1,648 triathletes out of the 1,727 who started the Lanzarote Ironman crossed the finish line, completing the 3.8 kilometers of swimming, the 180 kilometers of cycling, and the 42.2 kilometers of running. All of them became the new "iron" men and women on Saturday, achieving a dream and completing one of the toughest triathlons in the world. Nearly a hundred locals from Lanzarote participated in the twenty-second edition of the Lanzarote Ironman and did a great job. Tamar González and José Ángel Lemes, members of CT Titanes ? Playa Grande, were classified as the best Lanzarote natives in the race.
This Saturday was the fourth Lanzarote Ironman in Tamar González's sports career. Many months of hard training for the local triathlete who was looking to lower her time of twelve hours and succeeded greatly. Doubts assailed her throughout the previous days, having great support from family and friends who carried her in their arms throughout the entire route. The support received did not erase the smile from her face at any time, and it can even be said that she enjoyed a good part of the route.
Tamar González completed the 3.8 kilometers of the swimming segment in a time of 01:06:54. She needed 6 hours, 32 minutes, and 9 seconds to complete the 180 kilometers of cycling and finished the running segment with a time of 3:32:15. In total, Tamar González crossed the finish line with a time of 11 hours, 21 minutes, and 15 seconds, reducing the challenge of breaking twelve hours by almost 40 minutes. The Lanzarote native occupied the fifteenth position in the women's general classification and was fourth in her age group (30 to 34 years old), staying a few seconds away from getting on the podium.
The best Lanzarote native in the Ironman Lanzarote 2013 was José Ángel Lemes from Tinajo, a triathlete who belongs to the Club Triatlón Titanes ? Playa Grande. José Lemes was classified in 77th place overall, with a time of 10:20:42 and being twentieth in his age group of 35 to 39 years old. And as for the Canary Islanders, Valentín Abrante was the best Canary Islander at the finish line of the Ironman Lanzarote 2013.
Bob Finger, the last triathlete to cross the finish line
At twelve o'clock at night, the finish line of the Ironman Lanzarote Canarias Triathlon officially closed, although it was necessary to wait about ten minutes to receive the triathletes who were on the course and who were fighting to fulfill the dream of crossing the finish arch of the Ironman Lanzarote. The American Bob Finger was the last to achieve this dream, after needing 17 hours, 10 minutes, and 54 minutes to complete the Ironman course.
Another of the triathletes who crossed the finish line after twelve o'clock at night was Gordon Haller. In 1978 he was the winner of the first Ironman that was held in Hawaii and after several years without competing at a high level he did it in Lanzarote, with the purpose of completing one of the most emblematic Ironmans in the world. He achieved it with a time of 17:09:23.
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