Originally published at: IRONMAN Launches Entry Giveaway Drawing for Pro Series Events - Slowtwitch News
Just over ten years since IRONMAN was forced to disgorge $2.7 million in profits related to lotteries tied to the IRONMAN World Championship, IRONMAN today has launched a drawing for what it is calling the “Ultimate Race Experience,” tied to entering any of the 2026 IRONMAN Pro Series races.
Age-group athletes who have either already registered for a race that has been selected for the 2026 IRONMAN Pro Series, or those who do register by October 6th, 2025, will be entered into a drawing for the grand prize race experience. According to marketing materials received by Slowtwitch, the Ultimate Race Experience consists of:
- An additional entry into any 2026 IRONMAN Pro Series event (excluding the World Championship races);
- Four nights of complimentary hotel stay
- Round-trip economy airfare (up to $2,500 in value)
- $300 merchandise voucher to the IRONMAN store
The eligible events for entry, and thereby the events eligible to choose as prize winnings, are as follows:
| Race | Date |
|---|---|
| IRONMAN New Zealand | March 7th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong | March 22nd, 2026 |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside | March 28th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN Texas | April 18th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence | May 17th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN Hamburg | June 7th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Happy Valley | June 14th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Elsinore | June 21st, 2026 |
| IRONMAN Frankfurt | June 28th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea | July 12th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN Lake Placid | July 19th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Boise | July 25th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN Kalmar | August 15th, 2026 |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun | August 30th, 2026 |
Athletes must be from one of the following countries in order to be able to participate in the drawing: United States, Canada, Austria, China, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Taiwan. Athletes must also be at least 18 years of age (or age of majority in their home country) and not a professional athlete nor planning to become one before December 2026.
An athlete can receive multiple entries into the drawing by entering into multiple IRONMAN Pro Series races. So, for example, let’s say that you had already registered for IRONMAN Lake Placid next year, and decide now to add IRONMAN 70.3 Happy Valley to your race schedule. You now have two entries into the drawing: one for your prior Lake Placid entry, and one for your new purchase. If you won, looking at the calendar, I suppose that run of either Oceanside, Texas, or Aix-en-Provence look like the most likely choices to select as a winner.
The winner of the Ultimate Race Experience will be drawn around October 17th, and notified within 10 days of the conclusion of the drawing.
This is not the first time that IRONMAN has run drawings or contests for entries to selected races. IRONMAN previously ran what it called “lottery” programs for the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. There, athletes purchased a $50 ticket entry for the chance of winning one of 100 entries into the IRONMAN World Championships. In 2015, IRONMAN entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, forfeiting over $2.7 million, as it was alleged that the lottery program was illegal under both Florida and federal law.
At the time, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Central Florida Will Daniels said of the case, “Our complaint makes clear we allege that Ironman broke the law and that the lottery proceeds are criminal proceeds subject to forfeiture. In the settlement agreement, Ironman agreed not to oppose the forfeiture of the proceeds (and, if fact, wired them to our account) without admitting that it broke the law. The case was settled without litigation so there is no ‘finding’ per se, but a judge will have to enter a forfeiture judgment giving the funds to the government. By entering a forfeiture judgment, a court finds that the defendant’s property (e.g. $2,761,910) is criminal proceeds.” (emphasis added.)
This drawing, however, has one key difference between that and the one’s that resulted in IRONMAN’s prior legal trouble: there’s a way to enter for free.
Athletes can enter the contest by mailing a postcard measuring 3.5″ by 5″ with the following information clearly provided:
- A request to enter the drawing;
- Full legal name;
- Email address;
- Telephone number;
- Date of birth;
- Primary residence address.
The postcard must be mailed to the following address, post-marked no later than October 6th and received by October 10th, 2025:
Enter to win your Ultimate 2026 Racing Experience Entry
c/o World Triathlon Corporation
3407 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Suite 100
Tampa, FL 33607
Entries entered via either method (purchase or postcard) have “equal chances of winning,” according to the rules document.