The best IRONMAN race in the world REVEALED after 48,000 triathletes vote

IRONMAN has announced the results of its annual Athlete’s Choice Awards – yes, the results are officially in after more than 48,000 racers voted in a global poll.

It was Sweden and IRONMAN Kalmar which came out resoundingly on top – claiming first place in three of the five voting categories.

Out of more than 40 IRONMAN series triathlons to take place around the world, Kalmar (already sold out for 2025) finished first in the Overall Satisfaction, Most Recommended and Best Run categories. It also came third in the voting for the Best Bike award and only finished out of the top five in the Best Swim category.

IM Kalmar an “extraordinary experience”

One athlete quoted, who participated in 2024, said: “The atmosphere in the event area, the stunning views along the bike course, and, above all, the incredible people of Kalmar cheering you on, all leading up to the finish line! This truly was an extraordinary experience and the perfect race for a first timer like me.”

The US had the most athletes race events in the last year, followed by the UK, France, Germany and Australia, with approximately 48,000 total survey respondents in all.

They voted for IRONMAN Brazil as the Best Swim and IRONMAN Switzerland as the Best Bike, while Kalmar came out on top in the Best Run category.

The rest of the top five for Overall Satisfaction included France, Cairns, Austria and Wales. Trailing Sweden in the Most Recommended category were Wales, Copenhagen, New Zealand and Lake Placid. Survey questions were based on a five-point satisfaction scale.

Musselman tops 70.3 polling

The IRONMAN 70.3 awards were also divided into five categories, with Musselman, USA finishing top out of more than 120 events in the Overall Satisfaction and Best Bike categories. Bangsaen, Thailand won Most Recommended, Santa Cruz won Best Swim and Coeur d’Alene came out on top in the Best Run category.

Trailing Musselman for Overall Satisfaction were events in Nice, Vichy, Aix-en-Provence and Rio de Janeiro. Rio also came second in the Most Recommended category, ahead of Michigan, Aracaju Sergipe and San Juan. More than 200,000 athletes in total registered for Ironman and 70.3 events in 2024.

More young people are participating than ever before, with the 30-34 age group becoming the largest category for the first time. There was also a 25 per cent increase in participants under the age of 30.