An
Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance
triathlonA triathlon is a multi-sport endurance event consisting of swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall course completion time, including timed "transitions" between the individual swim, bike, and run components.Triathlon...
races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) consisting of a
swimThe aquatic sport of swimming involves competition amongst participants to be the fastest over a given distance under self propulsion.The different events include 25, 50, 100, 200, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly, the 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 500, 800, 1000, 1500, and 1650 free and the 100,...
, a
bikeBicycle racing is a sport encompassing many forms in which bicycles are used for competition. This racing includes road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX racing and bike trials and cycle speedway.-History:...
and a
marathonThe marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres that is usually run as a road race. The event is named after the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens...
(26 miles 385 yards, 42.195 km)
runRoad running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events normally range from 5 km to long distance, such as half marathons and marathons, and may involve large numbers of runners or wheelchair entrants...
, raced in that order and without a break.
The
Ironman Triathlon, or
The Ironman Triathlon World ChampionshipsThe Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organised by the World Triathlon Corporation and is currently sponsored by Ford...
, or
Ironman Hawaii, is both the original Ironman triathlon and the annual world championships of the event, held annually in Hawai'i since
19781978 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden** Women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein-American football:...
, with an additional race in 1982. It was made famous by its grueling length, harsh race conditions, and
television coverageThe broadcasting of sports events is the coverage of sports on television, radio and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more commentators describing the events as they happen.-United States:...
.
History
The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977
OahuOahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the State of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
Perimeter Relay (a running race for 5-person teams). Among the participants were numerous representatives of both the Mid-Pacific Road Runners and the Waikiki Swim Club, whose members had long been debating which athletes were more fit, runners or swimmers. Ironman Triathlon was the first major competition to extend the distance to an extreme endurance event. The first Ironman Triathlon was held on February 18, 1978 in
Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital of and the most populous census-designated place in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Although Honolulu refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and the county are consolidated, known as the City and County of Honolulu, and the city and...
, repeated in 1979 and 1980.
On this occasion, U.S. Navy Commander John Collins pointed out that a recent article in
Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. It has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in the United States. It was the first magazine with circulation over one...
magazine had declared that
Eddy MerckxEdouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...
, the great Belgian cyclist, had the highest recorded "
oxygen uptakeVO2 max is the maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and utilize oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual...
" of any athlete ever measured, so perhaps cyclists were more fit than anyone. CDR Collins and his wife had taken part in the triathlons staged in 1974 and 1975 by the San Diego Track Club in and around
Mission Bay, CaliforniaMission Bay is a salt-water bay or lagoon located south of the Pacific Beach community of San Diego, California.The bay is part of the recreational Mission Bay Park, which is the largest man-made aquatic park in the country, consisting of , approximately 46% land and 54% water...
, as well as the 1975 Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in
Coronado, CaliforniaCoronado, also known as Coronado Island, is a city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive places to reside in the United States...
. A number of the other military athletes in attendance were also familiar with the San Diego races, so they understood the concept when CDR Collins suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining the three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the
WaikikiWaikīkī or Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City & County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, Hawaii...
Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi./185.07 km; originally a two-day event) and the
Honolulu MarathonThe Honolulu Marathon is the world's sixth largest marathon. It takes place annually in Honolulu, Hawaii on the second Sunday in December.- History :...
(26.219 mi./42.195 km).
Until that point, no one present had ever done the bike race; CDR Collins calculated that, by shaving off the course and riding counter-clockwise around the island, the bike leg could start at the finish of the Waikiki Rough Water and end at the Aloha Tower, the traditional start of the Honolulu Marathon. Prior to racing, each athlete received three sheets of paper listing a few rules and a course description. Handwritten on the last page was this exhortation: "
Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life", now a registered trademark.
With a nod to a local runner who was notorious for his demanding workouts, Collins said, "Whoever finishes first, we'll call
him the Iron Man." Each of the racers had their own support crew to supply water, food and encouragement during the event. Of the fifteen men to start off in the early morning on February 18, 1978, twelve completed the race. Gordon Haller, a US Navy Communications Specialist, was the first to earn the title Ironman by completing the course, with a time of 11 hours, 46 minutes, and 58 seconds. The runner-up John Dunbar, a US Navy SEAL, led after the second transition and had a chance to win but ran out of water on the marathon course and his support crew resorted to giving him beer instead.
With no further marketing efforts, the race gathered as many as 50 athletes in 1979. The race, however, was postponed a day because of bad weather conditions and only fifteen competitors started off the race Sunday morning. San Diego's Tom Warren won in 11 hours, 15 minutes, and 56 seconds. Lyn Lemaire, a championship cyclist from Boston, placed sixth overall and became the first "Ironwoman".
Collins planned on changing the race into a relay event to draw more participants, but
Sports Illustrated's journalist Barry McDermott, in the area to cover a golf tournament, discovered the race and wrote a ten page account of it. During the following year, hundreds of curious participants contacted Collins.
In 1981 the competition was moved to the less urbanized Big Island by Valerie Silk and in 1982 Silk moved the race date from February to October; as a result of this change there were two Ironman Triathlon events in 1982.
A milestone in the marketing of the legend and history of the race happened in February 1982.
Julie MossJulie Moss is an American triathlete. Her claim to fame came during the 1982 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, in which she competed as part of her research for her exercise physiology thesis. At approximately two miles before the finish line, she became severely dehydrated...
, a college student competing to gather research for her exercise physiology thesis, moved toward the finish line in first place. As she neared the finish, severe fatigue and dehydration set in, and she fell, just yards away from the finish line. Although Kathleen McCartney passed her for the women’s title, Moss nevertheless crawled to the finish line. Her performance was broadcast worldwide and created the Ironman mantra that just finishing is a victory.
The sport of
triathlonA triathlon is a multi-sport endurance event consisting of swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall course completion time, including timed "transitions" between the individual swim, bike, and run components.Triathlon...
was added as an Olympic sport at the
2000 Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney as a shorter distance race ( swim, cycle, run).
There have been a number of non-WTC "Ironman Distance" triathlons that have been held since the mid-1990s. The limited number of WTC-sanctioned events, and the limited number of entries available per race have combined with a growth in the sport that has created demand for these non-trademarked events. Many of them share the , , format with Ironman. Originally, many used the Ironman name. Due to aggressive trademark protection, most of these races no longer use the word "Ironman". The largest of these include the Vineman Triathlon, Silverman Triathlon and Californiaman Triathlon.
The original Ironman is held in conditions which are uniquely punishing for endurance racing: the Hawaii water is warm enough that helpfully buoyant wetsuits are not allowed; though the cycling hills have only moderate gradients they are normally crossed by strong and gusting winds; and the marathon leg of the race is usually extremely hot. Other races under the WTC aegis have their own difficulties, characteristic of their setting and season. Anyone completing one of these races within the time limit, so long as it is the prescribed distance, is entitled to call themself an Ironman (the term being gender-neutral). At one time there was no cut-off time, then a 15 hour time limit - for these events the normal time limit is now 17 hours. Some iron distance races (not sanctioned by the WTC corporation, but using the same standard distances) have different cut-off times.
Today
The Ironman format remains unchanged, and the Hawaiian Ironman is still regarded as the most honored and prestigious triathlon event to win worldwide. For the 25th anniversary on October 18, 2003, nearly 1500 athletes were enlisted, most of which had to go through qualification competitions (although some were admitted through the lottery).
Although thousands of athletes worldwide compete at an Ironman event each year, the vast majority aim simply to just finish the course if they are first timers, or set a PR (personal record) time if they've raced this distance before. Only very talented athletes realistically compete for a spot in Hawaii, and just finishing an Ironman race is often the highlight of many triathletes' career. Athletes with disabilities now compete in the event in the physically challenged category, and are required to meet the same cutoff times as able bodied competitors. Australian John MacLean was the first physically challenged athlete to complete the event.
People completing such an event are agreed to be recognized as "Ironmen": the plural "Ironmans" refers to multiples of "Ironman" as a short form of "Ironman Triathlon". In the triathlon community an Ironman is someone who has completed a race of the appropriate distance, whether or not it falls under the aegis of WTC.
The Ironman Triathlon is a grueling event that pushes its participants to the limits of endurance. Some, however, find the prescribed distances fall short of these limits. Hence, events such as the double iron triathlon have come about. More extreme formats have evolved; there are in fact triple, quadruple, quintuple, deca, and 15× events that are multiples of the original Ironman distance triathlon. The world records in both the quintuple and deca iron races are held by
Astrid BenöhrAstrid Benöhr is a German endurance athlete, multiple world champion and world record holder in various multiple Ironman disciplines....
.
Ironman World Championships
The Ironman World Championship has been held annually since 1978 in the city of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The race has been held in the fall since 1982, prior to which it was held in the spring. The race consists of the
swimThe aquatic sport of swimming involves competition amongst participants to be the fastest over a given distance under self propulsion.The different events include 25, 50, 100, 200, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly, the 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 500, 800, 1000, 1500, and 1650 free and the 100,...
in Kailua-Kona Bay, the
bikeCycling is an activity most commonly performed on a bicycle - when it is it is also referred to as bicycling or simply biking. It is the use of the bicycle, unicycle , tricycles , quadracycles , and other similar wheeled human-powered vehicles for the purpose of transport, as a form of...
ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to
HawiHawi is a census-designated place in Hawai‘i County, Hawai‘i, United States. The population was 938 at the 2000 census.Hawi is situated to the west of the community of Kapaau. Together they comprise the most densely populated region in the district of North Kohala...
and back, and the marathon along the coast of the
Big IslandThe Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the U.S. State of Hawaii in the North Pacific Ocean...
(from Keauhou to Keahole Point to Kailua-Kona); finishing on Ali'i Drive. The most recent Ironman World Championship took place on October 10, 2009. Qualifying for the World Championship is achieved through placement in one of the other Ironman races or some Ironman 70.3 races. Qualification can also be via simply finishing a race and winning a lottery position (200 slots).
The current Ironman course record was set in 1996 by
Luc Van LierdeLuc Van Lierde is an athlete from Belgium, who has been competing in triathlon since 1990. He twice won the Hawaii Ironman competition, the most prestigious triathlon event, and became world champion, having won every other title in his discipline...
(Belgium), whose winning time was 8 hrs 4 mins 8 sec.
Chrissie WellingtonChristine Ann Wellington , also known as Chrissie Wellington, is an English triathlete who is the world record holder for ironman-distance triathlon races. She is the current and three-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion, having won the World Championship consecutively in 2007, 2008 and 2009...
(Great Britian), set the woman's course record in 2009 with a winning time of 8 hrs 54 mins 2 sec.
Ironman 2010 series
By 2010 there will be 24 Ironman Triathlon qualifying races throughout the world:
US Ironmans
- Ironman Arizona in Tempe
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with a 2007 population of 174,091. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale on the north,...
, ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
; added in 2005
- Ironman Coeur d'Alene in Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census the population of Coeur d'Alene was 34,514...
, IdahoIdaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....
, USA; added in 2003
- Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach
The City of Panama City Beach is a city in the Florida Panhandle on the Gulf of Mexico in Bay County, Florida, United States...
, FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
; added in 1999
- Ironman Louisville in Louisville
Louisville is Kentucky's largest city and county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's estimated population as of 2008 was 713,877 , with a population of 1,244,696 in the Louisville...
, KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
; added in 2007
- Ironman St. George in St. George
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
, UtahUtah is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making...
; added in 2010
- Ironman USA in Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638. Lake Placid is named after nearby Lake Placid....
; added in 1999
- Ironman Wisconsin in Madison
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
; added in 2002
European Ironmans
- Ironman France in Nice
Nice is a city in southern France located on the Mediterranean coast, between Marseille, France, and Genoa, Italy, with 347 060 inhabitants in the 2006 estimate...
, FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
- Ironman Germany in Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2008 population of 670,000. The urban area had an estimated population of 2.26 million in 2001...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
- Ironman Switzerland, in Zürich
Zürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
- Ironman Regensburg in Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
- Ironman UK in Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Situated close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
- Ironman Lanzarote in Puerto del Carmen
Puerto del Carmen is the main tourist town on the island of Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain. It is part of the municipality of Tías. Most of Lanzarote's over 1 million visitors per year choose this town as their destination...
, the Canary IslandsThe Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
, SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
- Ironman Austria in Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt am Wörthersee is the capital of the federal state of Carinthia in Austria. With a population of over 90,000 it is the sixth-largest city in the country. The city is the bishop's seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt and home to the Alpen-Adria...
, AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
Australian Ironmans
- Ironman Australia in Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie is a large town on the mid-North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about 390 km north of Sydney, and 570 km south of Brisbane. The town is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River...
, AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
- Ironman Western Australia in Busselton, Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
Asian Ironmans
- Ironman Japan in Gotō
is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It comprises the south-west half of the Gotō Islands in the East China Sea, some 100 kilometers from Nagasaki. The city consists of 11 inhabited and 52 uninhabited islands...
, Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- Ironman Malaysia in Langkawi
Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea,...
, MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
- Ironman China in Haikou
Haikou , situated at the north of Hainan island, is the capital of Hainan Province of the People's Republic of China and has an estimated population of 830,192 , therefore by far the largest city on the island....
, ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
Other Ironmans
- Ironman New Zealand in Taupo
Taupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupo District Council and lies in the southern Waikato Region....
, New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
- Ironman Brazil on Florianopolis Island
Florianópolis is the capital city of Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil. It is composed of one main island, the Island of Santa Catarina , a continental part and the surrounding small islands. It has a population of 406,564, according to a 2006 Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics...
, BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
- Ironman Canada in Penticton
Penticton is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada between Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake. Its 2006 population was 31,909 . It is the sister city of Ikeda, Hokkaido, Japan....
, British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
, CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- Ironman South Africa in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
- Ironman Cozumel in Cozumel
Cozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, opposite the Playa del Carmen, and close to the Yucatan Channel. It is one of the nine municipalities of the state of Quintana Roo...
, Quintana RooQuintana Roo is a state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. It borders the States of Yucatán and Campeche to the north and west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the nation of Belize to the south...
, MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Ironman 2009 series
The Ironman 2009 Series features the same races as the 2008 series starting with Ironman Coeur D Alene June 21, 2009 and ending with the Ironman World Championship 2009 on October 10, 2009. The 2009 world champions were
Craig AlexanderCraig Alexander is an Australian triathlete who is the 2008 & 2009 Ironman Triathlon World Champion. He is only the fourth man to win the Ironman World Championship two years in a row; the others were Dave Scott, Mark Allen, and Tim DeBoom.He is a previous winner of the Ironman 70.3 World...
and
Chrissie WellingtonChristine Ann Wellington , also known as Chrissie Wellington, is an English triathlete who is the world record holder for ironman-distance triathlon races. She is the current and three-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion, having won the World Championship consecutively in 2007, 2008 and 2009...
, who set a new course record of 8:54:02 for women.
Ironman 2008 series
Qualification into the
2008 Ironman World ChampionshipThe 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship was held on October 11, 2008 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. It was the 32nd such Ironman Triathlon World Championship, which has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978. The champions were Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington...
was decided though a series of 21 Ironman events held around the world leading to the World Championship race October 11, 2008 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The 2008 world champions were
Craig AlexanderCraig Alexander is an Australian triathlete who is the 2008 & 2009 Ironman Triathlon World Champion. He is only the fourth man to win the Ironman World Championship two years in a row; the others were Dave Scott, Mark Allen, and Tim DeBoom.He is a previous winner of the Ironman 70.3 World...
and
Chrissie WellingtonChristine Ann Wellington , also known as Chrissie Wellington, is an English triathlete who is the world record holder for ironman-distance triathlon races. She is the current and three-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion, having won the World Championship consecutively in 2007, 2008 and 2009...
.
Ironman 2007 series
By 2007 there were 21 Ironman Triathlon qualifying races throughout the world:
They were held all over the world.
Seven (apart fron Hawaii) were held in the USA (
TempeTempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with a 2007 population of 174,091. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale on the north,...
,
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
;
Coeur d'AleneCoeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census the population of Coeur d'Alene was 34,514...
,
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....
;
Panama City BeachThe City of Panama City Beach is a city in the Florida Panhandle on the Gulf of Mexico in Bay County, Florida, United States...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
;
Lake Placid, New YorkLake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638. Lake Placid is named after nearby Lake Placid....
;
MadisonMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
,
WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
).
Six were held in Europe (
NiceNice is a city in southern France located on the Mediterranean coast, between Marseille, France, and Genoa, Italy, with 347 060 inhabitants in the 2006 estimate...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
;
FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2008 population of 670,000. The urban area had an estimated population of 2.26 million in 2001...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
;
ZürichZürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
,
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
;
BoltonBolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Situated close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
;
Canary IslandsThe Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
;
KlagenfurtKlagenfurt am Wörthersee is the capital of the federal state of Carinthia in Austria. With a population of over 90,000 it is the sixth-largest city in the country. The city is the bishop's seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt and home to the Alpen-Adria...
,
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
).
Four were held in Asia (
Gotōis a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It comprises the south-west half of the Gotō Islands in the East China Sea, some 100 kilometers from Nagasaki. The city consists of 11 inhabited and 52 uninhabited islands...
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
;
SeogwipoSeogwipo is a city in Jeju Province, South Korea with a pre-2008 estimated population of 155,000 inhabitants. In July, 2006, Seogwipo city was expanded to include the entire southern half of Jeju island. In 2002, it was one of the host cities for the FIFA World Cup.-External links:*...
,
South KoreaSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
;
LangkawiLangkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea,...
,
MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
;
HaikouHaikou , situated at the north of Hainan island, is the capital of Hainan Province of the People's Republic of China and has an estimated population of 830,192 , therefore by far the largest city on the island....
,
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
).
Five were held in other countries (
Port MacquariePort Macquarie is a large town on the mid-North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about 390 km north of Sydney, and 570 km south of Brisbane. The town is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
Busselton,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
;
TaupoTaupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupo District Council and lies in the southern Waikato Region....
,
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
;
Florianopolis IslandFlorianópolis is the capital city of Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil. It is composed of one main island, the Island of Santa Catarina , a continental part and the surrounding small islands. It has a population of 406,564, according to a 2006 Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics...
,
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
;
PentictonPenticton is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada between Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake. Its 2006 population was 31,909 . It is the sister city of Ikeda, Hokkaido, Japan....
;
BCBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
; Port Elizabeth,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
;
CozumelCozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, opposite the Playa del Carmen, and close to the Yucatan Channel. It is one of the nine municipalities of the state of Quintana Roo...
,
Quintana RooQuintana Roo is a state of Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. It borders the States of Yucatán and Campeche to the north and west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the nation of Belize to the south...
,
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
).
Another way of qualifying is the Ironman lottery. 200 spots are reserved for athletes that enter the lottery, 50 of them being international spots, the other 150 being US spots. The lottery entries are then drawn out of a pool of about 30,000 entries.
Notable Ironman triathletes
- Paula Newby-Fraser
Paula Newby-Fraser is an Ironman triathlete. She was born in Rhodesia and raised in South Africa, where she was a nationally-ranked swimmer as a child....
- 8-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii (overall record)
- 4 consecutive victories in Hawaii
- 24 Ironman victories overall (overall record)
- Nickname is "The Queen of Kona"
- Natascha Badmann
Natascha Badmann is a professional triathlete from Switzerland and was the first European woman to win the Ironman Triathlon World Championships. She won the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005.Natascha works in Switzerland as a...
- First European female winner of Ironman Hawaii
- 6-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii
- Dave Scott
Dave Scott is a successful U.S. triathlete. He won the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii six times in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1987. Only his rival, Mark Allen, managed to match these six titles eight years later...
- 6-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii (men's record)
- Nickname is "The Man"
- Mark Allen
Mark Allen is the six-time Ironman Triathon World Champion. He is a graduate from UC San Diego....
- 6-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii (men's record)
- 5 consecutive victories in Hawaii (overall record)
- Nickname is "The Grip"
- Greg Welch
Gregory John Welch OAM a.k.a. Mighty Mouse is an Australian triathlete...
- First non-American male winner of Ironman Hawaii
- Won the Grand Slam of races during his career
- Nickname is "Mighty Mouse"
- Luc Van Lierde
Luc Van Lierde is an athlete from Belgium, who has been competing in triathlon since 1990. He twice won the Hawaii Ironman competition, the most prestigious triathlon event, and became world champion, having won every other title in his discipline...
- First European male winner of Ironman Hawaii
- Current time-record holder (8:04:08)
- Holder of all-time record (7:50:27 in 1996 Ironman Europe)
- Chrissie Wellington
Christine Ann Wellington , also known as Chrissie Wellington, is an English triathlete who is the world record holder for ironman-distance triathlon races. She is the current and three-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion, having won the World Championship consecutively in 2007, 2008 and 2009...
- Winner of Ironman Hawaii at her first attempt, less than a year after turning professional
- 3-time female winner of Ironman Hawaii
- Current female Hawaii course record holder (8:54:02)
- Current record holder for the fastest time for all Ironman-distance races (8:31:59 at Quelle Challenge Roth in 2009)
- Undefeated over the Ironman distance
- Dick Hoyt
- Around age 65, Dick completed the Ironman Triathlon with disabled son Rick, who cannot walk or talk. Dick pulled Rick in a boat through the swim, rode with him on a specially outfitted bike through the ride, and pushed him in a wheelchair through the run.
- Completed six Ironman Triathlon competitions.
- Jon Blais
- The first person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a form of motor neuron disease. ALS, sometimes called Maladie de Charcot, is a progressive, fatal, neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement...
(ALS or "Lou Gehrig's disease"), a terminal muscle-wasting illness, to enter and complete the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, a life-long dream. He died on May 27, 2007.
Ironman 70.3
In 2005, WTC instituted the
Ironman 70.3 race series. This shorter course, also known as a
Half Ironman, consists of a swim, bike ride, and run. As with the Ironman series, it consists of a number of qualifying races at various locations worldwide, culminating in a world championship race with athletes drawn largely from top finishers in the qualifying events. The world championship is held in
Clearwater, FloridaClearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, USA, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787; however, according to the 2005 U.S. Census Bureau's estimates, the city's population fell slightly to 108,687....
. Some 70.3 events also act as qualifiers for the full Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
The Ironman trademark
The Ironman Triathlon logo is a trademark of the World Triathlon Corporation. The WTC has also registered the trademark "Ironman Triathlon" for its athletic competitions, and the trademark "Ironman" for a line of clothing, athletic equipment, and souvenirs, and licensed the name to
TimexTimex Group B.V. is the parent of Timex Group USA, Inc. The latter is located in Middlebury, Connecticut, and began in 1854 as Waterbury Clock in Connecticut's Naugatuck Valley, known during the nineteenth century as the "Switzerland of America." Sister company Waterbury Watch manufactured the...
for their line of
Timex IronmanThe Timex Ironman is a digital wristwatch first produced by the Timex Corporation in 1986 and continues to be made in various styles to this day.-History and development:...
wristwatches.
Symbols
M-Dot is the symbol that refers to the event. The symbol is taken from the Ironman logo, which is the word IRONMAN (in all caps) with a dot on top of the letter M, which is supposed to look like a person. The dot is the head of the person and the M is the body of the person. It represents the need to have a fit body and a strong willpower.
Iron distance triathlon
Other organizations holding a race of equal distances may only refer to their triathlons as a "Full Distance Triathlon" or something similar, occasionally also involving the -man suffix, though the term 'ironman' is used to refer to such races unofficially. Races that are not officially "Ironman" race are also referred to as Iron distance and Half Iron distance (unofficially).
Examples of such races on the full iron distance are:
- Challenge Experience in Barcelona
Barcelona is the capital, most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008. It is the 11th-most populous municipality in the European Union and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris,...
, SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
- Challenge Roth, Roth, Germany
- Kalmar Triathlon
Kalmar Triathlon is a triathlon race, the only in Sweden on the Ironman distance. It is also Swedish championship ....
, Sweden
External links