Dede Griesbauer (USA) and Kennett Peterson (USA) Take Titles During the IRONMAN VR10 Pro Challenge Weekend

June 7, 2020

Over 16,000 athletes from 130 nations registered to compete in IRONMAN VR10 an IRONMAN 5150 Olympics distance simulation

TAMPA, Fla. (June 7, 2020) – The 10^th edition of the IRONMAN^® VR™ Pro Challenge saw a United States sweep with Dede Griesbauer winning the women’s race and Kennett Peterson taking the top honors in the men’s race as eight top triathletes battled it out over the course of two days. Mixing up the format, athletes took on a 3 km run through the Eagle Trail in Boulder, Colorado before hopping on their trainers. From there, athletes began their 40 km bike ride in Gerry Boyle Park on a portion of the newly offered IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman bike course, utilizing Official Virtual Cycling partner ROUVY’s augmented reality.

In the closely contested professional women’s race, Dede Griesbauer (USA) fought her way into the top spot with an impressive performance, finishing the 3 km run and 40 km bike in an overall time of 1:07:53, while Lindsey Jerdonek (USA) finished in second place with a combined time of 1:08:42. Danielle Mack (USA) took third position with a finishing time of 1:10:09 and Rachel Olson (USA) rounded out the group with a time of 1:11:19.

The full broadcast of the women’s IRONMAN VR10 Pro Challenge can be viewed, HERE.

Professional women’s results:

On Sunday, it was the professional men’s turn to take to the road for a 3 km run and the trainers for a 40 km bike. Despite some technical difficulties (and nearly oversleeping the start of the race) Kennett Peterson (USA) emerged victorious, completing the IRONMAN VR10 Pro Challenge in an overall time of 1:02:05. Professional triathlete, Tyler Butterfield (BMU), came in second with a time of 1:03:58, while Joe Gambles (AUS) finished third in a time of 1:04:46. Andre Lopes (BRA) rounded out the men’s group clocking a time of 1:05:30.

The full broadcast of the men’s IRONMAN VR10 Pro Challenge can be viewed, HERE.

Professional men’s results:

In total, over 16,000 athletes from more than 130 nations and all 50 states set out to participate in IRONMAN VR10. IRONMAN VR10 requires athletes to complete a 3 km Run, 40 km Ride, and 10 km Run between Friday, June 5 at 2 p.m. ET (6 p.m. GMT) and race close this evening, Sunday, June 7 at 7:59 p.m. ET (11:59 p.m. GMT). Competitors who race in the Classic Division can do so anywhere, indoors or outdoors, can complete the three segments in any order and are not required to do the segments consecutively.

The 3,000 athletes who registered for the new IRONMAN Virtual Racing Championship Series are bound by a different set of rules over a four-week long regulated age-group competition designed to reward top-performing athletes in a structured and competitive virtual environment. Athlete’s overall standing are based upon their top three performances in aggregate over a four-week period. Athletes competing will have the opportunity to earn race slots to the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship with a total of 75 qualifying slots allocated across age groups for top performers.

IRONMAN VR10 leaderboard updates can be found by visiting the IRONMANVR Facebook Page.

Bringing the IRONMAN community together virtually, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Club™ continues to grow and now has more than 105,000 members on the platform with thousands completing IRONMAN Virtual Club Challenges since its recent launch.

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^®, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ 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 55+ 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.