Committed To Hosting Dedicated IRONMAN World Championship Race Days for Women and Men, IRONMAN Announces Plan for Dual Hosts for VinFast IRONMAN World Championship

November 30, 2022

IRONMAN reaffirms commitment to providing women a dedicated day of racing after historic two-day 2022 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship; Women’s field to race in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i and men’s field race location being evaluated and expected to be announced in January 2023; Women’s and Men’s race locations to flip for 2024

TAMPA, Fla. (Nov. 30, 2022) /SPORTSWIRE WOMEN/ – Following the first-ever two-day IRONMAN World Championship and a continued commitment to providing women and men their own dedicated day of racing, IRONMAN announced today that the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN^® World Championship triathlon will move forward with two different host venues. To ensure that both professional and amateur women and men have a focused IRONMAN World Championship race experience, the women will race in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i on October 14, 2023, with the men’s race date and location outside of Hawai`i currently being evaluated and expected to be announced in January 2023. For 2024, the men and women would exchange locations.

The 2022 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship was held this past October in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i over two days for the first time in the history of the event, showcasing the very best women and men in the sport while giving both their deserved spotlight. With the future dual host locations and separation of race weeks, the women’s and men’s races will each garner further attention with all eyes focused on the race week activities and lead up to their respective IRONMAN World Championship race days.

While the 2022 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship two-day format was a success in many areas and the two-day format in Kailua-Kona for 2023 had already been announced, IRONMAN and the County of Hawai’i concluded together that the impact of two days of racing in Kona is not currently in the best interest of the local community.

“We are reinforcing our commitment for a dedicated world championship race experience for women and men to each receive an exclusive spotlight on their race. Hawai`i is in our DNA and we look forward to the first-ever exclusively women’s world championship race week in Kona. At the same time, we are looking forward to announcing a co-host location for the men’s race that will be worthy of an IRONMAN World Championship and will capture the imagination of our athletes and fans,” said Andrew Messick, President & Chief Executive Officer for The IRONMAN Group.

Hawai`i is the proud birthplace of IRONMAN and despite not being able to undertake a two-day world championship event at this time, it will continue to be an important part in the shared history of IRONMAN, with Kona continuing as a co-host of the IRONMAN World Championship.

“Hawai`i County has long enjoyed partnering with IRONMAN and this year’s epic races were another example of world-class athletic competition held on the traditional Kona-Kohala world championship course,” said Hawai`i County Mayor Mitch Roth. We learned, however, that more than one race day during IRONMAN week is too many for the community to manage. We are pleased that IRONMAN plans to return to Kailua-Kona as a co-host of the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship and look forward to more exciting events in the future.”

With this major move to ensure dedicated IRONMAN World Championship racing for both women’s and men’s fields, the qualifying cycle and slot allocations will be slightly adjusted. Allocations may be viewed here, www.ironman.com/im-world-championship-2023-slot with further adjustments to occur in line with the Men’s Championship race location announcement, expected to occur in January. Additionally, all athletes who have previously qualified and registered for the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship will be contacted directly with additional information.

Additional notes on women’s IRONMAN history

IRONMAN has a long and rich history of women influencing the brand and the sport of triathlon since its very first days being co-founded in 1978 by husband and wife duo, John and Judy Collins. In just its second year, the Hawaiian IRONMAN triathlon saw Lyn Lemaire tackle the exact same distances and standards as the men finishing fifth overall of 15 starters, at a time when not even the Olympics allowed women to compete in long distance events. Since then, impactful moments, athletes, and leaders like Valerie Silk, Julie Moss, Paula Newby-Fraser, and a host of others have showcased what women could achieve leading the way for future generations. Encouraging continued growth of females in the sport saw the introduction of equal pro prize money since it was first introduced by IRONMAN in 1986, making triathlon one of the very first adopters of equality in sports pay. In the years that have followed, the influence and importance of women in the sport has continued to grow and it is with this in mind, that the pinnacle IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship events offer opportunity for a separate and fully dedicated race day and experience. More information on the important part women have played in IRONMAN’s history can be found at www.ironman.com/women-of-ironman.

For more information about the IRONMAN World Championship, please visit www.ironman.com/im-world-championship. For more information on the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and global event series, visit www.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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About the IRONMAN World Championship

Since its inception in 1978 on the Island of O`ahu, the IRONMAN World Championship has etched its name in history through stellar performances, inspirational participants and emotional memories. In 1981, the race moved from the tranquil shores of Waikīkī to the barren lava fields of Kona on the Island of Hawai`i where it continues to take place to this day. The most iconic one-day sporting event in the world is the culmination of 40 global IRONMAN events with over 94,000 athletes around the world striving for one of the coveted qualifying slots. The 2021 edition of the event took place in St. George, Utah in May 2022, becoming the first location to host the event outside of Hawai`i since its origins in 1978. After a two-year hiatus from Hawai`i due to COVID, the race returned to Kailua-Kona and for the first time took place as a two-day event in October. The 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship will see the event continue with the two-day format but with two different host locations and dates to allow for a dedicated world championship race for women and dedicated world championship race for men. With two days of racing, the cumulative event will host approximately 5,000 athletes as they embark on a 140.6-mile journey that presents the ultimate test of body, mind, and spirit to earn the title of IRONMAN World Champion. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/im-world-championship.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Running Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS^®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf^®, UTMB^® World Series events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, Epic Series™ mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events including Haute Route^®, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Catering to the full athlete experience, the company portfolio also includes FulGaz^® virtual cycling, the most realistic indoor riding experience connected fitness application aimed at preparing athletes for real-world events. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.

About Advance 

Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, 1010data and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 17,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Warner Bros. Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.