【IRONMAN ANNOUNCES】 NEW SWIM START PROTOCOL

IRONMAN ANNOUNCES NEW SWIM START PROTOCOL FOR 2019 IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

IRONMAN to introduce new wave start aimed at reducing athlete density on bike course

 

2019年よりアイアンマンワールドチャンピオンシップのスタートが細分化される。安全性やドラフティング防止など、バイクでの密集化を減らす目的となる。

スイムでの壮観な一斉スタートはもう見られなくなるが、これもメジャー化したアイアンマンとしては、致し方ないだろう。

逆に、同エイジ内でのバトルが繰り拡げられることになり、スイム、バイク、ランのバランス良い総合力が求めらる。特にSUB10の多い、30代エイジグループの展開が面白くなるだろう。

 

TAMPA, Fla. (June 10, 2019) – IRONMAN, a Wanda Sports Group company, announced today a new swim start protocol that will be implemented for the 2019 IRONMAN^® World Championship. For the first time, the world championship event will utilize a wave start that separates the field into 11 groups. Like in previous years, the professional men’s field will start at 6:25 a.m., followed by the professional women’s field at 6:30 a.m. The PC/Open Exhibition and Handcycle divisions will then begin their day at 6:35 a.m. The first age group wave will start at 6:55 a.m. and continue every 5 minutes until all athletes are in the water.

“The swim start change is a reflection of, and reaction to, the extraordinary ability of our IRONMAN World Championship athletes,” said Andrew Messick, President & CEO of The IRONMAN Group. “While we appreciate the simplicity and iconic visual of the mass start, our primary responsibility is to create a fair race for all athletes. A single start each for age-group men and age-group women creates too much density on the bike course.”

The decision to move to an extended wave start was made following a comprehensive analysis of athlete data with the goal of reducing peak athlete density flowing onto the bike course. The new start times will not change the existing cut off standards for the IRONMAN World Championship – 2:20 for the swim and 10:30 for the bike. Athletes will also still have to reach the finish line within 17 hours to be official finishers of the race.

“We are always looking for ways to improve the quality of our events in an effort to create a fair, safe and world-class experience for our competitors who work so hard to get to this start line,” said Diana Bertsch, Senior Vice President of World Championship Events of The IRONMAN Group. “The IRONMAN World Championship is the pinnacle of endurance racing and our belief is that this change will allow for the highest competition to occur while enhancing the quality of the race.”

New start times:

Time of Day	Division
6:25	MPRO
6:30	FPRO
6:35	PC OPEN / HC
6:55	M18-39
7:00	M40-44
7:05	M45-49
7:10	M50+
7:15	F18-39
7:20	F40-54
7:25	F55+
7:30	Legacy