k - 94k -21.1k
4:01:20
1st
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
April 6, 2014
Texas 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
27:38
2:13:36
1:12:08
3:56:19
10th
May 3, 2014
St. George 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:58
2:12:40
1:12:18
3:55:07
18th
May 10, 2014
Ontario Sprint Duathlon Champs
750m - 20k - 5k
56:00
1st
May 25, 2014
Woodstock Sprint Triathlon
750m - 20k - 5k
11:14
29:11
15:58
57:33
1st
June 1, 2014
Raleigh 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
27:34
2:12:51
1:09:56
3:52:47
2nd
June 7, 2014
Binbrook Long-Sprint Triathlon
750m - 30k - 7.5k
11:02
42:53
24:47
1:19:39
1st
June 22, 2014
Syracuse 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:28
2:16:27
1:09:54
3:55:43
2nd
July 6, 2014
Ontario Sprint Tri Champs
750m - 20k - 5k
58:15
1st
July 12, 2014
Muncie 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:31
2:02:20
1:10:54
3:42:48
1st
July 20, 2014
Racine 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
27:41
2:05:17
1:09:36
3:45:55
1st
July 27, 2014
Bala Falls Long-Sprint Triathlon
750m - 30k - 7.5k
10:24
40:55
25:52
1:18:26
1st
Aug. 10th 2014
Steelhead 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
29:42
2:00:41
1:12:36
3:46:13
1st
Sept. 7th 2014
70.3 World Championship
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:42
2:04:14
1:11:21
3:46:03
4th
Sept. 13th 2014
Lakeside Sprint
750m - 20k - 5k
10:52
27:46
16:24
56:20
1st
Sept. 21st 2014
Ontario Long Course Champs
1.9k - 92.8k - 21.1k
28:45
2:01:26
1:11:35
3:44:55
1st
Nov. 1st 2014
Ironman Florida
180k - 42.2k
4:12:46
2:44:12
6:58:46
1st
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
March 28, 2015
Oceanside 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:59
2:04:46
1:13:12
3:49:19
3rd
April 26, 2015
Galveston 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
28:23
2:02:25
1:12:20
3:45:39
1st
May 9, 2015
Ironhawk Duathlon
5k - 20k - 2.5k
15:46
27:29
7:57
52:14
1st
May 16, 2015
Ironman Texas
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
57:19
4:11:25
3:11:22
8:24:54
4th
June 14, 2015
Leamington Sprint Tri
750m - 20k - 5k
10:33
26:23
16:16
54:43
1st
June 21, 2015
Mont Tremblant 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:58
2:03:21
1:11:14
3:45:38
1st
July 5, 2015
Muskoka 70.3
1.9k - 94k - 21.1k
27:50
2:16:08
1:15:39
4:02:54
1st
July 19, 2015
Racine 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:21
2:03:53
1:15:46
3:49:41
1st
Aug 9th 2015
Tecumseh Triathlon
800m - 32k - 6k
13:01
40:40
21:53
1:16:35
1st
Aug 16th 2015
Ironman Mont Tremblant
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
56:27
4:40:32
3:00:37
8:42:13
5th
Oct 10th 2015
Ironman World Championship
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
1:01:10
4:35:17
2:54:41
8:36:26
14th
Nov 15th 2015
Ironman Arizona
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
54:04
4:13:38
2:47:07
7:58:22
1st
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
Jan 31st 2016
Panama 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
24:35
1:55:03
1:14:48
3:38:53
1st
April 2, 2016
Oceanside 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:33
2:07:47
1:11:42
3:51:17
1st
April 10, 2016
Texas 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:57
1:58:09
1:13:09
3:40:30
1st
May 7, 2016
St. George 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
27:39
2:03:57
1:13:30
3:48:18
1st
June 26, 2016
Mont Tremblant 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:17
2:02:29
1:15:06
3:47:31
1st
July 17, 2016
Racine 70.3
N/A - 50k - 21.1k
N/A
1:02:48
1:17:15
2:20:57
2nd
Aug 7th 2016
Tecumseh Triathlon
800m - 32k - 6k
15:07
42:42
21:47
1:20:49
1st
Aug 14th 2016
Wiesbaden 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:13
2:20:39
1:09:20
4:00:23
2nd
Sept 4th 2016
70.3 World Championship
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
25:41
2:06:42
1:10:34
3:47:14
9th
Oct 8th 2016
Ironman World Championship
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
56:41
4:26:35
3:17:01
8:44:49
29th
Oct 28–30th 2016
Island House Invitational
Multiple Races
N/A
N/A
N/A
3:41:18
10th
Nov 20th 2016
Ironman Arizona
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
53:45
4:04:38
2:42:31
7:44:29
1st
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
January 15, 2017
Pucon 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
28:20
2:09:23
1:16:38
4:00:08
1st
March 12, 2017
Buenos Aires 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
27:19
1:59:27
1:13:10
3:42:47
1st
April 1, 2017
Oceanside 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
25:20
2:05:42
1:14:06
3:50:04
1st
May 6, 2017
St. George 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:25
2:01:24
1:12:19
3:42:31
2nd
June 3, 2017
Challenge Samorin Championship
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
24:47
1:56:04
1:14:22
3:40:03
1st
June 11, 2017
Leamington Sprint Triathlon
750m - 20k - 5k
10:41
26:48
16:24
55:10
1st
June 25, 2017
Mont Tremblant 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:21
2:01:53
1:14:01
3:46:04
1st
Aug 27th 2017
ITU World Championship
3k - 120k - 30k
40:40
2:51:12
1:45:35
5:20:36
1st
Oct 14th 2017
Ironman World Championship
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
53:41
4:14:19
2:51:53
8:04:07
2nd
Nov 19th 2017
Ironman Arizona
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
51:33
4:12:03
2:47:16
7:54:10
1st
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
January 14, 2018
Pucon 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
26:51
2:01:15
1:16:25
3:48:44
1st
April 7, 2018
Oceanside 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
24:35
2:08:42
1:11:28
3:48:58
2nd
May 6, 2018
St. George 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
25:26
2:01:31
1:11:47
3:41:11
1st
June 3, 2018
Challenge Samorin Championship
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
29:05
1:58:17
1:10:49
3:44:03
1st
June 24, 2018
Mont Tremblant 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
24:15
2:02:19
1:11:23
3:40:58
1st
August 19, 2018
Ironman Mont Tremblant
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
55:07
4:28:35
2:55:51
8:24:01
2nd
October 13, 2018
Ironman World Championship
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
53:59
4:16:59
3:15:26
8:30:34
29th
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
Aug 11th 2019
Tecumseh Triathlon
800m - 32k - 6k
12:11
43:36
22:31
1:19:24
1st
August 18, 2019
Ironman Mont Tremblant
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
51:58
4:15:13
2:53:58
8:05:38
2nd
September 9, 2019
Augusta 70.3
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
23:08
2:03:08
1:12:30
3:42:19
1st
October 12, 2019
Ironman World Championship
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
52:22
4:15:22
3:13:42
8:25:54
22nd
November 3, 2019
Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos
1.9k - 90k - 21.1k
25:16
2:02:34
1:13:09
3:44:06
1st
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
November 6, 2021
Florida Ironman
3.8 k - 180 k - 42.2 k
58:19
4:04:30
2:40:43
7:48:50
2nd
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
April, 2022
Oceanside 70.3
1.9 k - 90 k - 21.1 k
24:26
2:08:09
1:08:29
3:45:33
2nd
2022
Mont Tremblant 70.3
1.9 k - 90 k - 21.1 k
25:30
2:05:17
1:13:59
3:48:02
1st
October 8, 2022
Kona 140.6
3.8 k - 180 k - 42.2 k
52:57
4:16:31
3:17:53
8:32:27
36th
December 3, 2022
Indian Wells 70.3
1.9 k - 90 k - 21.1 k
26:53
2:03:04
1:11:01
3:45:16
4th
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
May, 2023
St. George 70.3
1.9 k - 90 k - 21.1 k
26:04
2:04:58
1:13:35
3:48:20
4th
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
April 8, 2024
Oceanside 70.3
1.9 k - 90 k - 21.1 k
24:36
2:06:11
1:10:40
3:46:24
1st
June 24, 2024
Mont-Tremblant 70.3
1.1 k - 90 k - 21.1 k
16:10
2:01:44
1:13:47
3:35:11
1st
July 21, 2024
Lake Placid 140.6
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
54:21
4:19:07
2:46:16
8:05:39
3rd
October 26, 2024
Ironman World Championship
3.8k - 180k - 42.2k
52:21
4:08:55
3:16:05
8:22:06
32nd
Date
Race
Distances
Swim
Bike
Run
Total
Rank
April 5, 2025
Oceanside 70.3
1.9 k - 90 k - 21.1 k
26:00
2:05:37
1:10:00
3:47:01
1st
May 10, 2025
St. George 70.3
1.9 k - 90 k - 21.1 k
25:00
1:58:13
1:11:49
3:37:54
1st
December 7, 2025
Indian Wells 70.3
1.9 k - 90 k - 21.1 k
25:27
1:56:41
1:13:10
3:39:16
2nd
^ a b "Biography" . Lionel Sanders – Triathlete. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017 .^ "Ironman Mont Tremblant Training Block Part 1" . Lionel Sanders – Triathlete. Retrieved 4 August 2018 .^ "Lionel Sanders | IRONMAN Pro Series" . proseries.ironman.com . 2025-11-08. Retrieved 2025-10-21 .^ "2017 Ironman World Championship Results" . triathlonamagazine.ca . Retrieved 20 October 2017 .^ "2021 Ironman World Championship Results" . www.ironman.com . Retrieved 16 May 2022 .^ "2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championships Results" . Ironman.com . Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015 .^ "2013 Muskoka 70.3 Results" . Ironman.com . Retrieved 13 April 2015 .^ "Mac cross country finishes strong at CIS championships" . The Silhouette . Retrieved 13 April 2015 .^ "Ironman Website" . Ironman.com . Retrieved 13 April 2015 .^ Hichens, Liz (1 November 2014). "Sanders, Van Vlerken Win Shortened Ironman Florida" . Triathlete . Retrieved 28 June 2018 . ^ Hichens, Liz (28 May 2017). "Tim Don Breaks Ironman World Record in Brazil" . Triathlete. Retrieved 28 June 2018 . ^ "Biography" . Lionel Sanders – Triathlete. Retrieved 20 October 2017 .^ Hichens, Lziz (17 October 2017). "Patrick Lange Breaks Course Record to Earn First Ironman World Title" . Triathlete.com. Retrieved 22 October 2017 . ^ Spencer, Donna (Oct 23, 2020). "Ironman triathlete Lionel Sanders sets Canadian record for distance cycled in an hour" . The Canadian Press. Retrieved 12 June 2021 . ^ Spencer, Donna (Jul 19, 2021). "frodeno-and-sanders-solid-in-the-swim" . Triathlon Magazine Canada. Retrieved 19 July 2021 . ^ Spencer, Donna (Jul 19, 2021). "Frodeno vs Sanders results: Jan takes a fall, and the record" . tri247. Retrieved 19 July 2021 . ^ "About Lionel Sanders" . lsanderstri.com . Retrieved 13 April 2015 .^ "2010 Ironman Louiseville Results" . Ironman.com . Retrieved 13 April 2015 .^ "The near-fatal agony, ecstasy of Mac runner, aspiring Olympian" . TheSpec.com . Retrieved 13 April 2015 .^ "Erin and Lionel Sanders celebrate the arrival of their first child" . Retrieved 25 July 2024 .
