Several athletes chose to race the North American Championship in St George instead of heading to the PTO European Open in Ibiza. This makes sense for athletes who feel they can make the podium in St George but would’ve struggled to make the top 8 in Ibiza. As a Gold tier race there are good PTO points on offer and as a regional championship the prize money is competitive.

The men’s SOF is 84.19 and with 13 athletes in the top 100 it scores a strength of start list rating of 29%. The men’s field includes three top 20 athletes.

The women’s SOF is 79.52 and with only 9 athletes in the top 100 it scores a strength of start list rating of 23%. The women’s field includes two top 20 athletes.

Women’s Contenders

Skye Moench – she focused more at the full distance in 2022, winning IM Des Moines, taking 2nd in Arizona and a top 10 finish in Kona. Looking back to 2021 she finished 6th at the IM 70.3 World Championships in St George. She is based in Utah and has shown she can perform on the course. She will come out of the water with a deficit but will be one of the fastest movers on the bike.

Jackie Hering – she is returning from injury and illness so her form is unknown. She showed what she can do on this course at the IM 70.3 World Championships last season, finishing 7th and posting the 3rd fastest run of the day. She is a strong all round athlete and will have the advantage over Moench out of the water.

Jeanni Metzler – she missed the majority of last year due to a combination of personal reasons and injury. After only racing the Canadian Open, she returned at the end of the season at IM 70.3 Indian Wells. She’ll have fond memories of this course after finishing 2nd here at the 2021 IM 70.3 World Championships. She will be at the front of the swim and has shown she can ride well on this course. We will see how fit she is when it comes to the run, this is where she lost time at Indian Wells but she has had the offseason to build up.

Sarah True – she returned to racing in 2022 winning all three races she finished. She DNF’d in Kona but recovered to win IM Arizona the following month. She bested Moench in Arizona, gaining an advantage in the swim, getting caught on the bike and then putting 5 minutes into her over the marathon. It could be an interesting battle as the pair face off again.

Danielle Lewis – she ended last season on a high with podium finishes at IM Arizona and IM 70.3 Indian Wells. She has already raced twice this year but in both races she lost a chunky amount of time on the swim. The swim pace shouldn’t be too hot from the gun so this may not be such an issue in St George. She has been running well so expect to see her catch up on the run.

Predictions
Moench is the favourite heading into the race but could be put under pressure by Metzler and Hering. Both are on the comeback so they may still be building fitness. True got the best of Moench when they met last so she is another one to keep an eye on if she gets to the start line.
1. Skye Moench
2. Jeanni Metzler
3. Jackie Hering
4. Sarah True
5. Danielle Lewis

Men’s Contenders

Lionel Sanders – he’s had a tough time since crashing out of Clash Miami. He got ill travelling home which lingered for a while, resulting in him withdrawing from IM 70.3 Oceanside. He’ll be looking to jump start his season in St George, a race he has won three times before. None of the key contenders for the race are top level swimmers so there shouldn’t be too big of a gap out of the water. He will need a good result here to keep his PTO ranking in the top 10.

Sam Long – a rocky start to the year for Long, 4th at Clash Miami and 7th in Oceanside. It was a surprise to see him not make the podium at either of these races. He’s another athlete that has raced well on this course. He lost to Sanders in a dramatic sprint finish in 2021 and took 2nd at the IM 70.3 World Championships later that year. I’m excited to see him and Sanders battle it out on this course again.

Jackson Laundry – He started really strong in 2022 winning Oceanside but struggled at the PTO Tour events and came 7th at the IM 70.3 World Championships. He put in another strong performance in Oceanside to kick off his season, taking 3rd behind Leo Bergere and Jason West. He should have the advantage over Sanders and Long out of the water and he showed in Oceanside that he can stick with Long on the bike. However the additional fire power of Sanders will mean that Long won’t have to carry the full load driving the pace, which could make it harder for Laundry to hang on.

Matt Hanson – opened his season at Challenge Puerto Varas where he ran into 2nd after losing time on the bike. He ran 2 minutes into the field that day but if his performance on the bike doesn’t improve in St George then he will be out of contention. He’s coming off a crash at IM Texas and was initially a doubt for the race. The injuries have cleared up quicker than expected so fingers crossed he is good to go on Saturday.

Trevor Foley – a busy first full professional season for Foley, racing 11 times and making four podiums. In the three races last season where he raced either Long, Sanders or both, he ended up DNFing in all three, including the IM 70.3 World Championships in St George. He’ll come out of the water with a deficit to this pair and will need to be patient, working through the field and holding something back to unleash what could be the fastest run of the day.

Justin Metzler – he podiumed at every IM 70.3 race he did in 2022. He’ll be up against a tougher field in St George with the likes of Long and Sanders. He has raced in St George four time across his career over the middle and full distances. He has never finished higher than 10th. I would expect him to be in the mix for a top 5 spot but this course may not be best suited to him based on prior performances.

Predictions
Sanders feels like the man to beat. He’s enjoyed success in St George and should be fully recovered from illness that kept him out of Oceanside. Long can’t be ruled out but he’ll need to show a big improvement on how he has raced so far this season.
1. Lionel Sanders
2. Sam Long
3. Jackson Laundry
4. Matt Hanson
5. Trevor Foley