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Pablo Dapena Gonzalez

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167
World Rank
8
National
112
Swim
231
Bike
169
Run
Spain
Weight
65kg
Height
1.68m
Age
36
Born
1988
Swim
Orca
Bike
BMC
Run
Brooks
Biography More

Pablo Dapena Gonzalez

So many of triathlon's most iconic moments have been duels - and Pablo Dapena Gonzalez was involved in one for the ages against Lionel Sanders at Challenge Daytona in 2019.

The Spaniard, who comes from the same town as Javier Gomez and also trains with him, burst onto the scene in 2018 when he won the ITU Long Distance World Championship and a stack of prestigious middle-distance events.

Those victories included Challenge Gran Canaria, Challenge Lisboa and Challenge Mallorca - which helped him tie for first in the Challenge Family World Bonus Pool.

It was clear he was one of the most exciting up-and-coming talents around when Gran Canaria saw him see off then reigning IRONMAN World Championship winner Patrick Lange.

A super-smooth runner, Dapena Gonzalez actually started as a swimmer before transitioning to triathlon in 2010.

Asked how the move came about, he admits: "It was a bit boring spending all day training in the pool!"

Making his mark

Like many longer distance triathletes, he began at ITU shorter distances and won several national titles en route to moving onto the world stage at half distance.

Going into Challenge Gran Canaria in April 2018, it's fair to say Pablo - or Pablito as he's also known - wasn't on the list of main favourites.

He had finished second (to Adam Bowden) at Challenge Roma the week before and was the reigning Spanish Long Distance Champion.

But he was up against a stacked field, not just two-time Kona champion Lange, who was making his seasonal debut. Also there was the reigning Challenge Roth hero Bart Aernouts plus Pieter Heemeryck, Patrik Nilsson, Andi Böcherer and Sven Riederer.

It was Böcherer who opened up a two-minute advantage by the start of the half-marathon, but both Lange and Dapena Gonzalez soon started to close on him.

And thanks to a 1:09:24 split it was Pablo who came out on top by 22 seconds to Böcherer, with Lange rounding out the podium.

He repeated the feat a month later at Challenge Lisboa, but the year was to get even better as he added a world title to the CV. That was at the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in Fyn, Denmark.

It was tightly packed at the head of the race after the swim, with Pablo right in the mix.

And it couldn't have been much closer after the bike. Switzerland's Ruedi Wild held a 30 seconds advantage, but heading out of T2 there were just metres between the next five - Dapena Gonzalez, Marko Albert, Giulio Molinari, Kevin Maurel and Mathias Lyngsø Petersen, with the sextet surely having the medals between them.

And there was no doubt about the strongest on the 30km run as Dapena Gonzalez caught Wild within the first 5km, and then powered away thanks to a race-fastest split of 1:47:39.

"To take the win was unbelievable," he says. "I'd felt strong coming into the race, but I didn't expect to be a world champion!"

An already-memorable year was rounded off in style when he landed another middle-distance Challenge, this time in Mallorca. That also helped him to a share of the spoils at the top of the Challenge Family Bonus Rankings alongside Sebastian Kienle, each taking home $25,000.

"To be tied with someone of Sebi's calibre is a true honour," said a delighted Pablo.

Dual focus

The winning run continued in 2019 but that year was defined by two races in particular - the defence of his title at the ITU Long Distance World Championships in his home town of Pontevedra - and that epic duel after the sun set at Daytona.

It was always going to be a special race for Pablo in Pontevedra, trying to retain his crown in front of home crowds and with fellow local Gomez - a role model of his as well as training partner - also battling for the win.

So it was fitting that the two of them closed out the top two spots in emphatic style, though there was little between them early on. A shortened swim meant 15 men were within 90 seconds of each other, Gomez leading the way and Dapena Gonzalez just a handful of seconds behind at T1.

It was still close at T2, but as the gaps increased the Pontevedra pair had the top two spots locked down and while he couldn't quite defend his title, Pablo had plenty to smile about: "I stopped before the finish to walk and enjoy it - the crowd was incredible. I'll never forget this moment."

It all meant he was in prime form going into Daytona, having added a victory at Challenge Cape Town to his palmarès - and this time there was virtually nothing to split the pair at the pointy end of the race.

Sanders was the man he'd replaced as ITU Long Distance World Champion the previous year, and they served up a race to remember on the famed racetrack.

With the swim and bike done, they settled down for the 13km run and surged into the lead after 5km.

It was shoulder to shoulder from then on to the finish as they pushed each other to the limit, Sanders finally asserting in the closing stages.

"I had a fantastic battle and it's a shame I had to settle for second in the final metres, but I am proud of my performance," reflected Pablo afterwards. "It's not every day you can say you held the same bike pace as (Andrew) Starykowicz for a lap or you can fight for the victory with Lionel Sanders. It is a race I will never forget."

It all bodes well for a bright future, and hopefully many more thrilling battles to come.

Current PTO World Ranking Points
167
Ironman 70.3 Knokke-Heist 2023
64.78
Ibiza Half Triathlon 2023
63.35
Challenge Peguera Mallorca 2023
48.27
Sum / 3
58.80
Ranking History
#1#145#289#433#57720162017201820192020202120222023*20242016Overall16.48 pts#427Swim42.04 pts#409Bike24.82 pts#574Run19.61 pts#5322017Overall32.26 pts#327Swim79.00 pts#146Bike37.51 pts#464Run45.61 pts#2962018Overall80.54 pts#57Swim102.47 pts#4Bike73.54 pts#129Run73.55 pts#932019Overall90.70 pts#25Swim106.98 pts#4Bike77.24 pts#96Run87.35 pts#312020Overall90.35 pts#19Swim104.82 pts#4Bike70.13 pts#122Run87.35 pts#222021Overall82.05 pts#39Swim94.72 pts#23Bike74.04 pts#91Run80.82 pts#612022Overall86.15 pts#42Swim96.98 pts#36Bike75.68 pts#132Run97.82 pts#142023Overall58.80 pts#167Swim64.54 pts#115Bike50.76 pts#239Run55.33 pts#1712024Overall58.80 pts#167Swim64.54 pts#112Bike50.76 pts#231Run55.33 pts#169

* New PTO World Ranking System implemented.

Results
41 Races6
1
14
2
5
3
2023
Points: NaN
DatePlaceRace
Swim
Bike
Run
OverallSOFPoints
22 Oct
3
Ibiza Half Triathlon
24:14
2:15:00
1:12:06
3:53:52
63.35
66.0463.35
14 Oct
17
Challenge Peguera Mallorca
24:25
2:11:59
1:17:54
3:58:10
48.27
86.0248.27
17 Sep
6
Ironman 70.3 Knokke-Heist
19:54
2:04:09
1:13:06
3:44:28
64.78
74.2164.78
2022
Points: NaN
DatePlaceRace
Swim
Bike
Run
OverallSOFPoints
23 Oct
2
Ibiza Half Triathlon
25:14
2:13:47
1:19:00
4:00:36
62.16
56.4562.16
15 Oct
DNF
Challenge Peguera Mallorca
23:11
--:--
--:--
--:--
69.47-
18 Sep
10
PTO US Open
26:57
1:52:28
1:01:44
3:22:55
84.05
87.1784.05
21 Aug
DNF
WT Long Distance Championships
25:42
1:51:05
--:--
--:--
79.19-
24 Jul
16
PTO Canadian Open
27:01
1:49:13
1:00:51
3:18:48
77.56
84.8777.56
26 Jun
3
Ironman 70.3 Elsinore
22:01
2:07:40
1:09:42
3:44:25
79.71
76.679.71
19 Jun
1
Challenge Gdansk
23:37
2:05:59
1:11:02
3:44:47
69.24
48.5769.24
2021
Points: NaN
DatePlaceRace
Swim
Bike
Run
OverallAITPoints
03 Oct
DNF
Challenge Salou
--:--
--:--
--:--
--:--
03:24:01-
12 Sep
6
Challenge Almere
47:13
4:22:53
2:42:03
7:55:54
68.5846
07:34:2968.58
20 Jun
3
Challenge Gdansk
23:05
2:06:05
1:15:45
3:49:21
69.0771
03:39:1169.08
30 May
4
Challenge St Pölten
25:07
2:11:10
1:08:59
3:50:04
77.6896
03:42:3777.69
09 May
2
Challenge Riccione
26:41
2:12:34
1:11:36
3:53:54
83.8965
03:48:2383.90
24 Apr
2
Challenge Gran Canaria
21:52
2:05:42
1:10:58
3:42:30
84.5698
03:37:2884.57
12 Mar
12
Challenge Miami
20:43
1:26:43
56:18
2:45:46
74.8191
02:39:4474.82
2019
Points: NaN
DatePlaceRace
Swim
Bike
Run
OverallAITPoints
14 Dec
2
Challenge Daytona
20:44
1:17:22
43:31
2:23:32
90.4201
02:21:3090.42
10 Nov
1
Challenge Capetown
--:--
--:--
--:--
3:46:48
84.664
03:41:4284.66
03 Nov
2
Ironman 70.3 Buenos Aires
--:--
--:--
--:--
3:38:46
95.9119
03:37:2695.91
19 Oct
4
Challenge Peguera Mallorca
23:32
2:19:16
1:12:45
3:59:18
64.3923
03:47:1064.39
22 Sep
DNF
Challenge Madrid
--:--
--:--
--:--
--:--
08:25:41-
08 Sep
14
Ironman 70.3 World Championship
23:27
2:29:05
1:10:29
4:06:55
71.4205
03:56:4671.42
27 Jul
3
Challenge Prague
--:--
--:--
--:--
3:59:04
68.1519
03:48:1068.15
23 Jun
3
Ironman 70.3 Elsinore
21:07
2:05:32
1:09:08
3:41:03
84.7293
03:36:0684.73
02 Jun
2
Ironman 70.3 Switzerland
22:53
2:08:48
1:14:25
3:49:29
80.5153
03:42:5880.52
18 May
2
Challenge Lisboa
--:--
--:--
--:--
3:51:39
63.4183
03:39:3663.42
04 May
2
ITU Long Distance
20:37
2:52:17
1:53:39
5:11:21
73.2754
04:59:2173.28
07 Apr
2
Challenge Salou
23:08
2:08:32
1:13:19
3:48:02
79.6123
03:41:1679.61
2018
Points: NaN
DatePlaceRace
Swim
Bike
Run
OverallAITPoints
20 Oct
1
Challenge Peguera Mallorca
23:43
2:13:33
1:13:34
3:54:08
76.3642
03:46:0776.36
23 Sep
2
Challenge Madrid
46:13
5:24:53
3:09:08
9:23:01
65.0883
08:55:0065.09
12 Aug
2
Challenge Finland
24:21
2:02:50
1:12:04
3:42:20
72.6341
03:33:3472.63
28 Jul
2
Challenge Prague
21:21
2:04:11
1:19:54
3:50:53
79.5139
03:44:0079.51
14 Jul
1
ITU Long Distance
36:56
2:51:19
1:47:39
5:19:30
85.7567
05:12:4985.76
27 May
2
Challenge Salou
22:56
2:07:33
1:16:09
3:46:38
71.3658
03:37:1871.37
19 May
1
Challenge Lisboa
--:--
--:--
--:--
3:39:11
54.6857
03:25:1454.69
21 Apr
1
Challenge Gran Canaria
26:05
2:21:31
1:09:25
4:00:25
73.6735
03:51:1773.67
15 Apr
2
Challenge Roma Half
--:--
--:--
--:--
3:24:11
45.6167
03:08:4745.62
2017
Points: NaN
DatePlaceRace
Swim
Bike
Run
OverallAITPoints
27 Aug
DNF
ITU Long Distance
--:--
--:--
--:--
--:--
0
--
28 May
5
Challenge Salou
24:00
1:58:28
1:06:43
3:29:11
47.3292
03:13:5247.33
2016
Points: NaN
DatePlaceRace
Swim
Bike
Run
OverallAITPoints
16 Oct
9
Challenge Peguera Mallorca
23:50
2:19:54
1:20:37
4:07:03
49.4363
03:49:3849.44
Ranking per Season
Overall
Year
Points
Position
2024
58
167
2023
58
167
2022
86
42
2021
82
39
2020
90
19
2019
90
25
2018
80
57
2017
32
327
2016
16
427
Swim
Year
Points
Position
2024
64
112
2023
64
115
2022
96
36
2021
94
23
2020
104
4
2019
106
4
2018
102
4
2017
79
146
2016
42
409
Bike
Year
Points
Position
2024
50
231
2023
50
239
2022
75
132
2021
74
91
2020
70
122
2019
77
96
2018
73
129
2017
37
464
2016
24
574
Run
Year
Points
Position
2024
55
169
2023
55
171
2022
97
14
2021
80
61
2020
87
22
2019
87
31
2018
73
93
2017
45
296
2016
19
532
TEST