Aldo Román Gutiérrez Llanos, Patricia Agüera Fernández Win 3-year 57 km Triple Corona Illas Atlánticas

TRIPLE CORONA 24. ILLA DE ONS – COMBARRO

Nestled along the coast of northwest Iberian Peninsula, the 57 km Triple Corona Illas Atlánticas is a three-year series of three increasing longer and tougher marathon swims: 15 km Cíes in 2022 + 19 km Sálvora in 2023, and 23 km Ons in 2024. The third and final 23 km race was held between the islands of Ons, Sanxenxo, and Combarro (Poio) on September 7th in Galicia, Spain.

119 swimmers of a total participant group of 143 completed the final 23 km Triple Corona Illas Atlánticas stage race. Four of these swimmers swam without wetsuits: Luis Barcena Perez in 7:31:53, Alexis Rodriguez Castedo in 7:53:12, Pablo Tapia Soler in 7:54:35, and Agurtzane Domingo Inhiesta in 8:39:15.

Race organizer Beatriz Alvariño Díaz del Río said, “It was one of the longest and most demanding open water swims in Spain. The Triple Corona Illas Atlánticas is a competitive challenge that included three swimming races held in the estuaries of Arousa, Vigo and Pontevedra. Each swim started on an island in the Atlantic Islands National Park in Galicia: Cíes in 2022, Sálvora in 2023, and Ons in 2024.

The first 15 km event was held on September 10th 2022 between the Island of Cíes and Baiona with 150 swimmers. The second 19 km event saw 140 swimmers race from Sálvora Island to Coroso Beach in Ribeira in 2023. The 2024 event was expected to take the average swimmer more than 9 hours, but the average time was under 8 hours.

These course highlight the natural wealth and beauty of these islands that make up the Atlantic Islands National Park in Galicia, promote Rías Baixas, and turn this sporting challenge into one of the signature swimming events in Spain and throughout Europe. The profile of the average swimmer is an experienced athlete who can swim more than 10 km and is in excellent physical shape with mental strength to face a challenge of headwinds, currents, waves, low water temperatures, and the severity of the open ocean.”

The top ten overall swimmers who completed all three swims over three years included:

Mikel Arteaga García (5:53:34) from Tarragona of the Club Natación Master Torrijos in Toledo and Patricia Agüera Fernández (6:40:03) from Gijón, won in their respective categories in the third race of the Triple Corona Illas Atlánticas (Atlantic Islands Triple Crown). Aldo Román Gutiérrez Llanos finished second in 5:58:25 with Jorge Espinosa Mira third in 5:58:33. The second woman was Esperanza Navarro Simón was second among women in 6:57:06. Erika Machín Hernández and Elyonai Ramírez Sandoval tied for third in 7:45:32.

Aldo Román Gutiérrez Llanos and Patricia Agüera Fernández won the overall wetsuit category over the three-year period between 2022 and 2024 with 57 km in total, while Luis Bárcena Perez and Alexis Rodríguez Castedo won the men’s bioprene (non-wetsuit) category, and Agurtzane Domingo Inhiesta won the women’s bioprene category.

Swimmers who competed in all three races between 2022 and 2024 edition ranged from 28-year-old Manuel Gabriel Ibáñez Carrera to 66-year-old Alejandro Ros Rosillo.

The swimmers faced fog and 13° water in the final 23 km leg, making the race one of the most difficult in Spain. Throughout the race, 30 safety boats, 45 kayakers and paddle surfers, Jet skis, two doctors, nurses, 15 lifeguards, and more than 150 people
created a safety net on both land and at sea.

For more information, visit www.triplecoronaillasatlanticas.com or on Facebook or Instagram.

Ons-Sanxenxo-Combarro (Poio) 23 km Bioprene Swimmers (posted here)

Ons-Sanxenxo-Combarro (Poio) 23 km Top 10 Men (posted here)