Here, we take a look at his story so far\u2026<\/p>\n
Who is Sam Long?<\/strong><\/h2>\nAffectionately known as the \u2018Big Unit\u2019 due to his 6ft 4in stature, Sam Long\u2019s entry into triathlon was far from a conventional one. Being based in Boulder, Colorado, he grew up playing a huge range of sports including mountain biking, cross country running, American football and alpine skiing.<\/p>\n
But at the age of 18 he tore his MCL in a skiing accident. On the road to recovery some of the first bits of exercise he could do came in the form of a stationary bike and swimming with a pull buoy.<\/p>\n
Running soon followed and with the first-ever Ironman Boulder set to take place that year (2014), he thought it sounded like a perfect rite of passage for graduating high school.<\/p>\n
He did well, finishing first in his age-group, and the rest, as they say, was history, with his focus quickly turning to triathlon.<\/p>\n
![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Sam Long runs along Lake Coeur d\u2019Alene to a first place finish at Ironman Coeur d\u2019Alene in 2021 (Credit: Harry How\/Getty Images for Ironman)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nOver the next few years Long took to a variety of different start lines, including running races, mountain bike events, time trials and Xterra. Among then was a sixth-place finish in his age group at the Ironman World Champs in 2015.<\/p>\n
His first pro win came at the 70.3 in Chattanooga in 2019, which he followed up with wins at Ironman 70.3 Victoria and Ironman Chattanooga.<\/p>\n
Since then there have been a couple of (pandemic-affected) seasons where Long\u2019s secured numerous podiums and a handful of wins.<\/p>\n
By his own admission, one of his best performances was the silver he secured at the 2021 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St George. On that day, he finished second only to Norwegian juggernaut Gustav Iden<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\nWhile 2022 has been a mixed bag, with several wins and a few disappointments, there\u2019s a feeling we haven\u2019t seen the best of the Big Unit just yet\u2026<\/p>\n - Sam Long opens up on car crash ahead of St George<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Gustav Iden wins 70.3 World Championship, Long second<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Why do we feel the need to go long?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
How old is Sam Long?<\/strong><\/h2>\nSam Long was born on 23 December 1995, making him 26 years old.<\/p>\n
Sam Long\u2019s career highlights<\/h2>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Sam Long competes at Ironman Coeur d\u2019Alene in 2021 (Credit: Harry How\/Getty Images for Ironman)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nAugust 2014: Long makes his Ironman debut<\/strong><\/h3>\nAfter a summer of various single-discipline events and a few triathlons (Olympic and middle-distance), Long lines up for his maiden full distance at the inaugural Ironman Boulder. He finishes first in his age group and 12th among the pros.<\/p>\n
May 2019: First pro win at 70.3 distance<\/strong><\/h3>\nLong takes the win at Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga in a time of 3:48:52, securing his first pro win and beating the likes of Jackson Laundry (CAN) and Matt Hanson (USA).<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll follow that up with another win at Ironman 70.3 Victoria just a couple of weeks later.<\/p>\n
September 2019: D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu at Chattanooga<\/strong><\/h3>\nReturning to a course that served him well a few months before, Sam Long takes his first pro long-distance win at Ironman Chattanooga with a time of 8:22:21.<\/p>\n
September 2021: Secures silver at the 70.3 world champs<\/strong><\/h3>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Sam Long shakes hands with Gustav Iden after finishing second to the Norwegian at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship (Credit: Donald Miralle for Ironman)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nLong follows up a win at Ironman 70.3 Boulder and Ironman Coeur d\u2019Alene with a silver at the Ironman 70.3 World Champs<\/a><\/strong>, finishing behind Norwegian Gustav Iden.<\/p>\nMarch 2022: Starts the year with a bang<\/strong><\/h3>\nWins at Clash Miami and Challenge Puerto Varas gets Long\u2019s year off to a great start, but things don\u2019t continue to go to plan as he\u2019s knocked off his bike by a car<\/a><\/strong> in the lead-up to the Ironman World Championship in St George in May.<\/p>\nHe battles through to start and finish the race but can only manage 15th, with the unfortunate event taking its toll.<\/p>\n
Sam Long in quotes<\/strong><\/h2>\nOn making his move to triathlon: \u201cI tore my MCL skiing in my senior year of high school and decided to do an Ironman as my rehab. The rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n
On getting hit by a car in the build up to the 2021 Ironman World Championship<\/a><\/strong> in May: \u201cIt\u2019s been a blur after getting pummelled by a car last week. After feeling and seeing peak fitness in my metrics\u2014after months of work, cancelling Christmas and so much focus\u2014I nearly lost it all.\u201d<\/p>\nOn his love for triathlon: \u201cI love the sport. I love to be outside, see new areas, explore new places and do it in different ways. Sometimes the monotony of one sport can get kind of boring, but with triathlon you can explore the trails or you can go on your bike.<\/p>\n
\u201c[With] swimming I guess you could say you\u2019re staring at a black line, but I\u2019ve learned to have quite a passion for finding cool pools in all parts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next for Sam Long?<\/strong><\/h2>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Sam Long approaches the finish line at the Collins Cup in 2021, finishing third in his match. behind Jan Frodeno and Sam Appleton (Credit: James Mitchell\/PTO)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nThe Collins Cup<\/a><\/strong> is the immediate task, with the American hoping to improve on his performance there in 2021<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\nBeyond that, the PTO Dallas Open and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship are the big aims, though Long has admitted he\u2019s still tempted by the prospect of racing in Kona as well, which he already has a spot for.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also hoping to compete in one or two Ironman events and plans to continue racing right through until December.<\/p>\n
Top image credit:<\/strong> Michael Reaves\/Getty Images<\/p>\n - PTO announce full teams for 2022 Collins Cup<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Who won the Collins Cup last year?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- How to watch the Collins Cup<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div> <\/section><\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Rob Slade Published: Thursday, 11 August 2022 at 12:00 am Over the past few years Sam Long has gradually been making more and more of a name for himself, with a number of performances catapulting him into the limelight. Here, we take a look at his story so far\u2026 Who is Sam Long? Affectionately […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":16724,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes.jpg",1500,1000,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes.jpg",1500,1000,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes.jpg",1500,1000,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Rob Slade Published: Thursday, 11 August 2022 at 12:00 am Over the past few years Sam Long has gradually been making more and more of a name for himself, with a number of performances catapulting him into the limelight. Here, we take a look at his story so far\u2026 Who is Sam Long? Affectionately…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/16723"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/34\/2022\/08\/sam-long-racing-at-ironman-coeur-dalene-bec1459.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C438"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Over the next few years Long took to a variety of different start lines, including running races, mountain bike events, time trials and Xterra. Among then was a sixth-place finish in his age group at the Ironman World Champs in 2015.<\/p>\n
His first pro win came at the 70.3 in Chattanooga in 2019, which he followed up with wins at Ironman 70.3 Victoria and Ironman Chattanooga.<\/p>\n
Since then there have been a couple of (pandemic-affected) seasons where Long\u2019s secured numerous podiums and a handful of wins.<\/p>\n
By his own admission, one of his best performances was the silver he secured at the 2021 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St George. On that day, he finished second only to Norwegian juggernaut Gustav Iden<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n While 2022 has been a mixed bag, with several wins and a few disappointments, there\u2019s a feeling we haven\u2019t seen the best of the Big Unit just yet\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Sam Long was born on 23 December 1995, making him 26 years old.<\/p>\n After a summer of various single-discipline events and a few triathlons (Olympic and middle-distance), Long lines up for his maiden full distance at the inaugural Ironman Boulder. He finishes first in his age group and 12th among the pros.<\/p>\n Long takes the win at Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga in a time of 3:48:52, securing his first pro win and beating the likes of Jackson Laundry (CAN) and Matt Hanson (USA).<\/p>\n He\u2019ll follow that up with another win at Ironman 70.3 Victoria just a couple of weeks later.<\/p>\n Returning to a course that served him well a few months before, Sam Long takes his first pro long-distance win at Ironman Chattanooga with a time of 8:22:21.<\/p>\n Long follows up a win at Ironman 70.3 Boulder and Ironman Coeur d\u2019Alene with a silver at the Ironman 70.3 World Champs<\/a><\/strong>, finishing behind Norwegian Gustav Iden.<\/p>\n Wins at Clash Miami and Challenge Puerto Varas gets Long\u2019s year off to a great start, but things don\u2019t continue to go to plan as he\u2019s knocked off his bike by a car<\/a><\/strong> in the lead-up to the Ironman World Championship in St George in May.<\/p>\n He battles through to start and finish the race but can only manage 15th, with the unfortunate event taking its toll.<\/p>\n On making his move to triathlon: \u201cI tore my MCL skiing in my senior year of high school and decided to do an Ironman as my rehab. The rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n On getting hit by a car in the build up to the 2021 Ironman World Championship<\/a><\/strong> in May: \u201cIt\u2019s been a blur after getting pummelled by a car last week. After feeling and seeing peak fitness in my metrics\u2014after months of work, cancelling Christmas and so much focus\u2014I nearly lost it all.\u201d<\/p>\n On his love for triathlon: \u201cI love the sport. I love to be outside, see new areas, explore new places and do it in different ways. Sometimes the monotony of one sport can get kind of boring, but with triathlon you can explore the trails or you can go on your bike.<\/p>\n \u201c[With] swimming I guess you could say you\u2019re staring at a black line, but I\u2019ve learned to have quite a passion for finding cool pools in all parts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The Collins Cup<\/a><\/strong> is the immediate task, with the American hoping to improve on his performance there in 2021<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Beyond that, the PTO Dallas Open and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship are the big aims, though Long has admitted he\u2019s still tempted by the prospect of racing in Kona as well, which he already has a spot for.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also hoping to compete in one or two Ironman events and plans to continue racing right through until December.<\/p>\n Top image credit:<\/strong> Michael Reaves\/Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section><\/body><\/html>\n By Rob Slade Published: Thursday, 11 August 2022 at 12:00 am Over the past few years Sam Long has gradually been making more and more of a name for himself, with a number of performances catapulting him into the limelight. Here, we take a look at his story so far\u2026 Who is Sam Long? Affectionately […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":16724,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes.jpg",1500,1000,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes.jpg",1500,1000,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/08\/sam-long-background-career-highlights-quotes.jpg",1500,1000,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Rob Slade Published: Thursday, 11 August 2022 at 12:00 am Over the past few years Sam Long has gradually been making more and more of a name for himself, with a number of performances catapulting him into the limelight. Here, we take a look at his story so far\u2026 Who is Sam Long? Affectionately…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/16723"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How old is Sam Long?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Sam Long\u2019s career highlights<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/34\/2022\/08\/sam-long-competes-at-ironman-coeur-d-alene-2021-9c263d7.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C467"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>August 2014: Long makes his Ironman debut<\/strong><\/h3>\n
May 2019: First pro win at 70.3 distance<\/strong><\/h3>\n
September 2019: D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu at Chattanooga<\/strong><\/h3>\n
September 2021: Secures silver at the 70.3 world champs<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/34\/2022\/08\/sam-long-gustav-iden-st-george-9c4edd8.jpeg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>March 2022: Starts the year with a bang<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Sam Long in quotes<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s next for Sam Long?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/34\/2022\/08\/sam-long-competes-at-collins-cup-6fc5a3a.jpeg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"