2021 IRONMAN North American Season Kicks Off Following Successful Events in Texas and Florida; Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship in St. George, Utah Set for this Weekend

April 29, 2021

- The IRONMAN Group continues its Safe Return to Racing protocols with successful execution of its first two North America events in 2021 - After successful event in April, Haines City, Fla. scheduled to host second IRONMAN 70.3 Florida event in 2021 on Sunday, Dec. 12; general registration to open Monday, May 17, 2021 by visiting www.ironman.com/im703-florida

TAMPA, Fla. (April 29, 2021) – The 2021 IRONMAN^® North American season is officially underway following the successful kick off with IRONMAN 70.3^® Texas in Galveston on April 11 and IRONMAN 70.3 Florida in Haines City on April 18, and continues with this weekend’s Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship in St. George Utah on Saturday, May 1.

The successful execution of the events under The IRONMAN Group’s Safe Return to Racing protocols marks the first of over 50 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events scheduled to take place on the 2021 North American race calendar.

“It gave us great satisfaction to see our athletes return to racing at Moody Gardens and Lake Eva Park to kick off the North America IRONMAN season,” said Keats McGonigal, Vice President of Operations, North America for The IRONMAN Group. “While events may look and feel a bit different, our Safe Return to Racing guidelines provided the path for us to work with the host communities in Galveston and Haines City to provide a safe and positive race experience in a manner consistent with local community objectives. Seeing thousands of athletes doing what they love is incredibly meaningful and we will continue to work hard and fine-tune as events take place throughout the remainder of the 2021 season.”

As designed and implemented in the year leading up to the races, the two events followed The IRONMAN Group’s Safe Return to Racing protocol, a set of industry-leading guidelines prepared in accordance with standards for open-air endurance events from the World Health Organization (WHO) and guidance from the IRONMAN Global Medical Advisory Board that builds on the pillars of enhanced hygiene, screening and education, density reduction, touchpoint minimization and athlete self-reliance.

“We were absolutely thrilled to welcome the IRONMAN 70.3 Texas event back to Moody Gardens for its tenth year on Galveston Island. It has been a challenging year for everyone, and this race and the IRONMAN athletes are a true inspiration as they demonstrate the strength, endurance and perseverance to us all,” said John Zendt, Moody Gardens President/CEO. “Congratulations to all who participated and IRONMAN for planning such a safe and outstanding event.”

The racing continues this weekend with live broadcast coverage on Facebook Watch via the IRONMAN Now channel of the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN^®70.3^® North American Championship. Showcasing a stellar field of professional athletes and past IRONMAN World Champions toeing the start line, the event is being viewed as a preview of what could come for the Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission which will also be taking place in St. George in 2021. Coverage is set to begin at 6:35 a.m. MT / 8:35 a.m. ET by visiting www.facebook.com/IRONMANnow.

Additional 2021 Race Date Announced For IRONMAN 70.3 Florida IRONMAN also announced today that after the successful event in April, IRONMAN 70.3^® Florida will host a second event in 2021 set to take place on Sunday, Dec. 12. General registration for the IRONMAN 70.3 Florida taking place in Haines City, Fla. will open on Monday, May 17 by visiting www.ironman.com/im703-florida.

Haines City which has historically hosted an early season event will now see IRONMAN 70.3 Florida add a new event date in December for 2021, giving athletes an additional racing opportunity to close out the 2021 North America IRONMAN season.

“For nearly a decade, the IRONMAN organization, Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing and the City of Haines City have been a well-oiled machine,” said Mark Jackson, the director of Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing. “This is yet another example of PCTSM partnering with an industry leader as we strive to lead the state in both the quantity and quality of sports tourism events.”

Nestled in between Orlando, Fla. (approx. 35-miles northeast) and Tampa, Fla. (approx. 60 miles west) Haines City provides family and friends with plenty of activities in the area. Athletes will take on their 70.3-mile IRONMAN journey by starting with a 1.2-mile swim in Lake Eva. Once out of the water, athletes will embark on a rolling 56-mile bike ride traversing through eastern Polk County on rural roads that will pass by scenic orange groves, lakes and golf courses. After returning to transition at Lake Eva Park, athletes will begin their 13.1-mile, two-loop run on a paved trail and roads surrounding Lake Eva. Athletes will be crowned an IRONMAN 70.3 finisher as they run down the finisher chute located back at Lake Eva Park.

Athletes can start their journey towards IRONMAN 70.3 Florida now by connecting to the IRONMAN Virtual Club™, a free, web-based platform that gives athletes from around the world access to IRONMAN U Certified Coach curated workouts, training resources, and virtual challenges that prepare athletes to compete in live IRONMAN branded events as well as the IRONMAN Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series. For more information, visit www.ironmanvirtualclub.com/.

• For more information on the IRONMAN 70.3 Texas triathlon please visit ironman.com/im703-texas.
• For more information on the IRONMAN 70.3 Florida triathlon please visit ironman.com/im703-florida.
• For more information on the Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship St. George triathlon please visit ironman.com/im703-st-george.

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^® Running Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS^®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf^®, 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 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 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.