Two-Time IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange (DEU) Crowned Champion of First Men’s IRONMAN VR Pro Challenge

April 6, 2020

- Over 30,000 Athletes from around the globe have joined IRONMAN Virtual Club platform with more than 12,000 registered to compete in IRONMAN VR1

TAMPA, Fla. – Following the professional women’s historic day of racing on Saturday, it was the men’s turn Sunday with two-time IRONMAN World Champion, Patrick Lange (DEU) taking the title in the inaugural IRONMAN^® VR™ Pro Challenge race.

Utilizing Official Virtual Training partner ROUVY’s augmented reality to race, four professional men, including Lange, Joe Gambles (AUS), Justin Metzler (USA) and Bradley Weiss (RSA) embarked through the virtual IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder bike course. It was 2017 and 2018 IRONMAN World Champion, Lange completing the 90km bike portion in 2:21:06 while Justin Metzler came in second with a time of 2:25:52, and Weiss finishing third with a time of 2:28:05. Joe Gambles of Australia rounded out the field of four with a time of 2:42:04.

The full broadcast of the men’s IRONMAN VR1 Pro Challenge can be viewed, HERE.Professional men’s results:

In total, over 12,000 other athletes from more than 115 nations and all 50 states are participating in the inaugural IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series event, which began Friday, April 3 at 6 p.m. GMT (2 p.m. ET). The race requires athletes to complete three segments, including a 5km run, 90km bike and 21km run by the race close this evening, Sunday, April 5 at 11:59 p.m. GMT (7:59 p.m. ET). Competitors can complete the segments in any order and are not required to do the segments consecutively. Athletes are able to compete anywhere, indoors or outdoors. IRONMAN VR1 leaderboard updates can be found by visiting the IRONMANVR Facebook Page.

During the two professional live broadcasts, the IRONMAN Foundation committed to matching all donations made to IRONAID COVID-19 Support Fund at www.ironmanfoundation.org/ironaid up to $10,000 USD. In total since the launch of the IRONAID program, over $95,000 has been pledged.

Bringing the IRONMAN community together­ virtually, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Club™ continues to grow and now has over 30,000 athletes who have joined the platform with thousands completing IRONMAN Virtual Club Challenges since launch two days ago.

Full details and specifics regarding the IRONMAN Virtual Club are available on www.ironmanvirtualclub.com. For questions about the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series, athletes can email ironmanvr@ironman.com. For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com. Media related inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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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 Marathon Series^®, IRONKIDS^®, ITU World Triathlon Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf^® presented by Westpac, Ultra-Trail^® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events, 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 more than 235 events across 50+ countries. On March 26, 2020, Wanda Sports Group (Nasdaq: WSG) entered into an agreement to sell The IRONMAN Group to Advance; closing is anticipated in mid-2020. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.