Sport has always been part of Sánchez’s life. She began swimming at just three years old, and by six, she was immersed in synchronized swimming—a discipline that demands precision, endurance and a quiet toughness. It shaped her early athletic identity. Despite starting running later than most, she progressed quickly, qualifying for both European and World Championships as a junior. Soon, the signs were there; in 2023, she'd take a few regional Spanish victories, at Triatlon Fromista, Salamanca and V1 Half Gastiez.
An even bigger international win at IRONMAN 70.3 Pucón in 2024 in Chile was followed a few months later by a career-defining victory at IRONMAN South Africa—her second-ever Ironman race.
Yet the Ironman South Africa victory wasn’t just about the finish line. It was about the weeks leading up to it.
Training in Kenya, Sánchez found herself surrounded by something she didn’t know she needed. During long training rides, she’d see a giraffe running alongside the road.“The giraffe became a reminder,” she says. “Of where I was. Of not taking things too seriously. Hakuna Matata.”
Since then, she's amassed two more Ironman podium results in 2025, seeing results working with coach Javier Sola, who also coaches Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar.
What to Watch For in 2026
Despite an injury that kept her from finishing the 2025 Hawaii IRONMAN World Championships, she learned she had a hunger—to compete for a top result on that iconic world stage in Kona, against the best. She will hunt on the Ironman Pro Series circuit, starting at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside and IRONMAN Texas, and earn the result she knows she's capable of come October in Kona.
With the gallop of a giraffe. the promise of more to come is quite clear.
Results
2025
2nd place, IRONMAN South Africa
3rd place, IRONMAN Lake Placid
2024
1st place, IRONMAN South Africa
1st place, IRONMAN Barcelona
1st place, IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia
1st place, IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon
2nd place, ETU Middle Distance Championship
