No, you’re not imagining things – Ironman and Challenge both had races on the tiny island of Mallorca on the same day. Read Brad Culp’s recap of the races in Last Weekend Now to learn how this happened (and who won each event). Though the island is small, it also proved up for the challenge of hosting two simultaneous high-profile races, each with their own identity.
On the opposite end of the racing spectrum, 18 brave triathletes descended on another island – this time, in Greece as part of the Greek Hero Xtreme Triathlon. The event was a prospect race for the XTRI World Tour (the same series behind Norseman and other tough-but-beautiful races). The iron-distance course featured a rough water sea swim, 10,800 feet of climbing on the bike and 5,000 feet on the run. Petr Vabrousek of the Czech Republic took the men’s win with a time of 13 hours flat, while the UK’s Caroline Livesy claimed first woman and third overall with a finishing time of 13:39.
Scroll through these photos for scenes from Mallorca and Greece for race inspiration (and maybe a bit of wanderlust).