An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

races organized by the

World Triathlon Corporation The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) is a sports event promotion company owned by conglomerate Advance Publications, that produces the Ironman Triathlon, Ironman 70.3, the 5150 series of triathlon races, and other sports events. History In D ...

(WTC), consisting of a

swim Swim or SWIM may refer to: Movement and sport * Swim, a fad dance * Aquatic locomotion, the act of biologically propelled motion through a liquid medium * Human swimming, the useful or recreational activity of movement through water * Swimming ( ...

, a bicycle ride and a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

completed in that order, a total of . It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world. Most Ironman events have a time limit of 16 or 17 hours to complete the race, course dependent, with the race typically starting at 7:00 am. The mandatory cutoff time to complete the swim is 2 hours 20 minutes. The mandatory bike cut-off time for when an athlete must have completed their swim, transition, and bike varies generally between 10 hours and 10 hours 30 minutes from when an athlete began their swim. The mandatory run cutoff varies between 16 and 17 hours from when athlete began their swim. Many races will also have intermediate bike, run, and transition cut off times specific to each race venue. Any participant who completes the triathlon within these time constraints is designated an Ironman. The name "Ironman Triathlon" is also associated with the original Ironman triathlon that is now the

Ironman World Championship 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 culminat ...

. Held in

Kailua-Kona Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is most commonly referred to simply as Kona (a name it shares with the district to which it belongs), but also as Kona To ...

, the world championship has been held annually in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

since 1978 (with an additional race in 1982). Originally taking place in Oahu, the race moved to Kailua-Kona in 1981 and it continues today. The Ironman World Championship has become known for its grueling length, harsh race conditions, and

television coverage Broadcasting is the distribution of audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began with ...

. There are other races that are the same distance as an Ironman triathlon but are not produced, owned, or licensed by the WTC. They include The Challenge Family series'

Challenge Roth Challenge Roth is a triathlon race organised by in and around Roth, Bavaria, Germany. It is held annually in July. The Ironman distance (140.6 miles / 226.2 kilometers) version of the race has been held since 1990, and the short distance versi ...

and the Norseman Triathlon. The event series is owned by The Ironman Group, which is owned by

Advance Publications Advance Publications, Inc. is a privately held American media company owned by the families of Donald Newhouse and Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr., the sons of company founder Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr. It owns publishing-related companies inc ...

, following the acquisition from the Wanda Sports Group in August 2020.

History

The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977

Oʻahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Perimeter Relay. Among the participants were representatives of both the Mid-Pacific Road Runners and the Waikiki Swim Club, whose members had long been debating which athletes were more fit, runners or swimmers. On this occasion,

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

Commander John Collins pointed out that a recent article in ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' magazine had declared that Belgian cyclist

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...

had the highest recorded " oxygen uptake" of any athlete ever measured, so perhaps cyclists were more fit than anyone. Collins and his wife Judy Collins had taken part in the triathlons staged in 1974 and 1975 by the San Diego Track Club in and around Mission Bay, California, as well as the 1975 Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in

Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort town, resort city in San Diego County, California, United States, across San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population ...

. A number of the other military athletes in attendance were also familiar with the San Diego races, so they understood the concept when Collins suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining the three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (; originally a two-day event) and the

Honolulu Marathon The Honolulu Marathon (branded JAL Honolulu Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is a marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2km) in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was first held on December 16, 1973, and it typically takes places on the second Sunday in December. The ma ...

(). Until that time, no one present had ever done the bike race. Collins figured by shaving off the course and riding counter-clockwise around the island, the bike leg could start at the finish of the Waikiki Rough Water and end at the

Aloha Tower The Aloha Tower is a retired lighthouse that is considered one of the landmarks of the state of Hawaii in the United States. Opened on September 11, 1926, at a cost of $160,000 ($2,805,206 in 2024), the Aloha Tower is located at Pier 9 of Hono ...

, the traditional start of the Honolulu Marathon. Prior to racing, each athlete received three sheets of paper listing a few rules and a course description. Handwritten on the last page was this exhortation: "''Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life''", now a registered trademark. With a nod to a local runner who was notorious for his demanding workouts, Collins said, "Whoever finishes first, we'll call ''him'' the Iron Man." Each of the racers had their own support crew to supply water, food and encouragement during the event. Of the fifteen men to start off in the early morning on February 18, 1978, twelve completed the race.

Gordon Haller Gordon Haller (born 1950) is the winner of the first Ironman Triathlon. Biography Haller grew up in Forest Grove, Oregon Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland, Oregon, Portland. Original ...

, a U.S. Navy Communications Specialist, was the first to earn the title Ironman by completing the course with a time of 11 hours, 46 minutes, 58 seconds. The runner-up John Dunbar, a U.S. Navy SEAL, led after the second transition and had a chance to win but ran out of water on the marathon course; his support crew resorted to giving him beer instead. With no further marketing efforts, the race gathered as many as 50 athletes in 1979. The race, however, was postponed a day because of bad weather conditions. Only fifteen competitors started off the race Sunday morning. San Diego's Tom Warren won in 11 hours, 15 minutes, 56 seconds.

Lyn Lemaire Eleanor Lynette Lemaire (born July 6, 1951), also known as Lyn Lemaire, is an American former triathlete and championship cyclist. In 1979 she was the first woman to complete the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, becoming the world's first female "Ironm ...

, a championship cyclist from Boston, placed sixth overall and became the first "Ironwoman". Lemaire finished her race in 12 hours 55 minutes and 38 seconds, only 1 hour 39 minutes and 42 seconds slower than the winning time for the men's race. Collins planned on changing the race into a relay event to draw more participants, but ''Sports Illustrated's'' journalist Barry McDermott, in the area to cover a golf tournament, discovered the race and wrote a ten-page account of it. During the following year, hundreds of curious participants contacted Collins. In 1980, 27-year-old Dave Scott broke the then-record by close to 2 hours, completing the race in 9 hours and 24 minutes. For the 1981 event, there were more than triple the entries, at 326. There have been 19 different ways to qualify for the Ironman. Some of the ways include being a Hawaii Resident who won an event drawing, attaining a win in your age group at a previous Ironman, or even having a "Human Interest Story." Such human interest stories include participants who are cancer survivors and war heroes injured in battle. IMG 8473Iron

Valerie Silk and WTC

Around 1979 Collins no longer wanted to direct the Ironman race and approached Nautilus Fitness Center owners Hank Grundman and Valerie Silk about taking over control of the race. Grundman previously had extended his club's facilities to many of the Ironman competitors. Following the couple's divorce in 1981 Silk received ownership of Ironman. That year she moved the competition to the less urbanized

Hawaii Island Hawaii is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of ...

(called the Big Island) and in 1982 moved the race date from February to October; as a result of this change there were two Ironman Triathlon events in 1982. A milestone in the marketing of the legend and history of the race happened in February 1982.

Julie Moss Julie Moss (born 1958) is an American triathlete. She first became known during the 1982 Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), c ...

, a college student competing to gather research for her exercise physiology thesis, moved toward the finish line in first place. As she neared the finish, severe fatigue and dehydration set in, and she fell just yards away from the finish line. Although Kathleen McCartney passed her for the women's title, Moss nevertheless crawled to the finish line. Her performance was broadcast worldwide and created the Ironman mantra that just finishing is a victory. By the end of that year, the race had maxed out at 1,000 participants, with a lottery used to fill the field while turning away another 1,000 interested participants. In 1990, with the help of Lew Friedland, Dr. James P. Gills acquired and purchased the Hawaii Triathlon Corporation, owner of the Ironman brand for $3 million from Silk. With the Ironman brand, Gills established the

with the intention of furthering the sport of triathlon and increasing prize money for triathletes. A number of non-WTC full distance triathlons have been held since the mid-1990s. The limited number of WTC-sanctioned events, and the limited number of entries available per race, have combined with a growth in the sport that has created demand for these non-trademarked events. Many of them share the , , format with the Ironman triathlon. Originally, many used the Ironman name. Due to aggressive trademark protection, most of these races no longer use the word "Ironman".

Today

The Ironman format remains unchanged, and the Hawaiian Ironman is still regarded as an honored and prestigious triathlon event to win worldwide. For the 2024 Ironman Triathlon, the men's race will be held in Kona, Hawaii in October and the women's race will be held in Nice, France in September. People completing such an event within the strict event time cutoffs are agreed to be recognized as "Ironmen"; the plural "Ironmans" refers to multiples of "Ironman" as a short form of "Ironman Triathlon." In the triathlon community, an Ironman is someone who has completed a race of the appropriate distance, whether or not it falls under the aegis of WTC.

Swim Smart Initiative

In 2013, Ironman piloted the "Swim Smart Initiative" in North America and brought with it some notable safety-related changes to the Ironman format. These changes included new rules regarding swim course formats, water temperature regulations, pre-swim warm-ups, wave starts, and additional rescue boats/watercraft (paddle boards, kayaks, etc.). The Swim Smart Initiative also introduced "resting rafts" so that athletes may leave the water to rest without being disqualified. Andrew Messick, CEO of the World Triathlon Corporation, wanted the Swim Smart Initiative to ease the stress of the open swim and allowing athletes to be confident in the swim. Removing the "mass start" and conducting a "roll start" has been one of the major changes the organization has made.

Ironman World Championship

Over time, the popularity of the triathlon grew, and the annual race on the Big Island became The Ironman World Championship. In 1983, admission to the race began following a qualification-based system, whereby athletes had to obtain entry to the race by competing in another Ironman race and gaining a slot allocated on a proportional basis. The Hawaii race consists of a

in the bay of

, a

bike A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to Hāwī and back, and a

run along the coast (from

Keauhou Keauhou is an unincorporated community on the island of Hawaii in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. Its elevation is 13 feet (4 m). Because the community has borne multiple names, the Board on Geographic Names officially designate ...

Keahole Point Keāhole Point is the westernmost point of the island of Hawaii. The Kona International Airport was moved here from directly north of the town of Kailua-Kona in 1970, when the previous smaller airstrip was converted into the Old Kona Airport Sta ...

and back to Kailua-Kona); finishing on Alii Drive. The most recent Ironman World Championship took place on October 6, 2022, and was won by Gustav Iden of Norway in 7:40:24 and Chelsea Sodaro of the United States in 8:33:46. The current Ironman Hawaii course record was set in 2024 by

Patrick Lange Patrick Lange (; 25 August 1986) is a professional duathlete and triathlete from Germany. He is a three time Ironman World Champion, setting course records in 2017, 2018 and 2024. Lange is also the 2010–2013 German champion in duathlon and ...

(Germany), whose winning time was 7 hours 35 minutes 53 seconds.

Daniela Ryf Daniela Ryf (born 29 May 1987) is a Swiss triathlete. She is the titles holder of the Ironman World Championship of 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021; and of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship of the 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Ryf compe ...

(Switzerland) set the women's course record in 2018 with a winning time of 8 hours 26 minutes 18 seconds. Amateur triathletes can qualify for the World Championship by placing in one of the other Ironman series races. Entry into the race can also be obtained through various contests and promotions or through the Ironman Foundation's charitable eBay auction.

Training studies

Many studies have been conducted to enhance the performance of the athletes who are training for the Ironman Triathlons, while others studied the effects training has on the body and mind. In one study done by Clifford B. Sowell and Wm. Stewart Mounts Jr., "men who are 65 years old are 44% slower than one who is 35...and women is 48%"

Athlete injuries

Triathletes train year-round, and no matter how cautious, injuries are always possible. Many factors can account for injuries happening; intrinsic factors are based on the individual, and extrinsic factors are environmentally influenced. The most common injuries in the running event, are to the ankle and foot which result in a sprain, fracture, and muscle strain. Knee injuries like patella tendinopathy. Lower back injuries such as intervertebral disc injury and myofascial pain. Cycling injuries are common in the knees, lower back, neck, and shoulder. Swimming injuries happen most in the shoulders from the continuous rotations. The neck will see some minor injury when you are only breathing from one side. Thermal injuries can occur when the athlete is dehydrated, hyperthermic, or hypothermic.

Ironman series

There are over three dozen Ironman Triathlon races throughout the world that enable qualification for the Ironman World Championships. Professional athletes qualify for the championship through a point ranking system, where points are earned based on their final placement in Ironman and

Ironman 70.3 An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting ...

events. The top 50 male and top 35 female professionals in points qualify for the championship. Amateur athletes qualify for the championship by receiving slots allocated to each age group's top finishers in a qualifying event. The Ironman qualifying events include:

Europe

Ironman Frankfurt 2013 by Moritz Kosinsky7691

* Ironman Austria in Klagenfurt, Austria * Ironman Barcelona in Calella, Spain * in

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the Øresund strait. The Øres ...

* Ironman Emilia-Romagna in Cervia, Italy * Ironman France in

Nice, France Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million

* Ironman Gdynia in Gdynia, Poland * Ironman European Championship in

Frankfurt am Main, Germany Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the foreland of the Taunus on its namesake Main, it forms a continuou ...

. * Ironman Hamburg in

Hamburg, Germany Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

* Ironman Haugesund in

Haugesund, Norway Haugesund () is a municipality and town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of the population (37,008) live in the Haugesund urban area in t ...

Ironman Lanzarote An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely considere ...

Puerto del Carmen Puerto del Carmen (Pto. del Carmen) is the main tourist town on the island of Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain. It is part of the municipality of Tías, Las Palmas, Tías. Most of Lanzarote's over 1 million visitors per year choose this town as ...

, the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, Spain * Ironman Sweden in Kalmar, Sweden * Ironman Switzerland, in Thun, Switzerland * Ironman Tallinn in

Tallinn, Estonia Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

* Ironman UK in Bolton, United Kingdom * Ironman Vichy in

Vichy, France Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known fo ...

* Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain * Ironman Wales in Tenby, Wales * Ironman Ireland, in Youghal, Ireland

North America

Current Events

* Ironman Arizona in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

* Ironman Chattanooga in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

* Ironman Cozumel in Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico * Ironman Florida in

Panama City Beach, Florida Panama City Beach is a resort town in the Florida Panhandle, and principal city of the Panama City Metropolitan Area. It is a popular vacation destination, especially among people in the Southern United States, and is located in the "Emerald C ...

(

Haines City, Florida Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 26,669 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland–Winter Haven, Florida, Winter Haven Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida ...

in 2018) *

Ironman Lake Placid Ironman Lake Placid (sometimes referred to as Ironman USA) is a triathlon race owned by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) that takes place in Lake Placid, New York, and the surrounding Adirondack Mountains. It is the longest-running Ironman tri ...

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

* Ironman Maryland in

Cambridge, Maryland Cambridge is a city in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 13,096 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dorchester County and the county's largest municipality. Cambridge is the fourth most populous city in Ma ...

* Ironman North American Championship in

The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a Special district (United States), special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Greater Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands ...

* Ironman Ottawa in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

(starting 2025) * Ironman California in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

* Ironman Wisconsin in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

Kona, Hawaii Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is most commonly referred to simply as Kona (a name it shares with the district to which it belongs), but also as Kona To ...

Discontinued events

* Ironman Alaska in

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

* Ironman Boulder in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

* Ironman Canada in

Penticton, British Columbia Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...

* Ironman Coeur d'Alene in

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the most populous city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 54,628 at th ...

* Ironman Los Cabos in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico * Ironman Louisville in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

(Now a half Ironman) * Ironman Mont-Tremblant in

Mont-Tremblant, Quebec Mont-Tremblant () is a city in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, approximately northwest of Montreal and northeast of Ottawa, Ontario. The current municipality with city status was formed in 2000. Mont-Tremblant is most famous for i ...

* Ironman St George in St George, Utah * Ironman Tulsa in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

South America

* Ironman

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

* Ironman South American Championship on

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

* Ironman

Pucón Pucón (Mapudungun: "entrance to the cordillera") is a Chilean city and commune administered by the municipality of Pucón. It is located in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region, 100 km to the southeast of Temuco and 780 km to ...

, Araucanía,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Africa

* Ironman African Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa * Ironman African Championship in Taghit, Algeria

Asia

* Ironman Gurye in Gurye, South Korea * Ironman Taiwan in Penghu, Taiwan * Ironman Malaysia in Langkawi, Malaysia * Ironman Philippines in Zambales, Philippines * Ironman Kazakhstan in

Astana, Kazakhstan Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

* Ironman Goa in

Goa, India Goa (; ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan Plateau, Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian sta ...

Oceania

* Ironman Australia in

Port Macquarie, New South Wales Port Macquarie, sometimes shortened to Port Mac and commonly locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane, on the Tasman Sea coast at the mouth of the ...

, Australia * Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

Queensland, Australia Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

* Ironman Western Australia in

Busselton Busselton is a city in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destin ...

, Australia * Ironman New Zealand in

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...

, New Zealand

Specifications of the Ironman races

Notable Ironman triathletes

Men

Anders Hofman Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...

** First person to complete the Ironman on Antarctica *

Mark Allen Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

** 6-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii (joint men's record) ** 5 consecutive victories in Hawaii (overall record) *

Jan Frodeno Jan Frodeno (; born 18 August 1981) is a German former triathlete who is the gold medal winner in men's triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 3-time winner of the Ironman World Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2019, and 2-time winner ...

** Current record holder for the fastest time for all iron-distance races (7:27:53 at Zwift Tri Battle Royale in 2021 — not a WTC event). *

Tim Don Timothy Philip Don (born 14 January 1978 in Isleworth, London) is a triathlete from the United Kingdom. Career Don is the son of former Premier League referee Philip Don. He competed in the London Youth Games where he represented Hounslow in t ...

** Official WTC-brand world record for fastest Ironman in Brazil 2017 with a time of 7:40:23 * Dave Scott ** 6-time winner of the Ironman World Championship (joint men's record) *

Scott Tinley Scott Tinley (born October 25, 1956) is a former professional triathlete and two-time winner of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. In the 1980s Tinley dominated the sport of triathlon together with Mark Allen, Dave Scott a ...

, two-time winner, three-time Ironman World Series Champion and most top ten finishes. * Luc Van Lierde ** First European male winner of Ironman Hawaii ** Holder of all-time record until 2011 (7:50:27 in 1996 Ironman Europe) ** Set the Hawaii course record (8:04:08) in 1996, which held until 2011 *Rick and Dick Hoyt **First "Team" to complete in 2 races. **Rick, who suffered from Cerebral Palsy was pulled by his father with a specially made boat, special seat on Dick's bike and was wheeled across the finish line all by his father. *Chris Nikic **First person to compete and complete with Down Syndrome. **Competed Panama Ironman in 16 hours 46 minutes and 9 seconds. ** Awarded the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.

Women

* Natascha Badmann ** First European female winner of Ironman World Championship ** 6-time winner of the Ironman World Championships *

Mirinda Carfrae Mirinda Carfrae (born 26 March 1981) is an Australian professional triathlete and an Ironman Triathlon world champion. Carfrae has achieved podium positions in six of her seven attempts at the Ironman World Championships: three 1st-place finish ...

** Three-time winner of the Ironman World Championship (2010, 2013, 2014) ** Reached the podium in 6 of 7 attempts at Ironman Hawaii (silver: 2009, 2011,2016; bronze: 2012; DNF: 2015, 2016) ** Women's record-holder for the overall Kona course (8:52:14, set in 2013) and the run course (2:50:38 in 2014) * Paula Newby-Fraser ** 8-time winner of Ironman Hawaii (overall record) ** 4 consecutive victories in Hawaii ** 24 Ironman victories overall (overall record) ** Nicknamed "The Queen of Kona" *

** Winner of the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Ironman World Championship ** Eighth woman to earn more than one Kona title ** Set a world record of 8:08:21 (Roth, 2023) ** Fastest female Ironman distance triathlon bike time: 4:26:07 (Kona, 2018) ** Official WTC-brand Ironman world recordrecord over all WTC Ironman-branded ("M-dot") races only holder: 8:26:18 (Hawaii, 2018) *

Chrissie Wellington Christine Ann Wellington (born 18 February 1977) is an English former professional triathlete and four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion. She held all three world and championship records relating to ironman-distance triathlon races: fir ...

** Winner of the Ironman Hawaii World Championship at her first attempt, less than a year after turning professional ** 3-time successive and 4-time overall female winner of Ironman Hawaii (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011) ** Former female Hawaii course record holder: 8:54:02 (2009) ** Holds the second fastest-ever women's times over the Ironman distance triathlon: 8:18:13. ** Fastest female Ironman distance triathlon marathon run time: 2:44:35 (Roth, 2011) ** Greatest number of sub-9 hour times (nine, five more than Paula Newby-Fraser's previous record) ** Undefeated over the Ironman distance triathlon ** First winner of the Ironman World Championship from the United Kingdom

Ironman world records

The designation of "world record" is unofficial due to lack of course certification as well as World Triathlon Corporation not maintaining official world record status.

Ironman 70.3

In 2005, WTC instituted the Ironman 70.3 race series. This shorter course, also known as a Half Ironman, consists of a swim, bike ride, and run. As with the Ironman series, it consists of a number of qualifying races at various locations worldwide ending in a world championship race with athletes drawn largely from top finishers in the qualifying events. For amateur athletes, some 70.3 events acted as qualifiers for the full Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. However, the 2015 qualifying year marked a large de-emphasis on using certain Ironman 70.3 series races as a path for amateur athletes to qualify for the Ironman World Championships. The change was made to accommodate for the increased number of qualifying slots created from the full Ironman events which had been recently added. For professional triathletes, up to three 70.3 events can be used to accumulate points to be put towards their championship qualifying point rankings.

Ownership and trademark

, the parent company that owns WTC and subsequently the Ironman brand, pays

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Marvel Enterprises, Inc.) was an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment Group, Marvel Ente ...

for use of the Ironman brand. As part of the

licensing A license (American English) or licence ( Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another par ...

agreement both Marvel and the former owner Wanda agreed to not use the "Iron Man" and "Ironman" trademarks in ways that would suggest an association with the other or cause brand confusion. World Triathlon Corporation CEO Andrew Messick has stated that the agreement has been in place for decades and the royalties paid are "not material to the business."

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

first appeared in 1963, whereas the first Ironman triathlon was raced in 1978. The Ironman Triathlon logo is a trademark of the

. The WTC has also registered the trademarks for "Ironman," "Ironman Triathlon," "M-Dot," and "70.3." WTC has licensed the Ironman name for use, such as in the line of

Timex Ironman The Timex Ironman is a digital wristwatch first produced by Timex Group USA, Timex in 1986, and continues to be made in various styles today. History and development In 1984, Timex Group USA, Timex worked together with the officials of the Iron ...

wristwatches.

References

External links

*
World Triathlon Corporation

k226.com - Directory of all other non-WTC 'Iron-distance' races
{{Authority control Sports competitions in Hawaii Recurring sporting events established in 1978 1978 establishments in Hawaii