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For Canadian superstar Lionel Sanders, the 2025 season was all going according to plan for the first half of it.
Victories at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside and IRONMAN 70.3 St George took his middle-distance winning streak to four races following a 2024 win at Oceanside in addition to a IRONMAN 70.3 Mont Tremblant.
‘No Limits’ had also taken on somewhat of a new mantra this season as well, listening to his body rather than delving deep into the science data when it comes to his training.
However, his campaign has come to an abrupt halt due to a niggling injury that he was unable to clear – and now he has a diagnosis that could hamper the remainder of his season.
“Healing is underway”
After numerous scans, the 37-year-old Canadian took to social media to update the world on his current condition, admitting the last six weeks have been tough.
Lionel Sanders finally knows what his injury issue is [Photo credit: Ville Kashkivirta / IRONMAN]
“I started feeling sharp pain deep in my glute and got an MRI — which came back clean. A CT scan two weeks later also showed nothing. But the pain never really went away, and deep down, I knew something wasn’t right.
“I kept training cautiously, hoping it would resolve, but this week I finally got clarity: a new MRI shows a clear sacral stress fracture.”
What’s next?
A sacral stress fracture is a hairline crack in the sacrum – a bone at the base of the spine – that is usually caused by repetitive stress rather than a single injury.
Depending on the severity of the fracture, Sanders could be on the sideline for six-to-12 weeks, which could potentially wipe out his plans until October.
His big target this season has been the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice on 14th September.
“If I could go back, I’d get another MRI around week two,” he added. It may have caught the inflammation and validated what my gut was telling me. Hindsight is 20/20. Now I’m looking at more time away from running – but I’m on the right path, and healing is underway.”
Written by
Stuart Dick
Stuart is a graduate of the University of Sunderland with a masters’ degree in Sports Journalism. He spends a lot of his time running and cycling around West Yorkshire, England.
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