When you mention triathlon to some of your friends or family, they instantly think of
the Ironman distance and the legendary Kona venue.
It conveys a great deal about the significance of this race.
However, the 2021 Ironman has undergone several modifications, including a new date and, of
course, a new location!
So, in today's video, we'll offer you a sneak peek at the highly anticipated Ironman race
in St. George in 2022!
Be sure to stay with me up to the end of this video.
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Swim, bike, and run.
It's easier to read than it is to write.
Especially when it comes to the IRONMAN World Championship, which takes place in Kailua
Kona, Hawaii, this event, dubbed The Big Show, The Grand Finale, or The Super Bowl of Triathlon,
is legendary and will put your mind, body, and soul to the ultimate test.
In Kona, Hawaii, the Ironman World Championship is conducted over a full-distance triathlon.
The world's greatest male and female athletes participate in a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile
cycle ride, and a 26.2-mile marathon (3,86 km – 180,2 km – 42,2 km).
This tournament is only accessible to pros and age groupers who have qualified.
The IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, is the perfect event for all triathletes,
from the beautiful island landscapes to the awe-inspiring stories of persistence.
While most of the world's triathlon seasons are winding down in October, the sport's elite
professional and age-group triathletes are preparing for the ultimate confrontation on
the IRONMAN circuit's arguably toughest track.
Winning in Kona is quite difficult, especially the first time out.
Before the win becomes a possibility, experience, understanding the race, the route, the environment,
and the island – and setting down a marker first – appear to be necessary.
In line with that, the 2021 race, which was supposed to take place on Oct. 9 in Kona,
Hawaii, was pushed out to February because of COVID numbers and travel limitations.
After implying that all options were being considered, including relocating the renowned
race from the Big Island, it was revealed today that the event would not take place
in February or in Hawaii.
Instead, it will take place in St. George, Utah, on May 7, 2022, in place of and in combination
with the Ironman St. George event that day.
Ironman noted in a news statement that the persistent uncertainty over Kailua-Kona, Hawaii's
capacity to host the event in February, necessitated a shift in site to outside of Hawaii for the
first time since the inaugural event in 1978.
The riders who have qualified for the 2021 World Championship race will compete for Utah's
$750,000 prize money in May.
The 2,500 age-group racers who have signed up for the Ironman St. George race on May
7 have struck gold; they will now compete in a "world championship event."
What about those who have qualified for Kona in their age groups?
They'll have a few alternatives, but they'll have to wait for the second portion of today's
statement.
Ironman also revealed something that has been in the works for a long time: the 2022 Ironman
World Championship event would be split into two days, with women participating on Thursday,
Oct. 6, and men competing on Saturday, Oct. 8.
There will be an equal number of professional men and women (50 each) and around 2,500 age-groupers
on each of those days.
There will not be an equal number of men and women in each age group.
The operations team is allegedly considering starting some of the older men's age groups
behind the age-group women on Thursday to spread out the fields.
However, by nearly doubling the field size, the choices for qualification and generating
clean and fair races have multiplied.
With so many Ironman races across the world, securing a Kona berth at each pre-pandemic
race was proving difficult, and it's been said that the World Championship event in
Hawaii regularly sees 1,000-plus racers exit the sea in under 10 minutes.
This will now spread out, allowing the men's and women's races to coexist.
It also permits Ironman to handle all of the participants who could not compete in the
previous two years due to race cancellations.
Unless they choose to participate in the St. George event instead, any athlete who is presently
registered for an Ironman World Championships in 2020, 2021, or 2022 will be automatically
eligible to race in the two-day event in October 2022.
Some Ironman All-World Athletes may be eligible for the St. George title, and the remaining
2021 Ironman events will almost certainly have slots available for St. George and Kona.
Qualified age-group athletes will be notified immediately, and they should keep a watch
out for precise race details in the coming weeks.
Will the two-day format be maintained after COVID?
While expanding the field addresses a specific pandemic issue—so many athletes have rolled
over their 2020 and 2021 qualifications that it was becoming impossible to fit them all
on the pier—it also serves as a test for a concept that has proven successful at the
70.3 World Championship level: separate men's and women's race days.
For May 2022, we can probably toss most of this seemingly solid history out the window.
For starters, we'll be in a completely new place, and it'll have been more than two years
since the previous IRONMAN World Championship, implying that what happened in October 2019
will be significantly less important.
Furthermore, all of the major guns are already familiar with what it takes to race at St.
George:
Jan Frodeno - won the IRONMAN 70.3, St. George in 2014.
Gustav Iden – who won the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.
Kristian Blummenfelt - a mechanical halted his chances of a podium finish at the 2021
IRONMAN World Championship, but he is no stranger to St. George.
Alistair Brownlee - in 2017, he won the IRONMAN 70.3, St. George.
In 2016, 2018, and 2021, Lionel Sanders won IRONMAN 70.3 St. George, his favorite course.
Sebastian Kienle finished third in three IRONMAN 70.3 St. George races.
Sam Long finished second in both of the 2021 races at St. George.
The 'Big Island,' the home city of the IRONMAN World Championship, is steeped in history
and folklore.
But, in May 2022, that fairytale will be ripped apart.
Only the name 'IRONMAN World Championship' remains on the blank slate.
Many athletes arrive in Hawaii every year believing they can win - but history shows
that only a small percentage of them can.
So a new chapter will be written in May 2022, and for the first time in a generation, everything
will be up for grabs.
When you add up the results you've witnessed up through 2021, more racers than ever will
come to Utah feeling they can win the IRONMAN World Championship.
So, May 7, 2022.
Take note of the date!
That ends our video for today!
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