OTTAWA— Aliisa Heiskanen, originally from Thunder Bay, has claimed her first-ever full-distance Ironman victory in Ottawa, in just her second attempt at the gruelling triathlon.
After graduating from the University of Ottawa, where she played varsity basketball, Heiskanen transitioned to triathlon racing in search of a new challenge.
Her first full Ironman was in Mont-Tremblant in 2022, a race so tough she swore she’d never do another.
“After that, I said never again,” she laughed. “But here I am.”
At Ironman Ottawa, competing in the women’s 25–29 category, Heiskanen said she treated the 3.8-kilometre swim as a warm-up, drafting behind others to conserve energy.
“I hadn’t swum that far in a while, so I tried to stay relaxed and save my legs for later,” she said.
The windy, three-lap bike course played to her strengths, with heavy headwinds on the way out and tailwinds on the return.
“You’d fly one way and grind the other, it forced you to stay mentally focused,” she said.
She surged into the lead on the bike, building a strong gap over second place.
“I came off the bike with a decent lead, so I knew I had to take the opportunity and push on,” Heiskanen said.
Despite a knee injury sustained just weeks before, she powered through the marathon.
“I'd actually injured my knee maybe like 3 or 4 weeks before the race, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to run at all,” she said.
Though spectators told her she had a comfortable lead and could ease up, she didn’t believe it until she was feet from the finish line.
“People on course were telling me I had a pretty decent gap and I could relax a little bit, but I honestly didn’t believe them. When I saw the finish line, I was kind of in shock,” she said.
With this victory, Heiskanen has qualified for the 2025 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Marbella, Spain, where she seeks redemption after crashing in last year’s race.
