Lauren Capone Wins Ironman 70.3 World Championships

Ms. Capone qualified for the World Championships by winning the amateur women’s title at the Ironman 70.3 in Lawerence, Kansas on June 12. The Ironman 70.3 event is half of the Ironman distance with 70.3 representing the sum of the mileage of all three disciplines. The Ironman 70.3 event consists of a 1.2 mile swim, followed by a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. Lauren Capone completed the event in 4:52:52, edging out the second place competitor by thirty-five seconds.

“LC is such a great athlete, I’m so proud of her for this World Championship title,” said Mateo Mercur, head coach of the Elite Racing Team as well as the UCSB Triathlon Team. “After graduating from UCSB, LC chose to stay in Santa Barbara to continue to train with me. She’s had an awesome season and now she’s a World Champion. LC has a very bright future and I’m thrilled to be her coach. She’s such a great person and it’s a real joy to coach her every day.”

“It was hot out there, we were lucky that it wasn’t as hot as predicted for this time of year in Vegas,” said Lauren Capone. “It was a tough day with over 5000 feet of climbing and all totally exposed to the sun and heat. I felt really strong and smooth on the bike. The bike is where I’ve made the most improvement this season and I still feel that I’m only scratching the surface. The run course was especially challenging, both physically and mentally. I started the run in second place about four minutes down and had to be patient, pace myself, and run my own race. I took the lead with one mile to go. Those final miles were very tough. It was a great course and an awesome competition.”

About Lauren Capone

Lauren began racing triathlon with the UCSB Triathlon Team in the fall of her freshman year. She came to the sport of triathlon as a high school state champion two miler in track and field in her home state of Maryland. Lauren plans to continue living in Santa Barbara to train and race with the Elite Racing Team.

About Mateo Mercur

Mateo Mercur is the Head Coach and founder of the Elite Racing Team as well coach and director of the UCSB Triathlon Team. Coach Mercur also coached the 2010 women’s 20-24 Olympic distance World Champion.