New Zealand’s Teresa Adam And Mike Phillips Repeat as Best in Oceania During the IRONMAN VR13 Pro Challenge

June 27, 2020

- Over 10,000 athletes from 122 nations registered to compete in IRONMAN VR13 taking on a 5150 Olympic-distance simulation with 3 km Run, 40 km Ride, and 10 km Run - More than 107,000 people from around the globe have now joined IRONMAN Virtual Club platform

TAMPA, Fla. – The 13th edition of the IRONMAN^® VR™ Pro Challenge saw New Zealand’s Teresa Adam and Mike Phillips reclaim top honors in the professional women’s and professional men’s races, respectively. Three professional women and three professional men took to the virtual pavement battling it out for IRONMAN VR13 Pro Challenge bragging rights. Athletes undertook an outdoor 3 km run in a setting of their choice, before hopping on their trainers to tackle a 40 km bike ride on a portion of the IRONMAN Lake Placid bike course through the beautiful and scenic Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York utilizing Official Virtual Cycling partner ROUVY’s augmented reality.

In the women’s professional race, IRONMAN VR6 Champion, Teresa Adam (NZL) took her second IRONMAN VR Pro Challenge victory with another impressive performance, finishing the 3 km run and 40 km bike in an overall time of 1:10:02. Amelia Watkinson (NZL) followed just behind Adam, finishing in second with a combined time of 1:10:58. Grace Thek (AUS) rounded out the group with a time of 1:15:25.

Professional women’s results:

In the men’s professional race, IRONMAN VR6 Champion Mike Phillips (NZL) dominated the field finishing with a combined time of 1:03:19. Behind Phillips was Tim Van Berkel (AUS), finishing in second clocking a time of 1:05:56. It was 12-time IRONMAN New Zealand champion, Cameron Brown (NZL) rounding out the professional men’s group with a respectable time of 1:09:22.

Professional men’s results:

The full broadcast of both the professional women’s and professional men’s IRONMAN VR13 Pro Challenge can be viewed, HERE.

In total, over 10,000 athletes from more than 122 nations and all 50 states set out to participate in IRONMAN VR13. The IRONMAN VR13 5150 Olympic-distance simulation requires athletes to complete a 3 km Run, 40 km Ride, and 10 km Run between Friday, June 26 at 2 p.m. ET (6 p.m. GMT) and race close on Sunday, June 28 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 2,800 athletes who are registered for the fourth and final race in the 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. An athletes overall standing is 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 VR13 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 107,000 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.