IRONMAN to Bring New Voices to the microphone; Diverse Cast of Announcers to Call In IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 Finishers in 2023

April 13, 2023

- Following in the steps of Mike Reilly the “Voice of IRONMAN” who retired after 33 years of announcing IRONMAN events in 2022, both existing and new voices to call in IRONMAN athletes across the globe in 2023 - More women announcers than ever to call in athletes; some events to feature women only announcing crew

TAMPA, Fla. (April 13, 2023)  /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The list of voices calling athletes across IRONMAN^® and IRONMAN^® 70.3^® finish lines will be expanding in 2023 to include some familiar voices as well as new ones. As the IRONMAN community bids farewell to Mike Reilly, the most famous voice in the sport of triathlon who has retired following a storied career spanning 33 years, athletes can expect to hear a variety of different voices greeting them at IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events over the coming year.

In addition, more women announcers will be picking up a microphone at IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events in 2023, including for the first time ever, a fully female announcing crew calling athletes in at the 2023 IRONMAN Maryland triathlon, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America Series on Sept. 16, 2023.

“There’s nothing quite like those final moments before an athlete crosses an IRONMAN finish line,” said Shane Facteau, Chief Operating Officer for The IRONMAN Group. “Our athletes work for months, and sometimes even years, to hear the illustrious words, ‘You are an IRONMAN!’ made famous by our beloved Mike Reilly. While we will all miss Mike, we are proud to bring a diverse cast of emcees to our events in 2023 and we know our athletes are keen to meet these announcers as they help enhance their race day experience.”

Mike Reilly also shared his appreciation for the craft and the impact this crop of race announcers can have as they encourage athletes at events. “For over 30 years, it has been an incredible honor to support IRONMAN athletes as they cross finish lines worldwide,” said Reilly who is also in the IRONMAN Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport. “I have no doubt that the dynamic and diverse team of announcers assembled will continue to uphold the legacy of IRONMAN and create unforgettable experiences for competitors and spectators. When you hear those powerful and life changing words, ‘You are an IRONMAN’ at your next finish line, know that they are delivered with passion and a deep commitment to your success.”

Below are many of the iconic voices and new announcers that athletes can expect to see and hear at IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events this year.

Americas

• Jill Blankenburg – Jill’s triathlon journey began in 2007 when she joined an all-women’s training team in Richmond, Va. and immediately fell in love with the sport. She competed in several Sprint, Olympic and long-distance triathlons, including IRONMAN 70.3 races, gaining experience and setting her sights on completing a full-distance IRONMAN triathlon. Jill volunteered at IRONMAN Florida in 2008 and was so blown away by the experience that she signed up on-site to race the following year. Jill is now a seven-time IRONMAN finisher, beginning in 2009 when she completed IRONMAN Florida and since then has gone on to cross IRONMAN finish lines in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Lake Placid, N.Y.; Whistler B.C. Canada; Louisville, Kentucky; Cozumel, Mexico and Panama City Beach, Florida for a second time in 2019. Jill has actively volunteered with her local Richmond Tri Club through the years and has served on the Board of Directors since 2018. Jill is no stranger to the microphone – she’s been a radio DJ, recorded lead and backing vocals for various music projects and fronted a rock and roll band for many years. Jill was delighted for the opportunity to combine her experience on the mic and her passion for triathlon when she began announcing multisport races in 2016 – and she’s often called upon to sing the National Anthem at her events. Jill joined IRONMAN’s announcing team in 2022 is proud to be one of the new female voices on the IRONMAN stage.
• Otton Bernardelli – Otton’s passion for sports was ignited during his school days, when he discovered his talent for track and field. As a teenager, he won medals and set local records as part of a relay team and as a triple jumper. After obtaining a degree in Physical Education, Otton worked as a Sports and Events Manager, serving as Technical Coordinator for the SESC Triathlon Caiobá and the Maratona das Cataratas do Iguaçu for six years. In 2011, during a 10k race, the announcer failed to show up, and Otton had to step up to the microphone to lead 5,000 athletes in the event. This experience made him realize that he wanted to pursue a career in sports announcing. Four years later, in 2015, he received his first opportunity to announce an IRONMAN 70.3 event. Since then, he has worked alongside Dave Ragsdale and Tony Lugo at IRONMAN 70.3 Miami in 2017, and proudly shared the microphone with William Bonder at all IRONMAN 70.3 and full-distance IRONMAN events in Brazil for the past 7 years.
• William Bonder – William Bonder, also known as Will, is a sports presenter and amateur athlete, whose love for sports started in his childhood, is a triathlon, mountain biking, and road running enthusiast. Will has completed marathon races in the Atacama Desert and Ushuaia, ultra-marathons like the Two Ocean, and IRONMAN 70.3 races in Brazil, the United States, and Panama. He even had the pleasure of hearing the coveted phrase “You’re an IRONMAN” when he finished his first full-distance IRONMAN in Brazil. As a broadcaster, Will began in 2005 with small road running races, triathlons, cycling, and mountain biking, and in 2008, he was invited to join the IRONMAN Brazil team, starting with the IRONMAN 70.3 Penha. In 2014, he started announcing the IRONMAN Brazil in Florianópolis. As a father to his son Théo, Will understands the importance of physical activity for children, aiding in their development, discipline, and providing a fun way to participate in sports. He has been working alongside Otton, his friend and co-worker in announcing for IRONMAN Brazil since then. Their years of friendship and partnership have resulted in a well-tuned duo who joke, inform, and celebrate every achievement on the finish line of the IRONMAN Brazil stages.
• Javier Clavelo – An avid runner, Javier fell in love with the sport of triathlon when he attended the 1993 Havana International Triathlon in his native Cuba. A year later, he joined the Cuban Triathlon Federation as a founding member, began announcing triathlons and running a 30-minute multisport segment on the radio twice a week. Fluent in five languages, Javier has been a regular announcer in major international triathlons in Mexico since the Pan American Championships and a World Cup race in 1997. Those include two World Triathlon Championships in 2002 and 2006. Also in 2006, he made his IRONMAN announcing debut at the IRONMAN 70.3 Cozumel. From there, he has been involved in almost all events in the IRONMAN series in Mexico. Javier also keeps busy as a track and field announcer with a pedigree that includes a stint with ESPN at the 2015 Pan American Games, the 2019 Pan American Games and the 2022 World U20 Athletics in Colombia. Javier has been an avid runner since the age of 12 and has completed multiple triathlons himself. When not busy announcing or doing a full-time community work in Canada, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife and two children, travelling, dancing, cooking and staying active.
• Nick Edwards – Nick grew up in Lake Placid, New York and was fortunate to watch his first IRONMAN triathlon in 1999. In his youth, he volunteered at aid stations, raced in the IRONKIDS series, and worked in the IRONMAN Village merchandise stores. In his teens, he helped produce a local marathon. Nick began announcing at IRONMAN events in 2015 and was lucky to learn from some of the best announcers in the industry. In 2022, he spearheaded announcing for the inaugural North American UTMB World Series events and will continue to do so in 2023. Nick loves sharing about the amazing people and the stories that make this sport so inspiring and has produced video content for the IRONMAN brand alongside his work as an announcer. He believes in the positive power of sport and is a proponent of diversity and inclusion. Nick remains an active athlete and regularly participates in endurance events in his free time. He is an IRONMAN Lake Placid finisher, a multiple time IRONMAN 70.3 finisher, as well as an ultramarathoner.
• Carissa Galloway – Carissa has a background in nutrition, fitness, and television. A mother of two, she brings high energy to the microphone, making her perfect for race day. She is a registered dietitian who prides herself on motivating others to improve their wellness. When she isn’t announcing, Carissa loves to train for marathons and travel with her family. Carissa lives in Orlando, Florida, and will be found (and heard) this year at a variety of North American IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events. She has also been one of the most recent additions to the world championship announcing team and will help call athletes in at the women’s IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i.
• Eric Gilsenan – Eric has been involved with the sport of triathlon since 1982 when he participated as a lifeguard at The Windjammer Triathlon at the Craigville Beach Massachusetts. Eric served in the United States Coast Guard in the 80’s and after returning to civilian life in 1988 has been a volunteer, participant, coach, sponsor, race director and race announcer at triathlons and endurance events for the past 35+ plus years. Eric has finished five IRONMAN triathlons including IRONMAN Canada, IRONMAN Lake Placid, IRONMAN Santa Rosa, IRONMAN Arizona and the IRONMAN World Championship, dozens of IRONMAN 70.3 races, 17 Boston Marathons and 33 years at The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon (1989-2022). Eric has volunteered at triathlons for Special Olympics, Best Buddies, Team in Training, Challenged Athlete Foundation, The IRONMAN Foundation and many other charity organizations. Many have heard Eric at IRONMAN Village expos during past world championship events, and he will expand his role at the VinFast IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship events in 2023.
• Erick González Velázquez – Originally from Mexico City, Erick has been announcing events for 23 years. Erick first discovered his talent for announcing when he worked as a DJ on a Mexican radio program and 18 years ago, he discovered the magical world of triathlon, track and field, and cycling. Erick has since announced the Central American games, the Pan American Games, ITU World Cups, Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series events, and IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons. For 15 years, Erick has been the voice of IRONMAN in Mexico. Two of his passions outside of being an announcer are playing the guitar and heading out every morning for a run with his Husky, Cookie. But without a doubt, what gives him the greatest joy is to be on the start line of a triathlon, to see the triathletes preparing themselves for the start of the race, because each athlete has prepared mentally and physically to overcome the challenge that is triathlon, be it Sprint, Olympic, IRONMAN 70.3, or full-distance IRONMAN.
• Dave Kappas – From the world’s largest triathlon to smaller community and charity-based events, Dave’s voice has been synonymous with endurance events from coast-to-coast for the past 30 years. World class events, including IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlons, Rock ‘n Roll, The Abbott World Marathon Majors, ITU, and Pro Triathlon Series that traveled to Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, South Beach, and Minneapolis, have given Dave a chance to work with the pro and elite athletes. Lending his voice to dozens of locally owned triathlons and running events annually in cities across the country, Dave has got to know many age group athletes on a personal level. For Dave, announcing is a privilege that goes beyond the endurance aspect of the sport and he thrives in the community created by the competitors and race organizers.
• Rachel Kazez – Rachel joined the IRONMAN announcing team in 2022 and brings a wealth of experience announcing at events such as Chi-Town Half Marathon, Run for the Zoo, Milwaukee Turkey Trot, Crystal Lake Aquathon, and more. She is passionate about community and personal growth through athletics. She lives in Chicago with roots in southwestern Ohio.
• Andrea Kooiman – Andrea is an accomplished ultrarunner with some of the world’s toughest foot races under her belt. She loves endurance sports so much, she built her career around them. Back in 2009, she co-founded a non-profit that trains the youth in her community to run the marathon. When not competing in her own races, she finds inspiration in announcing them and has been encouraging athletes across the finish line for more than 10 years.
• Dave Latourete – Dave completed his first triathlon in 1991 in Ludlow, Mass., and has been immersed in the sport ever since. He has been announcing for 20 years, including a variety of small and marquis endurance events alike (triathlon, cycling, swimming, running, ultra-running), and began announcing at IRONMAN events with the 2008 IRONMAN 70.3 Vineman triathlon. Dave was a successful triathlete in his racing career, winning multiple State Championships, Regional Age Group Championships and has twice qualified for and raced the IRONMAN World Championship all “back in the day”. Dave has an M.S. in Coaching (Sport Science), is a successful Endurance Sports Coach and is an Associate Instructor of Kinesiology, and Associate Head Coach, at Santa Rosa Junior College, California. Dave is an IRONMAN U Certified Coach, was part of USA Triathlon’s Inaugural Coaching Class in 1998, and his favorite class to teach is Psychological Aspects of Sport Performance.
• Tony Lugo – Born in Puerto Rico, Tony watched the IRONMAN World Championship broadcast special for the first time 1997. Mesmerized, Tony’s mind was set that he would one day make it to an IRONMAN World Championship finish line. He participated in his first triathlon in September of 1999, and finished IRONMAN Florida in November of the same year. Since then, Tony has motivated hundreds of people into a healthy lifestyle. In 2000 he opened an indoor cycling studio and introduced the sport and coached many of the island’s triathletes. He is a 13x IRONMAN Finisher and is two marathons shy of completing the World Six Marathon Majors (missing London, and Tokyo). In 2006 while training for Race Across America, he rode his bike around the island of Puerto Rico covering 300+ miles in 17:20:11 establishing a new record that still stands today. He speaks English, Spanish and some Portuguese, and has announced IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons across North and South America. Now, Tony is currently training for his 14^th IRONMAN race at IRONMAN Coeur D’Alene this summer in hopes that he will earn a coveted Legacy spot assignment and finally be able to achieve his dream of racing in Kona.
• Sara McLarty – Sara McLarty has been racing triathlons since she was a child. She enjoyed a successful 15-year professional career representing the United States at 13 world championships in seven different sports and raced on every continent with the exception of Antarctica. After retiring in 2015, she transitioned into coaching and athlete support with the USA Triathlon elite squad, culminating with a trip to the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Today, her passion is with the SLAP Tri Team #SLAPPERS in Central Florida helping adult, youth and junior high-performance athletes achieve their goals and dreams!
• Dave Ragsdale – Dave has been around the Endurance Industry long enough to remember grabbing a popsicle stick at the finish line of a college cross country meet. After a stint in corporate sales in New York City, he moved to South Florida with a buddy so that they could train year-round for the then emerging sport of triathlon. Since then, he’s been in the Event Management business, sold media for Florida Sports Magazine, a precursor to Competitor Magazine and Rock ‘n Roll Running Series and headed up a 6-person sales team with The IRONMAN Group. Currently, Dave helps connect brands and events in the active lifestyle space. Dave’s time on the microphone dates back to his earliest days in the event management business, when he realized that holding a microphone and talking for hours was a lot easier than moving cones or barricades. Thankfully, he had the skill needed to succeed in that spot and in his more than 20 years as an announcer, he figures to have greeted close to 500,000 athletes to the line. Born in Minneapolis, Dave grew up in Pleasantville, NY was educated at Colgate University. He and his wife, Molly, live in Juno Beach, Florida.
• Colleen Rue – Finish lines have been a big part of Colleen’s life since 1999 when she completed her first triathlon event at the Utah Summer Games. She made a 20 plus year career in the fitness industry as an instructor, coach and event organizer. She understands the transformative power of endurance sport and her passion is facilitating the celebration of those moments for others. As an athlete, Colleen holds two IRONMAN finishes and multiple IRONMAN 70.3 finishes, including one at the 2012 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship outside Las Vegas, Nevada. She’s made three trips to the Boston Marathon spanning a lifelong marathon career. Triathlon will always be Colleen’s first love but more often than not these days, she’ll be lost in the mountains and deserts long-distance trail running. Colleen makes her home in the “Land of Endurance” in St. George, Utah. She is a wife and mother of two teenagers and on any given weekend you’ll find her traveling the country, microphone in hand, hosting events and announcing finish lines coast- to-coast.
• Tom Ziebart – A Michigan native, Tom has been directing, producing, and announcing events for over 30 years. He works in multiple functions with The IRONMAN Group including race director, senior operations manager, and race announcer. Tom has a true love for endurance sports, spending most of his free time cycling. Tom can be found in Florida during the summers and Colorado during the cold weather months.

Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA)

• Tania Branzanic – Tania was born in Romania and grew up in Romania and Sweden. She moved to Lake Garda in Northern Italy in 2002. A graduate in modern languages and literatures, she began her career as announcer in 2016. In 2018, she announced at her first ever IRONMAN event in Italy, after which she went on to announce at IRONMAN Estonia, IRONMAN Luxembourg, IRONMAN Spain, IRONMAN Portugal, and IRONMAN France. Tania is also a two-time IRONMAN finisher. She took on IRONMAN South Africa in 2016 and IRONMAN Lanzarote in 2017. She is passionate about the endurance industry and loves to announce at trail, mountain bike and cross-country races.
• Fabio D’Annunzio – Fabio was born in Abruzzo, Italy and moved to Milan when he was young to follow his dream of becoming a sports specialist. Running and triathlon is in his blood, and he is a coach of several age group athletes. He has been announcing since 2000 and has been part of the Italian announcing team at IRONMAN Italy for the last three event editions. He is also the editor of Italian Triathlete Magazine and Eurosport Italy’s official voice.
• Stéphane Garcia – Stéphane was born in Royan, a small city north of Bordeaux in France. He was a strong age grouper triathlete before being an IRONMAN announcer. He has qualified to race the 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Lahti, Finland. He started with announcing in 2006 at IRONMAN France Nice and quickly became a regular feature of the event on the mic. He has a big passion for triathlon and endurance sporting events. L’Equipe, one of France’s popular news outlets, recently worked with him commentator through the 2022 IRONMAN World Championships on L’Equipe TV sporting channels.
• Gordon Graham – Gordon is known as the man with the golden voice. His cool calm radio voice has made him a favorite in many South African households. Gordon has been a radio presenter for many years but what he loves most is announcing on the finish line at IRONMAN events. He participated in his first IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon in 2009 at IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa, and first IRONMAN event in 2010 at IRONMAN African Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay. The year 2010 become one he would never forget, starting off the day as an athlete, unfortunately dropping out as the race legs weren’t there, but ended up announcing his first IRONMAN event on the finish line later that day. Gordon has gone on to announce locally and across the European race circuit.
• Salvadó Itchart – Salvadó, known as Vadó, was born in Calella, home for IRONMAN Barcelona. He began his communications career at Ràdio Calella Televisió in 1987, where he was Head of Sports. He has been a presenter for both radio and television programs for a variety of different media outlets, talking about different topics. However, sport is where his passion lies. He has been a commentator for FC Barcelona’s football matches for two seasons on the local radio stations as well as ACB League’s basketball games. In 2014, he joined IRONMAN Spain’s announcing team and announced at IRONMAN Barcelona speaking both Spanish and Catalan.
• Paul Kaye – Paul hails from South Africa and has also lived in Germany and Japan. His career began in radio where he spent time on both the talent and management side. He then moved into sports magazine publishing, expanding his network into the endurance sports industry which led to him announcing his first IRONMAN in 2001. Paul is also an IRONMAN (Class of 2008—IRONMAN Austria). He has become one of the most recognizable voices at IRONMAN and has now announced over 100 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events all over the world as a road warrior on the Europe, Middle East and African circuit in addition to being a key announcer at world championship events. Paul will take on the main announcing duties at all IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship events.
• Jay Luke – Luke was born in Bristol in the United Kingdom but now based out of Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Jay Luke has transitioned from being an accomplished triathlete and the founder of a successful finance broking business into an international sports announcer and Emcee. With more than eight years of announcing experience, which include 160 plus events, Luke still announces each event with renewed passion. Commentating at events in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres has provided him with unprecedented experience across a broad range of branded events. Jay’s passion for sport and helping other athletes succeed is apparent to every audience.
• Robson Lindberg – Robson is another dual IRONMAN athlete and announcer who lives in Finland. After suffering a traumatic brain injury in 2016, he rehabbed himself back to doing IRONMAN races and with that experience came his passion for sharing his story through sports. With his speaking engagements increasing, Robson naturally transitioned to IRONMAN announcer. He belongs to the IRONMAN Class of 2021 having finished IRONMAN Portugal-Cascais. In his free time, Robson raises money for TBI awareness and looks forward to welcoming athletes to the VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland and men’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France.
• Alberto Montenegro – Alberto is a sports journalist from Barcelona. He has spent his entire career in the communications department for various companies, clubs and announcing at different sporting events. He has been a professional voiceover artist for two decades and has been an announcer at World and European Championships in more than 25 different sports. He joined the IRONMAN family in 2014 announcing the IRONMAN and the IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons in Barcelona. He announces at all events in the Spanish region which include events in Spain, Mallorca, Marbella, Vitoria and Andorra. He is also heavily involved in announcing at several UTMB World Series races.
• Joanne Murphy – Joanne is a professional emcee, presenter, and podcaster from Ireland. In 2022, she became the first female announcer of an IRONMAN World Championship, and she will continue as part of the world championship announcing team with stops in Lahti, Finland and Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i. Joanne spent 11 years working in the charity sector before she shifted gears, going on to build a career in endurance sports. Joanne hosts and owns a successful triathlon themed podcast, Tri Talking Sport, and has expanded her race announcing far beyond her native country. Joanne is a triathlete herself and serves as a global ambassador for Women for Tri.
• Dario Nardone – Dario was born in Milan, Italy and has been a sports journalist reporting on triathlon news since 1995. He loves triathlon and heads up the Italian Triathlete magazine, while also being an announcer in numerous endurance events. He has also been a TV commentator on several sporting broadcasts. Since 2011 he has become the voice of IRONMAN in Italy, from the inaugural event in Pescara up to the big event in Cervia, the IRONMAN Italy Emilia-Romagna triathlon.
• Till Schenk – Till was born and spent a portion of his childhood in Black Forest, a mountainous region located in southwest Germany. He had the privilege of travelling the world from an early age as a child in a military family. After seven years of working with Four Seasons Hotels internationally, he decided to chase his dream of being an event emcee, sports commentator, triathlete, and an adventure athlete. He also completed multiple IRONMAN events and the Cape Epic MTB in South Africa. Being an adventure enthusiast, Till then decided to challenge himself mentally and physically by going on a self-supported bike packing adventure across the West Sahara. Till is always plotting his next adventure in-between announcing at IRONMAN events across Europe.
• Jay Style – Jay is originally from Switzerland and is one of the leading DJs on the French club scene. A true showman, he tours more than 120 clubs a year, combining his technical prowess with an innate sense of showmanship. He has been crowned French Champion DJ three times. Jay hosted the popular radio show “Party Fun” on Fun Radio France for 7 years. He is best known for his unforgettable, energetic and creative sets at Loft Metropolis since 2009. With a dream to combine his two passions, sport and music, Jay Style became the Official DJ and Speaker for IRONMAN France and has since announced other IRONMAN Europe events. He travels all year round to provide the voice of the biggest sporting events in the world of triathlon and athletics. He has also recently joined the French Triathlon Federation in 2021 as a certified commentator. His aim is to commentate the French Grand Prix and Championships in the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games. This year, Jay will be a part of the men’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship announcing team in Nice.

Oceania

• Brian Ashby – Brian is a former award-winning sports journalist and commentator who covered multiple Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and Rugby World Cups. He has competed in multi-sport events since 1984 and is a five-time IRONMAN finisher. Brian has been involved in every edition of IRONMAN New Zealand since 2000, either as a commentator or competitor. His first trip to Taupō sparked his undying enthusiasm for the event, so much so that he eventually found his way to the start line in 2005. As a commentator, his passion is based around seeing like-minded people trying to be the best versions of themselves, and doing all he can to encourage them to find their way to the finish line.
• Tammy Barker – Born and raised in Cairns, Tropical North Queensland, Australia, Tammy is someone who can do it all. A breakfast radio announcer, commentator, host and for 13 years she was a professional stuntwoman. Tammy has lived and worked all over the world but returned to her beloved Cairns in 2007 and a few years later began her relationship with IRONMAN when she was part of the inaugural event delivery team for IRONMAN Cairns in 2011 – and has been involved every year since. Tammy has been part of the IRONMAN Oceania commentary team since 2016, working at both IRONMAN and 70.3 events and has held the IRONMAN Oceania Pro Liaison role for the last nine years. She is constantly inspired by athletes and says her favourite part of a race day is the finish line moments.
• Mark Bone – Mark has dedicated his career to swimming and triathlon and has coached numerous champions. He served as New Zealand’s national swimming coach from 1990 to 2000, overseeing Olympic and World Championship gold medals during his tenure. He also coached New Zeland triathletes to Olympic medals, including gold. Mark has been a commentator for over 20 years in both triathlon and swimming, commentating Olympic and Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and at IRONMAN New Zealand.
• Cameron Harper – Cameron started his career as a journalist covering many different sports but was especially drawn to the ability of the everyday person through to the professionals who took on and completed an IRONMAN. Cameron became an IRONMAN himself at IRONMAN New Zealand, Class of 2005, and began announcing at the event in 2007 alongside Mike Reilly until his retirement last year. He has also covered past races in Australia and the Philippines and has called thousands of athletes over the line, embracing their energy and sense of achievement.
• Pete Murray – Pete is another dual IRONMAN athlete and announcer on the team. He first became an IRONMAN at IRONMAN Australia, Class of 1992, before going on to compete in a total of 13 IRONMAN races, including two trips to the IRONMAN World Championship. Pete is one of the most well-recognized IRONMAN announcers across the world, having called hundreds of thousands of athletes across their finish line over many years. Pete has four children and is set to marry his long-term partner, former professional triathlete Caroline Steffen, in November 2023.
• Anna Russell – Anna’s background is in the corporate world but since the COVID-19 pandemic, she has grown into an eSport commentator, producer, and event organizer. Anna has completed five IRONMAN triathlons, four of those as a professional triathlete, and is a multi-time IRONMAN 70.3 age group winner. Married with three young children, Anna qualified for the 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship while still breastfeeding. She commentated at IRONMAN New Zealand for the first time in December 2022 and took up the role again in March 2023.

To find an IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon event near you, visit www.ironman.com.

For more information on IRONMAN and events in The IRONMAN Group portfolio, visit www.ironman.com. Media 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, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Running Series, IRONKIDS^® Seroes, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf^®, UTMB^® World Series events including the Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB^®, Tarawera Ultra by UTMB^® and Ultra-Trail Australia™ by UTMB^®, 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. Catering to the full athlete experience, the company portfolio also includes FulGaz^® virtual cycling, the most realistic indoor riding experience connected fitness application aimed at preparing athletes for real-world events. 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, Warner Bros. Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.