Ironman World Championship

History

From 1978 through 1980 the race was held on the island of Oahu, the course combining that of three events already held there: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi./185.07 km, originally a two-day event), and the Honolulu Marathon. The bike stage was reduced by 3 miles to link it to the start of the marathon course. In 1981 the race was moved to the less urbanized Big Island, keeping the distances the same: a 2.4 mi open water swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, a 112 mi bike ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to Hāwī and back, and a marathon (26 miles 385 yards, 42.195 km) run along the coast of the Big Island from Keauhou to Keahole Point and back to Kailua-Kona, finishing on Alii Drive.

Since 1982, the race has been held in the fall each year, before which it was held in the spring, giving two races in 1982.

Athletes with disabilities compete in the event in the physically challenged category, which was instituted in 1997, and are required to meet the same cutoff times as able bodied competitors. Australian John Maclean was the first physically challenged athlete to complete the event under the cut-off time.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Ironman World Championship was initially postponed to February 2021 and then canceled with that year's qualifiers able to defer to race in 2021 or 2022. The 2021 Championship was postponed to May 2022 and held in St. George, Utah due to travel restrictions.

The 2022 Ironman World Championship was split with a men's and women's race and the Women's Championship on October 6 followed by the Men's Championship two days later. Also from 2022, Vietnam's automobile maker VinFast was the first ever naming rights partner for 2022 Ironman World Championship and 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.

Since 2023 the men's and women's Ironman World Championships have been split and alternated between Nice, France, and Kona, Hawaii. In 2023, the men's event held on September 10 in Nice, France, and the women's on October 14 in Kona, Hawaii. The men's and women's Championships alternate between these venues until 2026.

Qualifying for the World Championship is achieved through placement in one of the other Ironman races or some Ironman 70.3 races.

The current Ironman Hawaii course record was set in 2024 by Patrick Lange (Germany), whose winning time was 7 hrs 35 min 53 sec. The women's course record is 8 hrs 24 mins 31 sec, set in 2023 by Lucy Charles-Barclay (UK).

Course records

Men

Women

Medalists

Men

; Winners by country

• 20:
• 11:
• 7:
• 3:
• 1: ‡The 2021 World Championship was held in St. George, Utah on May 7, 2022. The delay and change from the original Kona, Hawaii venue were due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Women

; Winners by country

• 11:
• 9:
• 7:
• 6:
• 5:
• 4:
• 2:
• 2:
• 1: †Paula Newby Fraser was a citizen and represented the United States for the 1996 race.

‡The 2021 World Championship was held in St. George, Utah on May 7, 2022. The delay and change from the original Kona, Hawaii venue were due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ironman lottery

Until 2015, individuals could enter a lottery for the chance to participate in the Ironman World Championship. The lottery entry fee was $50 and afforded the chance to win one of 100 berths in the championship race. If selected the winners then had to pay the normal entry fee.

However, according to a sworn complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, Ironman illegally charged athletes for a chance to win the opportunity to compete in the Ironman World Championship. According to Florida law, the state where the World Triathlon Corporation resides, it is illegal to set up and charge for a lottery. Because WTC charged a $50 fee to enter the lottery, instead of giving away the opportunity to win a slot at the championships, they were in violation of this law. Following the complaint WTC cooperated with the United States Attorneys office and the FBI's investigation of the matter and agreed to forfeit $2,761,910, the amount collected from the lottery since October 24, 2012. The attorney representing the United States in the matter was 8-time Ironman finisher James A. Muench.

Winners of the 2015 lottery were notified on March 17, 2015, prior to the announcement of the complaint. WTC stated that these winners would be unaffected by this decision and that their slots for the upcoming championship race would be honored.

References

Citations

Sources

References

1. (January 5, 2023). "Ironman World Championships split between Kona and France".
2. "IRONMAN Returns Men’s and Women’s World Championship to Kona".
3. "Athletes with disabilities competing at the IRONMAN: successes, failures, inclusion and accessibility". Ability Magazine.
4. Lulham, Amanda. (April 11, 2016). "Ironman John Maclean awarded Hall of Fame status for heroics in wheelchair and on his own two feet". The Daily Telegraph.
5. "1997 Race Results". Ironman.com.
6. (July 21, 2020). "Ironman Kona canceled for first time". NBC Sports.
7. [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vinfast-and-ironman-announce-a-groundbreaking-and-comprehensive-global-partnership-301592028.html VINFAST AND IRONMAN ANNOUNCE A GROUNDBREAKING AND COMPREHENSIVE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP] [[PR Newswire]] 22 Jul, 2022
8. "Re-Live the Action from Nice and Kona".
9. "Patrick Lange Rises Above Kona Carnage for Course Record".
10. Sport, BBC. (October 17, 2023). "Lucy Charles-Barclay on winning Ironman World Championship in Kona". BBC.
11. Foster, Chris. (September 4, 2019). "Jan Sibbersen: Meet the Kona Swim Course Record Holder". Triathlete.
12. (October 14, 2018). "Britain's Lucy Charles breaks course swimming record before winning silver at Ironman World Championship". The telegraph.
13. James, Sutherland. (December 31, 2019). "Performances of the decade: Daniela Ryf smashes Kona course record by 20 minutes". Triathlon Magazine Canada.
14. (12 October 2025). "Norway strikes again: Solveig Løvseth is victorious on debut at the 2025 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawai‘i".
15. (1 September 2013). "Lottery and Legacy". World Triathlon Corporation.
16. (13 May 2015). "World Triathlon Corporation (Ironman) Forfeits More Than $2.7 Million in Lottery Proceeds". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
17. "U.S. District Court Complaint". scribd.com.
18. "849.09 Lottery prohibited; exceptions.". gambling-law-us.com.
19. Stein, Letitia. (13 May 2015). "Ironman triathlon ran illegal lottery for athletes: U.S. prosecutors". Reuters.
20. Moskovitz, Diana. (19 May 2015). "Feds: Ironman Ran An Illegal Lottery And Made Millions". deadspin.com.
21. Cornwall, Warren. (18 May 2015). "The Ironman Lottery Is Dead. Up Next: Your Local Race?". Outside Online.
22. (13 May 2015). "Statement from IRONMAN in response to recent DOJ decision". Ironman.com.
23. (26 October 2024). "Patrick Lange Rises Above Kona Carnage for Course Record".