An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, 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). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting of a swim, a bike ride, and a run. Each distance of the swim, bike, and run segments is half the distance of that segment in an

Ironman Triathlon 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 consid ...

. The Ironman 70.3 series culminates each year with a World Championship competition, for which competitors qualify during the 70.3 series in the 12 months prior to the championship race. In addition to the World Championship race, Ironman 70.3 championship competitions are also held for the European, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America regions. The time needed by an athlete to complete a 70.3 distance event varies from race to race and can be influenced by external factors. These factors include the terrain and the total elevation gained and lost on the course, weather conditions, and course conditions. Finish times range from sub-four-hour completion times by elite-level athletes to the imposed race cutoff, which is commonly 8 hours and 30 minutes after the start time.

Ironman 70.3 World Championship

History

The first Half Ironman branded race was Half Ironman UK, which was raced in 2001. However, prior to the launch of the 70.3 series in 2005, races were then known as Half Ironman before adopting the Ironman 70.3 label. The oldest half-iron-distance race, though not under the WTC umbrella at the time, is the Superfrog Triathlon, which began in 1979. The number of qualification events within the 70.3 series has grown since its inception, growing to match the popularity of the sport and interest in the distance. Since the first year of the Ironman 70.3 Championship race in 2006 the series grew from 14 events to over 60 events in the span of seven years. The

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

series saw 89 events worldwide, with the biggest one-year increase in the number of events coming between the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

series when the number of races grew from 38 to 57. Since 2022,

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maker

VinFast VinFast Auto Ltd. is a Vietnamese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company founded by Vingroup, one of the largest private conglomerates in Vietnam that was founded by Pham Nhat Vuong. Established in 20 ...

was the first ever naming rights partner for

2022 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 culmina ...

and 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.

World records

Due to the lack of course certification for half-iron distance races, there is no official world record for 70.3 events. The fastest times to complete a half-iron distance race for men and women were both set at the 2019 Ironman 70.3 Bahrain by

Kristian Blummenfelt Kristian Blummenfelt (born 14 February 1994) is a Norwegian Triathlon, triathlete, Olympic and world champion, competing at short course (sprint and standard distance), 70.3 (half-Ironman) and 140.6 (Ironman) distances. He won the gold medal in ...

and

Holly Lawrence Holly Lawrence (born 25 February 1990) is a triathlete who competed for Wales in the mixed relay event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and won the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. Lawrence is a fraternal triplet. Career Lawrence began ...

. While these remain the fastest times for any Ironman-branded 70.3 race, they were achieved on a 53.9-mile (86.8 km) bike course, noticeably less than the standard 56-mile (90 km) course for 70.3 events.

Ironman 70.3 records

References

External links

*
World Triathlon Corporation Ironman 70.3 webpages
{{VinFast 70.3 Half marathons