Marta Sánchez, second in the IRONMAN South Africa
This Sunday, March 30, the Spanish Marta Sanchez achieved a valuable second position in the HOMBRE DE HIERRO of South Africa held in Port Elizabeth.
The event, renowned for its toughness, brought together some of the best triathletes on the international scene, resulting in a day to remember, with records and a direct ticket to the World Championships in Kona for Sánchez.
Marta, the queen of water in extreme conditions
From the start, the Catalan made good use of her reputation as an excellent swimmer. With challenging waves and strong currents during the 3,8 km swim in the Indian Ocean, Marta Sanchez clearly dominated.
By the halfway point, she was already 1'34" ahead of her closest rival, Chloe Lane, and finally emerged from the water in just 57:28, a significant advantage over her main rivals.
Anne Reischmann, unstoppable on two wheels
However, the cycling segment changed the script. Despite the punishing wind, Anne Reichmann showed a brutal pace in the 180 km of bike, cutting the more than eight minutes lost in swimming.
The German surpassed Marta Sanchez just 15 km from the transition, entering T2 with just ten seconds difference over the Spanish.
The decisive race
The race started off tight, but Reischmann soon extended his lead to three minutes.
Although Sánchez suffered at the start of the marathon, he managed to hold his own against the pressure from the Danish athlete. Katrine Græsbøll Christensen, ultimately securing second place and qualification for the Kona World Championships, with a total time of 8:54:58.
The final victory was for Anne Reichmann (8:51:41), which achieved her second consecutive victory after Cozumel 2024. Christensen completed the podium with 8:58:42, on a day where the first three triathletes easily broke the nine-hour barrier.
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Spectacular numbers compared to 2024
The quality of the competition was evident in the timesheets. The top three athletes significantly improved Marta's winning time of 2024 (9:15:36), with Reischmann's sub-3-hour marathon time (2:59:15) particularly noteworthy.
Top 5 IRONMAN South Africa 2025 Women
| Job title | Athlete | Country | Final time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anne Reichmann | GER | 08:51:41 |
| 2 | Marta Sanchez | ESP | 08:54:58 |
| 3 | Katrine Græsbøll Christensen | THE | 08:58:42 |
| 4 | Laura jansen | GER | 09:14:17 |
| 5 | Maja Stage Nielsen | THE | 09:15:09 |
Next forda: Singapore and the T100 series
With her ticket to Kona already in her pocket, Marta Sánchez isn't resting and will head to Singapore to begin her participation in the prestigious T100 series in just one week, confirming her great sporting momentum in 2025.
