IRONMAN 70.3 World Champs to New Zealand – two years later than planned
World Champs return to Europe pushed back to 2023
No surprise with this news, but confirmation that Taupō, New Zealand will get its chance to host the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in 2020, having had to cancel the event this year for reasons that are all too familiar by now.
This does mean that you’ll have to wait an extra year for the event to return to Europe – with the 2023 edition to be decided between Klagenfurt, Austria and Lahti, Finland.
Here’s the full news from IRONMAN:
IRONMAN today announced that Taupō, New Zealand has secured the right to host the 2022 IRONMAN® 70.3® World Championship, a two-day event that will take place on December 10-11, 2022.
Taupō was originally set to host the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on November 28-29 prior to the unfortunate cancellation due to ongoing and widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 date means that the world’s top IRONMAN 70.3 athletes will still be able to enjoy a world championship experience in this unique destination that has embraced IRONMAN Group events for more than 20 years.
“While it was disappointing to have to cancel the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship it’s great news for our athletes around the world, those in New Zealand, and the wider Taupō community, that we’ve been able to secure this magical location for a world championship event in 2022,” said Andrew Messick, President & CEO of The IRONMAN Group. “Taupō is an iconic IRONMAN destination and we look forward to having the best triathletes in the world head to New Zealand for what will be a week-long celebration of triathlon.”
The 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship will see athletes take to the beautiful waters of Lake Taupō for the swim leg, before a single-loop bike course and a final run course that winds its way around the waterfront.
“We are ecstatic that, as the home of IRONMAN in New Zealand, we have been able to work with IRONMAN to secure the event for 2022,” said Taupō District Mayor David Trewavas. “We had already laid some solid foundations in preparing to host the world’s top triathletes and this additional time will allow us to offer an extremely polished event that will showcase both the Taupō District and New Zealand to the rest of the world.”
“While it may be two years later than originally planned, we are thrilled to be able to bring the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship to Taupō and can’t wait to continue our work with the great team there to put on an incredible event,” said Diana Bertsch, Senior Vice President, World Championship Events for The IRONMAN Group. “Taupō is an amazing location and natural fit for an event of this magnitude. New Zealand’s historical, cultural and familial ties to Hawai`i are significant and further connect our world championship events.”
With the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, St. George, Utah, USA becomes the next stop for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on September 17-18, 2021, before heading to New Zealand in December of 2022. The previously announced 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship finalist cities of Klagenfurt, Austria and Lahti, Finland will now carry forward to 2023 with an announcement of the selected destination forthcoming.
Further updates on the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship can be found at www.ironman.com/im703-world–championship.
For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com
