IRONMAN Pro Series Start Lists Announced for the 2024 Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns

June 10, 2024

- The 2024 Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns is the first IRONMAN Pro Series race in Oceania, and will offer a total event pro prize purse of USD $150,000 - Winners will earn 5,000 IRONMAN Pro Series points, with points decreasing as the race time increases, encouraging tight and exciting races - Designated as the IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship, the event will feature professional triathletes from 13 countries and both defending champions Kylie Simpson (AUS) and Braden Currie (NZL)

CAIRNS, Australia / TAMPA, Fla./ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – More than 40 of the top professional triathletes from around the world are hotly anticipated to line up for the 2024 Cairns Airport IRONMAN^® Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns on Sunday 16 June, marking one of the largest professional start lists in the event’s 13-year history.

The race signals the eighth stop of the IRONMAN Pro Series™, the third full distance triathlon, and the first time the IRONMAN Pro Series will be contested in Oceania. The IRONMAN Pro Series is a performance-based triathlon competition contested throughout the year that sees professional triathletes race to earn points which accrue towards the title of IRONMAN Pro Series Champion, and in turn the lion’s share of a USD $1.7 million end-of-year bonus prize purse. IRONMAN Cairns race winners will earn 5,000 points towards the IRONMAN Pro Series standings, with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost.

Highlighting its prestige in the region and on the global circuit, the event has once again been designated as the IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship and will offer professional triathletes a total prize purse of USD $150,000 and four qualifying slots per gender to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship, taking place in Nice, France on 22 September for women and Kona, Hawai`i on 26 October for men.

With a stellar line up of professionals and a stunning race backdrop of the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest in Tropical North Queensland, the event can be witnessed live in person and will be broadcast across multiple platforms for viewers around the world for free including proseries.ironman.com, Outside TV, DAZN and L’Equipe in France, and YouTube among others.

In the men’s professional race, three-time IRONMAN Cairns winner Braden Currie (NZL) stands out as the athlete to beat. The defending champion set a new course best time last year and will aim to use his familiarity of the race to his advantage. The Kiwi will look to secure maximum points here and catapult himself up the standings.

One athlete the triathlon world will have their eyes transfixed on in this race will be Sam Long (USA), ranked ninth in the overall IRONMAN Pro Series (as of this announcement). The American has been on fire this year, registering a win and a second at two previous IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons that are part of the IRONMAN Pro Series. IRONMAN Cairns will mark his first full distance triathlon of the year and the first time Long will race on Australian soil.

The deep men’s field features firepower way down the start list, with Joe Skipper (GBR), Arnaud Guilloux (FRA), Mike Phillips (NZL), Gregory Barnaby (ITA), Henrik Goesch (FIN), and Ben Hamilton (NZL) all major international threats, while home favourites Nick Thompson, Josh Amberger, Tim van Berkel, and Matt Burton will lead the charge for the Australians.

In the women’s field, two-time IRONMAN Cairns winner Kylie Simpson (AUS) will return to defend her title and improve upon the course best time she set last year. Simpson currently sits sixth in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings, so a strong result here could see her move towards the top of the table, and further cement her in the running for the title of IRONMAN Pro Series champion and the USD $200,000 end-of-year bonus.

Those finely poised in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings and looking to pick up major points in Cairns are Lotte Wilms (NLD), Hannah Berry (NZL), Rebecca Clarke (NZL), and Lauren Brandon (USA), who sit 13th, 14th, 37th, and 53rd in the standings, respectively. Radka Kahlefeldt (AUS), second at IRONMAN Cairns last year, will make her IRONMAN Pro Series debut.

Affectionately known as the ‘race in paradise’, IRONMAN Cairns will see athletes take on a two-lap, 3.8km ROKA swim course in the stunning location of Palm Cove, tackle the beautiful yet challenging 180km FulGaz bike course along the Captain Cook Highway where rainforest meets the reef, cycling up to Port Douglas from Palm Cove twice before heading back into the CBD to start the four-lap, 42.2km HOKA run course through the heart of Cairns. Spectators will line the Esplanade and finish chute, creating an atmosphere second to none.

The event will feature both IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 racing, with over 2,800 registered age-group participants competing in either the Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns or the Cairns Airport IRONMAN 70.3 Cairns alongside the professionals, looking to earn age-group qualifying slots to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship on 22 September and 26 October, and the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on 14 and 15 December in Taupō, New Zealand.

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

For more information on the IRONMAN Pro Series visit here.

For more information on the 2024 Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns visit www.ironman.com/im-cairns. 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 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.