The Ironman World Triathlon Championship or simply Ironman Triathlon is an annual triathlon race, known for its grueling length, race conditions, and television coverage. This sports event is held every fall in the US city of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
The Ironman World Triathlon race encompasses three endurance events; a 3.8 km ocean swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, a 180 km bike ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to Hawi and back, and a 42 km long marathon along the coast of the Big Island (from Keauhou to Keahole Point to Kailua-Kona). The race finishes on Ali'i Drive. The current course record is 8 hours 4 minutes and 8 seconds, that was set by Luc Van Lierde of Belgium in 1996.
The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay. The first Ironman Triathlon was held on February 18, 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1981 the competition was moved to the less urbanized Big Island by Valerie Silk and in 1982 Silk moved the race date from February to October.
For the 25th anniversary on October 18, 2003, nearly 1500 athletes were enlisted, most of which had to go through qualification competitions. Qualifying events take place annually around the world, in places such as Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Canary Islands, South Africa and Europe. Another way of qualifying is the Ironman lottery. 200 spots are reserved for athletes that enter the lottery, 50 of them being international spots, the other 150 being US spots.
The Ironman World Triathlon race encompasses three endurance events; a 3.8 km ocean swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, a 180 km bike ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to Hawi and back, and a 42 km long marathon along the coast of the Big Island (from Keauhou to Keahole Point to Kailua-Kona). The race finishes on Ali'i Drive. The current course record is 8 hours 4 minutes and 8 seconds, that was set by Luc Van Lierde of Belgium in 1996.
The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay. The first Ironman Triathlon was held on February 18, 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1981 the competition was moved to the less urbanized Big Island by Valerie Silk and in 1982 Silk moved the race date from February to October.
For the 25th anniversary on October 18, 2003, nearly 1500 athletes were enlisted, most of which had to go through qualification competitions. Qualifying events take place annually around the world, in places such as Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Canary Islands, South Africa and Europe. Another way of qualifying is the Ironman lottery. 200 spots are reserved for athletes that enter the lottery, 50 of them being international spots, the other 150 being US spots.
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