As part of the Ironman Access Program apology video, Ben Fertic indicated that there are a group of athletes registering for "multiple multiple events, yet these athletes only compete in one event", and are no-shows at the other races. Ben mentioned the Ironman Access Program would free up 2500-3000 slots per year. Many of us found this hard to believe, so here's a quick analysis on how many multi-Ironman athletes really are out there:
Athletes Registered For Three or More Ironman Races in the Next 12 Months
Ben says, "By our estimation, we would gain 2,500 - 3,000 slots in the US with the IM Access Program." As another ST'er commented, I call total BS as well. There is no evidence there are thousands of people signing up for multiple races within the US with the intention of only doing one.
- As of October 29th, there are 27 athletes registered for three or more domestic Ironman races over the next 12 months. This includes Florida, Arizona, St. George, Texas, Coeur D'Alene, Lake Placid, Canada, Louisville, and Wisconsin. Florida and Arizona are 2010 races, the others are 2011 races.
Athletes Registered For Three or More Ironman Races in the Next 12 Months
- There are two athletes signed up for 4 or more Ironman races. Andy Gardner wins top honors with five registered races: 2010 Florida, 2010 Arizona, 2011 Texas, 2011 Coeur d'Alene, and 2011 Louisville. A quick google reveals he raced Louisville this year and was top AGer out of the water at Kona. "Andy Gardner, a 30 year old physician assistant from Kingwood, Texas, entered the choppy waters of Kailua-Kona with over 1,800 triathletes from around the globe. Gardner finished the 2.4 mile swim in just over 52 minutes". Dude loves to race. The other 4+ IM athlete is Karen Smith, who could be two different people, since the lists show a 46 year old Karen Smith registered from Arizona and a 46 year old Karen Smith registered from Texas. I took an educated guess and assumed 46 yr old Karen Smith from TX is the same 46 Karen Smith from AZ.
- If these 27 athletes ended up doing one Ironman, according to WTC the IM Access Program would help open up just over 50 slots.
- The majority of athletes signed up for 3+ IMs are between the ages of 40-55. Is this the wealthy group of athletes the IM Access Program was targeting?
- As for double IM athletes, there were just about 500 athletes (497 to be exact, plus or minus a few) signed up for two IMs in the next 12 months. Note these are only domestic IMs plus Canada. If these athletes ended up doing just one IM, it opens up just about 500 slots. (I'd include the list, but it's too long. If there's interest I can figure out a place to post. There were also some possible duplicates that were left out for common names like John Smith. For common names the age AND state had to match to be considered the same athlete. By the way there are 141 "Smiths" signed up for an IM over the next 12 months. So why did I include Karen Smith from AZ the same as Karen Smith from TX? Who knows.)
- Ironman Texas is a popular race for those signed up for multiple IMs. 17-of-27 3+ IMers are signed up for IM TX and 188-of-500 double IMers are signed up as well.
- Something I found interesting - there are plenty of 25-29 year old couples signed up for Ironman races. Seems newlyweds like to sign up for IMs together :)
- The Couer d'Alene/Canada double is popular among Canadians
- There are 45 athletes who's name shows up for the same race twice. IMUSA, Canada, and Wisconsin show the most common double registrants with 10, 11, and 15 respectively. Maybe these races allow the same person to sign up for two people if they sign up in person?
Ben says, "By our estimation, we would gain 2,500 - 3,000 slots in the US with the IM Access Program." As another ST'er commented, I call total BS as well. There is no evidence there are thousands of people signing up for multiple races within the US with the intention of only doing one.