Funny, you should post this as I am an American currently living in the Netherlands and did a race here yesterday (Zandvoort Sprint Tri - bike was on the car racing course - really fun) where all the briefings, pre-race directions and award ceremony were in Dutch which I have not yet picked up. For the race it all worked out fine, though I suppose if the race course wasn't marked well (it was) and you were leading the race it could theoretically be a problem. Reality was that it caused me to more chat with fellow racers before the start (is the first turn on the swim around that buoy or around the jet ski bobbing in the surf?) which was great. I think if you are outgoing in such situations you can usually get all the information you need to know to race well.

I never had any problem not speaking the local language at any of the European IMs I've done, and I imagine Cozumel wouldn't be an issue given the large focus on tourism on the island. I had a little bit of trouble with pre-race logistics at Brazil but it was definitely manageable.

:)

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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

Having done HIM/IM in Latam, it's hit or miss on the various posts you have to do. I've had checkin and bike drops with very odd setups and parking that were a massive pain and Spanish was necessary and other times where perfect English was common.

With that being said, there is always one english briefing (although in Buenos Aires it was the same slot as my bike drop, 10km away...) and always someone yelling in every language about the swim start self seeding.

The bigger issue is sometimes getting around with a bike box as every cab is explaining extra costs or saying no because it's out of their juristiction or because they don't want the bike.

But I've had fun and it adds to the adventure. Go for it

Pretty much sums up why I do this sport at all as a thoroughly average MOP guy. From everyone's awesome replies I think a destination race will be in the cards for 2020.

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You won't regret it.Just take some time to do a little research about the country you are going to and be flexible in your plans.Travelling is easy and most events follow basically the same program.What I have seen screwing people up the most is not bothering to do any study about the place they are going to and expecting things to be the same as "back home".
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Up here in the southern hemisphere we can understand just about all American accents. We do have translators available for those from the US who might struggle understanding Noo Zeelant

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Trust me I’m a doctor!
Well, I have a PhD :-)

With ITU events, the official language of communication is english (and usually the native language of the host country)... so generally, any communication with race officials could occur in English (if there are officials who can speak other languages at the races they will, but as a minimum there would be english and the host country's official language)...

It goes a long way how friendly people are to you if you make an effort to learn at least a few words in the local language though... I've raced and officiated in countries where I didn't speak the language, and generally I try to learn some basics, but because most of the non-domestic things I've raced have been ITU, having people to ask more complicated questions to in English has not been a problem... If I'm looking at a non ITU or Ironman branded race outside of north america, I would probably either look for either an english or french speaking country, because that will be more hit or miss, and at least with English and french I'm fluent...