2017 Ironman 70.3 Rio de Janeiro

Brazilians Pamella Oliveira and Paulo Roberto Maciel earned the victories at Sunday’s Ironman 70.3 Rio de Janeiro after taking on the scenic Brazilian course.
Men’s Race
As expected, Luiz Francisco (BRA) took out the swim and bike hard in Rio with the goal of holding off the field throughout the run. Early on, Francisco was successfully executing his plan but by the 10.5K mark, Paulo Maciel (BRA) and Flavio Queirga (BRA) started to chew into Francisco’s lead at an alarming rate. First Maciel than Queirga to passed Francisco and it would be Maciel that would be the one to come out of the battle with the win thanks to a 1:15:17 half-marathon.

Women’s Race
Pamella Oliveira (BRA) carried a three-minute advantage out of the water and headed out on the bike course well out of sight of her competition. While the rest of the field fought for position, Oliveira was building a lead on the strength of a race-best bike split, and dismounted her bike with over a seven-minute buffer on her closest rival. With no pressure from behind, Oliveira was afforded the luxury to take her foot off the gas and cruised into the finish line to claim the win at home.

2017 Ironman 70.3 Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Oct. 1, 2017
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men
1. Paulo Roberto Maciel (BRA) 3:54:59
2. Flavio Queiroga (BRA) 3:56:10
3. Luiz Francisco (BRA) 3:56:48
4. Luis Henrique Ohde (BRA) 3:57:15
5. Fernando Toldi (BRA) 3:57:51

Women
1. Pamella Oliveira (BRA) 4:23:49
2. Romina Palacio (ARG) 4:31:10
3. Mariana Borges (BRA) 4:32:46
4. Luiz Cravo (BRA) 4:33:36
5. Beatriz Neres (BRA) 4:36:28

See more from the weekend of racing at Ironman.com.