Defending Championships Return as Professional Start Lists Revealed For 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in TAUPŌ New Zealand

November 26, 2024

– 2023 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Champions return to the start line with Taylor Knibb (USA) going for a hattrick of titles and Rico Bogen (DEU) aiming for back-to-back victories

– The 2023 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship women’s podium returns, with Kat Matthews (GBR) and Imogen Simmonds (CHE) to line up alongside Knibb

– 2024 Olympic medallists set to shake up the racing, with silver medallist Julie Derron (CHE) as one to watch in the women’s race, while Taupō-born silver medallist Hayden Wilde (NZL) and bronze medallist Léo Bergère (FRA) will provide fierce competition in the men’s race

– The 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon will offer a maximum of 3,000 IRONMAN Pro Series points and $75,000 USD for the winner, part of a total event pro prize purse of $500,000 USD

– First-ever IRONMAN Pro Series Champions will also be crowned with the female and male winners earning a historic bonus payout of $200,000 USD each

TAUPŌ, New Zealand (26 November 2024) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/– A deep and talented field of more than 110 female and male professional triathletes will line up in Taupō, New Zealand next month to contest for the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship title. The women will race on Saturday 14 December and the men a day later on Sunday 15 December, with a total professional prize purse of $500,000 USD up for grabs. Over 6,000 age-group athletes will join the professionals as they look to be crowned world champion in their respective age-group divisions.

The professional races in Taupō are set to sizzle as returning champions go head-to-head with Olympic medallists and middle-distance specialists for the coveted title of IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, with the winner taking home $75,000 USD. Live race day coverage of the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for global viewers including proseries.ironman.com, DAZN, YouTube, Outside TV exclusively for the U.S. and Canada, L’Équipe Live in France, iQIYI in China and beIN Sports for the Middle East, North Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, amongst others.

The VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon is also the culmination of the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series™ and the last chance for professional athletes to score points towards their final standings, with a maximum of 3,000 points on offer to the winners in Taupō. At the conclusion of both professional races in Taupō, the first-ever IRONMAN Pro Series Champions will be crowned, with the female and male winners earning a historic bonus payout of $200,000 USD each. A total bonus prize pool of $1.7million USD will also be shared among those finishing in the IRONMAN Pro Series top 20.

Women’s Professional Race

Two-time IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Taylor Knibb (USA) will line up in Taupō as the hot favourite to earn a hattrick of titles. Arguably one of the best triathletes in the world right now, Knibb is unbeaten in every middle-distance race she lined up for in 2024. The American will race her fourth IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon, with two wins and a third place already to her name.

Kat Matthews (GBR) and Imogen Simmonds (CHE) joined Knibb on the 2023 podium and will both be on the start line in Taupō hoping to go at least one better than last year. Matthews has had an incredibly successful year of racing, highlighted by finishing as runner-up at the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship^® triathlon in Nice, France in September. Matthews currently sits second in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings and needs to overturn a 257-point deficit to leader Jackie Hering (USA). Hering has completed her full complement of IRONMAN Pro Series races so can only swap out a lower scoring race, while Matthews still has one IRONMAN 70.3 score to add to her total, meaning the British athlete will put it all on the line in Taupō in pursuit of two titles and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars. Simmonds meanwhile has had a year of mixed results but having finished third twice at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, she is never one to count out on the biggest stage.

2024 Olympic silver medallist Julie Derron (CHE) has completed three IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons, finishing on the podium each time including victory at the IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland Rapperswil-Jona triathlon this year. Derron will be one to watch in Taupō and will look to follow in the footsteps of her recently retired compatriot Daniela Ryf, a five-time IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion.

Australian duo Ashleigh Gentle and Ellie Salthouse and Canada’s Paula Findlay are three of the best middle-distance specialists in the world and will provide fierce competition to the likes of Knibb, Matthews, Simmonds and Derron. Gentle is a four-time IRONMAN 70.3 champion and two-time Olympian, while Salthouse is an 18-time IRONMAN 70.3 champion with victories in 2024 including the IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder triathlon and the IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne triathlon. Like Salthouse in Boulder, Findlay has also won IRONMAN Pro Series races, her two victories coming at the Intermountain Health IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship St. George triathlon and the IRONMAN 70.3 Mont-Tremblant triathlon. Findlay has also tasted success at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship race, finishing as runner-up in 2022.

With the VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon serving as the last opportunity to score points in the IRONMAN Pro Series, eight out of the top 10 women, including all of the top six in the series standings will line up in Taupō. Hering, Maja Stage Nielsen (DNK), Danielle Lewis (USA), and Alice Alberts (USA), who sit first, third, fourth, and fifth respectively in the standings, have all completed their full complement of IRONMAN Pro Series races and will be therefore hoping to swap out their lowest score for a higher one earned in Taupō. Meanwhile, Lotte Wilms (NLD) and home-favourite Hannah Berry (NZL), sixth and eighth respectively, still have two IRONMAN 70.3 scores apiece to add to their overall totals, meaning strong scores at this weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship triathlon, and then again Taupō are vital if they are to elevate to podium positions in the end-of-year IRONMAN Pro Series standings.

Men’s Professional Race

Defending champion Rico Bogen (DEU) will line up for his second VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlon in just his third year as a professional triathlete. Bogen won the prestigious title on debut last year as a 23-year-old and will be hoping to make it back-to-back victories in Taupō.

Two of Bogen’s closest challengers will likely come in the shape of Taupō-born Hayden Wilde (NZL), the 2024 Olympic silver and 2020 Olympic bronze medallist, and Léo Bergère (FRA), the 2024 Olympic bronze medallist. Both men are relatively new to IRONMAN 70.3 racing yet have already achieved incredible successes, with Wilde securing a runaway victory at the IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne triathlon last year, rubber-stamping his ticket to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon in his homeland. Wilde is also no stranger to racing in Taupō after finishing third at the IRONMAN 70.3 Taupō triathlon in 2019. Bergère, who has won every IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon he started, will be hoping to continue his winning streak and get revenge on his Kiwi rival who pipped him to the post at the Paris Olympic Games. Fellow Paris 2024 Olympic Games representative Jelle Geens (BEL) will also be one to watch in the men’s race.

Those supporting from the sidelines in Taupō will have two local heroes to cheer for, with Kyle Smith (NZL), who, like Wilde, was also born in the host town of the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlon. Smith knows what it takes to win in Taupō, having claimed the 2023 and 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 Taupō titles.

Four out of the top 10 in the men’s IRONMAN Pro Series standings will be racing in Taupō. Matt Hanson (USA) currently sits in second place but having completed his full complement of scoring races can only add a maximum of 691 points in Taupō and needs 770 to overturn series leader Patrick Lange (DEU). The German concluded his highly successful season of racing at the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlon in Kona, Hawai`i where he claimed his third world title. Matthew Marquardt (USA), Gregory Barnaby (ITA), and Kristian Høgenhaug (DNK), fourth, fifth, and sixth in the standings respectively, all still have one IRONMAN 70.3 score to add to their totals, with Barnaby and Høgenhaug also opting to race IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia to bolster their chances of being crowned the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series champion.

Other top contenders in the VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship men’s race are 2023 top finishers Mathis Margirier (FRA) and Youri Keulen (NLD). Margirier finished fourth in Lahti last year, while Keulen finished sixth.

Below are the professional start lists (subject to change):

To submit an interest in receiving media credentials, fill in the World Championship Credentials Request form at www.ironman.com/credential-requests.

For more information about the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event, please visit www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship.To learn more about the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and series of events, please visit www.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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About the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship

In 2006 the inaugural IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship triathlon was held in Clearwater, Florida, becoming another test for the world’s elite triathletes. Since that auspicious beginning, the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon has grown in stature and popularity moving first to Henderson, Nevada in 2011, where athletes encountered a more challenging terrain and then to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec—its first stop on the new “global rotation” for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship race. The event reached European soil for the first time ever in 2015, with Zell am See, Austria, hosting an epic and memorable event. In 2016, the race moved from the mountains to the beaches of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. In 2017, the race returned to the United States, taking place in Chattanooga, Tennessee where it became a two-day event for the first time. In 2018, the event reached the African continent for the first time and was hosted in Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa. Continuing the rotation, 2019 saw the French Riviera and Nice, France play host to the ever-growing IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event. After a year in which the event was not able to take place due to a global pandemic, the race returned in 2021 with over 3,500 athletes competing in St. George, Utah. The event again took place in St. George, Utah, returning to a two-day format on October 28-29, 2022. After a successful two-day event in Lahti, Finland the race moves to Taupō, New Zealand on December 14-15, 2024. The event will go to Spain for the first time in 2025 with Marbella earning the right to host the event. Historically, more than 200,000 athletes have participated annually in a series of qualifying races, consisting of over 100 global events. Hosting more than 5,000 athletes from around the world, participants in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon have ranged in age from 18 to 85-plus. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship.

About IRONMAN Pro Series

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based world series that will see professional triathletes earn points at 20 select races in 19 locations globally to vie for the title of IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and a share of the lucrative USD $1.7 million year-end bonus prize pool. Athletes will also continue to battle for each individual event’s prize money equating to over USD $2.5 million and coveted world championship qualifying slots. The IRONMAN Pro Series will consist of six full-distance IRONMAN^® triathlons and 10 half-distance IRONMAN^® 70.3^® triathlons in addition to the split location women’s and men’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship^® triathlons and two-day women’s and men’s VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlons. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series will usher in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. Incorporating iconic distances, challenging courses, and stunning destinations, every IRONMAN Pro Series race will be broadcast live and free to a global audience. An additional 18 events throughout 2024 will also offer IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 professional racing and world championship qualifying opportunities, as well as over USD $1.6 million in prize money to create a total 2024 professional prize purse of nearly USD $6 million. For more information, visit proseries.ironman.com.

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^®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf^®, UTMB^® World Series trail-running events including the Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB^®, Tarawera Ultra-Trail™ by UTMB^® and Ultra-Trail Australia™ by UTMB^®, Epic Series™ 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, providing participants 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, and Orkila Capital, a growth equity firm focused on building great brands. 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, and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 14,000 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.