2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship to Hold Dedicated Women’s and Men’s Race Days as Two-Day Format Continues in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i for 2023

July 28, 2022

-- With dedicated women’s and men’s race days, qualifying opportunities increase at events around the world -- -- 17 IRONMAN triathlons globally will be designated as Women For Tri events, offering more than 1,200 additional 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship qualifying slots, as IRONMAN seeks to further grow and celebrate female participation --

TAMPA, Fla. (July 28, 2022)/ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – IRONMAN, in collaboration with local and state officials in Hawai`i, announced today that the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN<sup>®</sup> World Championship triathlon will continue with a two-day format in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i on October 12 & 14. This year, for the first time in the 40-plus year history of triathlon’s pinnacle event, the 2022 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship will take place over two days in Kona, Hawai`i on October 6 & 8. With the two-day format set to continue in 2023, IRONMAN will have a dedicated day of racing for the women’s field on Thursday and the men’s field on Saturday, allowing for full focus and coverage on each race and its competitors as well as the Island of Hawai`i like never before.

“The County of Hawai`i and IRONMAN have a long history of working together closely to ensure this global event is conducted safely and with due respect for the needs of the athletes, county residents, and worldwide visitors,” said Hawai`i County Mayor, Mitch Roth. “With the 2022 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship occurring over two days in October, the County of Hawai`i is excited to once again host these champions in Kailua-Kona and Kohala, and looks forward to another epic VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in 2023. The partnership with IRONMAN has stood the test of time and we are grateful and humbled that the culture here has fed into the culture of IRONMAN, reflecting the aloha spirit and the theme of Holomua — to move forward — for the 2023 IRONMAN season.”

“We are grateful for our partners in Hawai`i and Kailua-Kona, for their support for over 40 years of this homegrown event that has captured the imagination of the world and turned into the pinnacle event of the sport of triathlon,” said Andrew Messick, President and Chief Executive Officer for The IRONMAN Group. “We look forward to an incredible two-day event in 2022, and the ability in 2023 to further advance what a two-day format can look like with a focused women’s race day and a men’s race day.”

Dedicated female and male race days will also now bring about increased qualifying opportunities, including expanded slot allocations at regional championships as well as increased opportunities for women at 17 IRONMAN triathlons from around the world, designated as Women For Tri^® events. These events will consist of: 2022 Little Debbie IRONMAN Chattanooga presented by McKee A Family Bakery, IRONMAN Arizona, and GWM IRONMAN Western Australia, and 2023 IRONMAN New Zealand, IRONMAN African Championship – South Africa, Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas, IRONMAN European Championship – Hamburg, Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship – Cairns, IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene, IRONMAN France, IRONMAN UK, IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz, ViewSport IRONMAN Lake Placid, IRONMAN Kalmar, IRONMAN Ireland, Subaru IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant, and IRONMAN Copenhagen.

Those Women For Tri designated events will aim to further grow participation and celebrate women in the sport while also creating more than 1,200 additional opportunities to qualify for the biggest stage in the sport – The VinFast IRONMAN World Championship. These designated events were determined based on a number of factors including time of year, regional race calendars, as well as their propensity to grow female participation based on relatively higher levels of female participation or areas where further growth opportunities exist.

A full list of qualifying events and slot allotment for the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship can be found at www.ironman.com/im-world-championship-2023-slot.

While the number of athletes racing in IRONMAN events each year has increased considerably over the last 20 years, the number of athletes able to qualify for the IRONMAN World Championship has remained relatively flat. With a two-day format, top age-groupers deserving a chance to compete on the world’s stage will now have additional opportunities to qualify. Even with increased slots, however, it is expected that less than 6% of yearly IRONMAN participants around the world will ultimately make it to the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship. As one of the most sought-after experiences in all of mass participation sport, those who have made it to the IRONMAN World Championship continue to be among the world’s elite, equating to approximately 0.00006% of the world’s population.

“Creating a two-day race has been transformative for our IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship, allowing for deeper and larger fields with men and women racing on different days, and ultimately providing benefit to all with cleaner races and focused coverage and attention on each race,” Messick continued. “We are excited to now implement these principles into the IRONMAN World Championship with two days of racing in Hawai`i.”

In 2017, IRONMAN first held a two-day IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship with women racing on one day and the majority of men racing on the other, and has seen correlated growth of female participation at IRONMAN 70.3 events since that time, both globally and regionally where the world championship was held. After the pandemic impacted the 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, resulting in a one-day event, the two-day format returns in 2022 and will continue for 2023.

Like the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship, the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship taking place in Lahti, Finland, will also see dedicated women’s and men’s race days. Additionally, the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship will include increased female qualifying opportunities at 20 designated Women For Tri events around the world. A full list of qualifying events and slot allotment for the 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship can be found at www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship-2023-slot-allocation.

“I’m thrilled by the news that the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship will hold a dedicated women’s race for the first time in 2023,” said IRONMAN Hall of Famer Julie Moss. “Women have a long history of stealing the spotlight in Kona! A separate day of racing guarantees the professional and age group women their time to shine. These amazing athletes deserve the opportunity to showcase their talents, separate and apart from the men. This is truly a cause for celebration.”

For more information about the 2022 and 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship event, please visit www.ironman.com/im-world-championship. For more information about the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, please visit www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship.

For more information about the Women For Tri^® initiative, visit www.ironman.com/womenfortri, follow on Instagram @womenfortri or contact womenfortri@ironman.com.

To learn more about the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and series of events, please visit www.ironman.com. Media may contact press@ironman.com.

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About Women For Tri

Women For Tri^®, a program launched by IRONMAN and The IRONMAN Foundation in 2015, works to increase female participation in long-distance triathlon. The program seeks to identify and diminish primary barriers to entry and mobilize triathlon advocates to encourage and engage female athletes. Since inception, over $300,000 in grants have been awarded to triathlon clubs supporting female participation initiatives. Women For Tri embodies the heart and soul of what makes the sport so rewarding: testing your ability, overcoming challenges, and realizing the full depth of your potential in the most widely recognized test of endurance – long distance triathlon. Learn more at www.womenfortri.com and join the Women For Tri online community at www.facebook.com/WomenForTri.

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 race now sees over 2,500 athletes 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. 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 returns to Kona and takes place for the first time as a two-day event in October for the 2022 edition of the IRONMAN World Championship. 2023 will see the event continue with the two-day format but with an dedicated race day for women and dedicated race day for men. 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. 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, Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.