Kelvin Gomez finishes 20th overall in 2026 Ironman 70.3 in Malaga

Fifteen Gibraltarian athletes were recorded as having registered to take on the 2026 Ironman 70.3 in Malaga this weekend, joining some 2,474 other athletes who had entered to compete from across the globe.

Gibraltar's times varied across a wide range, from the just under four hours recorded by Kelvin Gomez to the just over seven hours recorded by the slowest of the 14 Gibraltar participants with finishing times.

Kelvin Gomez, who recently took up the sport at a pro level, was to complete the event in 3:54:28, finishing 20th overall. This placed him 159 places ahead of Gibraltar's second-best athlete, Daniel Benitez, and 190 places ahead of Chris Walker.

Kelvin was to complete his swim in 25:57, followed by a bike ride of 2:05:00 and a run of 1:15:14. He ranked 20th overall for his run, 25th for his bike split and 31st for his swim.

Felix Forissier was to finish first overall with a time of 3:40:46, followed by Ben Faeh, just six seconds behind.

It was a tight finish for Kelvin Gomez, who was just 15 seconds behind 18th-placed Cameron MacNair and only five seconds behind William Even.

The course consisted of a 1,900m swim in the waters of Malaga port, followed by a 90km bike ride. The ZOOT bike course took athletes through an elevation gain of 228m, from the city of Malaga through Rincon de la Victoria and past Torre del Mar to Castillo Bajo Conejito before returning for the final transition.

The HOKA run course saw athletes complete a 21.1km run along the Malagueta promenade, finishing at El Palmeral de las Sorpresas.

Results sourced from official Ironman 70.3 Malaga online