IRONMAN Press「PRO LISTS FOR 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP」

STAGE IS SET FOR THE WORLD’S BEST TO MEET IN SOUTHWESTERN UTAH AS PRO START LISTS UNVEILED FOR 2021 INTERMOUNTAIN HEALTHCARE IRONMAN 70.3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY UTAH SPORTS COMMISSION

– Reigning IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Daniela Ryf (CHE) seeks to become first ever to win six IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship titles

– Defending IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Gustav Iden (NOR), multi-time IRONMAN 70.3 champion Lionel Sanders (CAN), and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) headline star studded men’s field

– Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission set to take place in St. George, Utah on Sept. 18, 2021

ST. GEORGE, Utah / TAMPA, Fla. (September 2, 2021) – Following a COVID-induced hiatus in 2020, more than 3,000 professional and age-group athletes from over 80 countries, regions, and territories will descend upon stunning Southwestern Utah on Saturday, Sept. 18 for the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship presented by the Utah Sports Commission. Among them will be over 100 of the world’s top professional triathletes who will battle for a piece of the $350,000 USD total professional prize purse and the title of IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion.

“After a long wait, we are thrilled to again host a world championship race for our top competitors with this stunning Southwestern destination of St. George, Utah,” said Andrew Messick, President & Chief Executive Officer for The IRONMAN Group. “We have a truly world-class field of professional athletes coming to compete which promises to provide an exciting race day.”

Professional Women’s Field

Since the first IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship was held in 2006 the women’s race has seen 10 different champions from five different countries. Swiss Daniela Ryf has won an event-best five times, and is coming off an undefeated season, including a win in St. George at the IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship earlier this year. Together with Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) and Leanda Cave (GBR), Ryf also holds the distinction of having won both the IRONMAN World Championship^® and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.

Aiming to dethrone Ryf will be a stellar group of professional female triathletes, including Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR), who is coming off a recent win at 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 European Championship Elsinore. Charles-Barclay edged out Holly Lawrence (GBR) in that event, who as the 2016 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion and multiple-time IRONMAN 70.3 winner will also be aiming for the top podium spot in St. George. Additional global competition will come from Paula Findlay (CAN), Taylor Knibb (USA), Kat Matthews (GBR), Skye Moench (USA), Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR), and Ellie Salthouse (AUS), each of whom continue to impress on the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 circuits.

Below is the pro women’s start list for the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission:

Professional Men’s Field

On the men’s side, a star-studded field of professional talent will come together aiming to create history in St. George. With no clear frontrunner, a few of the dominant competitors that could take a shot for a podium spot include the defending IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion from 2019 in Nice, France, Gustav Iden (NOR); Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), who has momentum coming into St. George following his recent Tokyo 2020 Olympic Triathlon win; and Lionel Sanders (CAN), who won the IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship in St. George earlier this year and has over 20 IRONMAN 70.3 wins to his name. Also in contention are Alistair Brownlee (GBR), the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Triathlon Gold Medalist as well as Javier Gomez (ESP), the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion and 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship third place podium finisher. Finally, American’s Ben Kanute (USA) and Sam Long (USA) look to claim home nation victories. Kanute has multiple IRONMAN 70.3 wins and podium finishes in recent years and a second-place finish at the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, the last time the event was held on US soil. Sam Long comes in on the top of his game having won the 2021 IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene triathlon and the 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder triathlon.

Below is the pro men’s start list for the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission:

The 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission will kick off with a 1.2-mile (1.9km) ROKA Swim Course, which takes place in Sand Hollow Reservoir located in Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane, Utah. Next, a challenging 56-mile (91.3km) Ventum Bike Course will lead athletes through stunning desert landscapes with 3,442 feet (1,049 meters) of elevation gain and an unforgettable climb into Snow Canyon State Park and surrounding Washington County. The 13.1-mile (21.2km) HOKA ONE Run Course will take athletes on two loops through the stunning Red Hills Parkway and wind through historic downtown St. George where the finish line is located.

Since 2014, the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship has been rotating among premier cities around the globe following its early years in Clearwater, Fla., USA (2006-2010) and Henderson, Nev., USA (2011-2013). The IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship has included picturesque locations like Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada (2014); Zell am See, Austria (2015); Queensland, Australia (2016); Chattanooga, Tenn., USA (2017); Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa (2018) and Nice, France (2019). Following the cancellation of the 2020 edition, St. George, Utah, USA will play host to the event in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, the event returns to Europe with Lahti, Finland hosting.

For more information about the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission event, please visit www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship

For more information on the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and global event series, visit www.ironman.com.

About the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship
In 2006 the inaugural IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship was held in Clearwater, Florida becoming another test for the world’s elite triathletes. Since that auspicious beginning, the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship has grown in stature and popularity moving first to Henderson, Nevada in 2011, where athletes encountered a more challenging terrain and then to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec—its first stop on the new “global rotation” for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. The event reached European soil for the first time ever in 2015, with Zell am See, Austria, hosting an epic and memorable event. In 2016, the race moved from the mountains to the beaches of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. In 2017, the race returned to the United States, taking place in Chattanooga, Tennessee where it became a two-day event for the first time. In 2018, the event reached the African continent for the first time and was hosted in Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa. Continuing the rotation, 2019 saw the French Riviera and Nice, France play host to the ever-growing IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event. More than 200,000 athletes participate annually in a series of qualifying races, consisting of over 100 events in locations such as Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, North America, South Africa, and Switzerland. Hosting more than 5,000 athletes from around the world, participants in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship have ranged in age from 18 to 85-plus. In 2021, the event takes place in the Red Rocks of St. George, Utah on September 18 in the United States and again on October 28-29, 2022, before shifting to Lahti, Finland on August 26-27, 2023. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship.

About The IRONMAN Group
The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Running Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS^®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf^®, Ultra-Trail^® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events including Haute Route^®, and gravel racing like Gravel Epic^®, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.

About Advance 
Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, 1010data and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 17,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.