The Ironman World Championship is a triathlon held annually in Hawaii, United States from 1978 to 2022, with no race in 2020 and an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification races held throughout the world. From 2023, the Men's and Women's Ironman World Championships were separated with one at Kona and the other hosted at another venue.[1]
From 1978 through 1980 the race was held on the island of Oahu, the course combining that of three events already held there: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi./185.07 km, originally a two-day event), and the Honolulu Marathon. The bike stage was reduced by 3 miles to link it to the start of the marathon course. In 1981 the race was moved to the less urbanized Big Island, keeping the distances the same: a 2.4miles open water swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, a 112miles bike ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to Hāwī and back, and a marathon (26 miles 385 yards, 42.195 km) run along the coast of the Big Island from Keauhou to Keahole Point and back to Kailua-Kona, finishing on Aliʻi Drive.
Since 1982, the race has been held in the fall each year, before which it was held in the spring, giving two races in 1982.
Athletes with disabilities compete in the event in the physically challenged category, which was instituted in 1997, and are required to meet the same cutoff times as able bodied competitors.[2] Australian John Maclean was the first physically challenged athlete to complete the event under the cut-off time.[3] [4]
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Ironman World Championship was initially postponed to February 2021 and then canceled with that year's qualifiers able to defer to race in 2021 or 2022.[5] The 2021 Championship was postponed to May 2022 and held in St. George, Utah due to travel restrictions.
The 2022 Ironman World Championship was split with a men's and women's race and the Women's Championship on October 6 followed by the Men's Championship two days later. Also from 2022, Vietnam's automobile maker VinFast was the first ever naming rights partner for 2022 Ironman World Championship and 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.[6]
From 2023 the men's and women's Ironman World Championships have been split with the men's event held on September 10 in Nice, France, and the women's on October 14 in Kona, Hawaii.[7] The men's and women's Championships alternate between these venues until 2026.
Qualifying for the World Championship is achieved through placement in one of the other Ironman races or some Ironman 70.3 races.
The current Ironman Hawaii course record was set in 2022 by Gustav Iden (Norway), whose winning time was 7 hrs 40 min 24 sec.[8] The women's course record is 8 hrs 24 mins 31 sec, set in 2023 by Lucy Charles-Barclay (UK).[9]
| Event | Record | Speed | Athlete | Nationality | Edition | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Course | 7:40:24 (48:23 - 2:21 - 4:11:06 - 2:22 - 2:36:15) | Gustav Iden | 2022 | ||||
| Swim (3.862 km) | 46:29 | 1:12 min/100 m | Jan Sibbersen | 2018 | [10] | ||
| Bike (180.246 km) | 4:04:36 | 44.21 km/h | Sam Laidlow | 2022 | |||
| Run (42.195 km) | 2:36:15 | 16.2 km/h / 3:42 min/km | Gustav Iden | 2022 |
| Event | Record | Speed | Athlete | Nationality | Edition | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Course | 8:24:31 (49:36 - 2:29 - 4:32:28 - 2:20 - 2:57:38) | 26.91 km/h | Lucy Charles-Barclay | 2023 | |||
| Swim (3.862 km) | 48:14 | 1:14 min/100 m | Lucy Charles-Barclay | 2018 | [11] | ||
| Bike (180.246 km) | 4:26:07 | 40.64 km/h | Daniela Ryf | 2018 | [12] | ||
| Run (42.195 km) | 2:48:23 | 3:57 min/km | Anne Haug | 2023 | [13] |
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‡The 2021 World Championship was held in St. George, Utah on May 7, 2022. The delay and change from the original Kona, Hawaii venue were due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Year | Gold | Time | Silver | Time | Bronze | Time |
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†Paula Newby Fraser was a citizen and represented the United States for the 1996 race
‡The 2021 World Championship was held in St. George, Utah on May 7, 2022. The delay and change from the original Kona, Hawaii venue were due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Until 2015, individuals could enter a lottery for the chance to participate in the Ironman World Championship. The lottery entry fee was $50 and afforded the chance to win one of 100 berths in the championship race. If selected the winners then had to pay the normal entry fee.[14]
However, according to a sworn complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, Ironman illegally charged athletes for a chance to win the opportunity to compete in the Ironman World Championship.[15] [16] According to Florida law, the state where the World Triathlon Corporation resides, it is illegal to set up and charge for a lottery.[17] Because WTC charged a $50 fee to enter the lottery, instead of giving away the opportunity to win a slot at the championships, they were in violation of this law.[18] Following the complaint WTC cooperated with the United States Attorneys office and the FBI's investigation of the matter and agreed to forfeit $2,761,910, the amount collected from the lottery since October 24, 2012.[15] [19] The attorney representing the United States in the matter was 8-time Ironman finisher James A. Muench.[20]
Winners of the 2015 lottery were notified on March 17, 2015, prior to the announcement of the complaint.[16] WTC stated that these winners would be unaffected by this decision and that their slots for the upcoming championship race would be honored.[21]
See main article: world championships.