Honourable Mention
Lionel Sanders
After a sacral stress fracture sidelined Sanders for most of the year, he bounced back to competition with a runner-up finish at Ironman Mont-Tremblant. While he wasn’t able to hold off Cody Beals in Tremblant, Sanders served notice that he was on track for another big day in Kona, especially after he won Ironman 70.3 Augusta a few weeks before. That didn’t come to pass – Sanders pushed hard on the bike and appeared to be in contention for a top finish starting the run, but the wheels fell off early in the marathon at the world championship and he would eventually finish 22nd.