IRONMAN Partners with Experience Oman, Announces New Full-Distance race and 2029 70.3 World Championship in Muscat

Triathlon Forum
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Originally published at: IRONMAN Partners with Experience Oman, Announces New Full-Distance race and 2029 70.3 World Championship in Muscat - Slowtwitch News

His Excellency Azzan bin Qassim Al Busaidi addresses the room at the Nice press conference. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

At a press conference in Nice on Friday, IRONMAN announced that Experience Oman (the tourism board of the Middle Eastern country) will be the official naming partner of the IRONMAN Pro Series starting in 2026, and the Omani capital of Muscat will be the host city for the 2029 70.3 World Championship. IRONMAN is also adding a full-distance race in Oman, which will have its inaugural running next year.

In 2018, Oman hosted a 5150 race. That event saw just 170 athletes attend, but the organizers proved to IRONMAN that they could handle even more. The next year, IRONMAN introduced 70.3 Oman in Muscat.

After seeing tremendous success in Muscat, IRONMAN decided to add another Omani event to the schedule, introducing 70.3 Salalah in 2022. Now, the IRONMAN-Oman relationship is set to grow once more.

Oman is now an Official Global Destination of IRONMAN. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

“One year ago today, here in Nice, France, with our friends in Oman, we began to explore how we could work together to invest in the growth of the sport we love,” IRONMAN CEO Scott DeRue said at the press conference.

The inaugural running of IRONMAN Oman next year will be the first full-distance race ever held in the Middle East. The 2029 70.3 World Championship will also mark the first time the event has visited the region.

“It’s a big day for the sport of triathlon, for IRONMAN and for the country of Oman,” DeRue said privately afterward. “I’m mostly excited about bringing our IRONMAN community to Oman and having our community experience the culture, the history, the tradition […] of the country.”

An Omani delegation was in attendance in Nice for the announcement, including His Excellency Azzan bin Qassim Al Busaidi, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in Oman.

“Sports tourism […] is a very, very interesting and growing sector within the tourism industry,” said Al Busaidi. “We are excited and pleased to be announcing this partnership with IRONMAN.”

Mohammed Khalfan speaks about his dream of bringing IRONMAN to Oman. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

Al Busaidi continued, saying that he and the Experience Oman team believe this will increase the country’s competitiveness when it comes to tourism, “not only in the Middle East, but globally.”

Another Omani in attendance was “Mr. IRONMAN Oman” himself, Mohammed Khalfan — the first Omani to qualify for Kona. Khalfan founded the triathlon in Muscat that eventually fuelled the inspiration for the 5150 event and 70.3, and he said that he always dreamt of creating “something meaningful” for his country.

“It means a lot for Oman, it means a lot for me,” he said. “It is so meaningful for me to bring people to [our country] to experience who we are as Omanis.”

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I assume this means that 2027 is pretty much in North America, and that they’re probably just waiting on the host city to get the permits together before they can announce? (otherwise you’d just give Oman 2027 straight away)

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That’s my assumption as well.

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It’s getting so disappointing having so many big races in soulless locations.
WT worlds next year in Abu Dhabi, T100 in Qatar and now this. Meh.

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No bucks, no Buck Rogers to steal a line from The Right Stuff. I’m of two minds about the influence Middle East money has on our sport. I welcome the money, we need it. I don’t struggle with some of the moral complications as my country engages in a lot of shitty things so I’m not going to judge. The Middle East looks lovely but is very low on my list of places to see before I die. I do understand for Europeans its a much more popular and somewhat convenient destination so I would think this is a net positive for Ironman in all respects.

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I think personally it’s great that cycling and in addition triathlon gets some spotlight, it doesn’t always have to be only football. They have the cash and they want a healthy population, it’s good they promote triathlon that way. Unfortunately, European cities have slim budgets and with permits etc we have seen how difficult cities make it for organizers.

That being said, just from climate emission perspective and in addition the costs of fliying, I would only travel for a full IM event to a place like Oman. Could definitely see myself doing that eventually.

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Yeah I spent some time Google Earth’ing the area and holy smokes no thanks. But at least they have this?

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I’m European and I don’t find those places either attractive or safe to visit. I recently raced in Istanbul for the AG European champs and just felt very uncomfortable for the whole trip. Probably it’s just me, but not a fan of locations where there’s plenty of armed police everywhere etc. etc.

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I’d have thought, like those above that the 2027 70.3 champs has to be in North America, after Lahti (Europe), Taupo (Oceania), Marbella (Europe), Nice (Europe); notwithstanding sequential St Georges post-pandemic. Is Nice inked in for 2028 or is currently an ‘option’? Oman has to prove itself before hosting a 70.3WC: it has a good run in to 2029.

I guess if they go that way the decision (which may be driven by preferred location and its typical early September/mid November temperature) is whether to schedule before or after IMWC in mid October.

Together with this announcement, it’s time the Experence Oman IM Pro Series 2026 calendar might be published. Will IMSA stay as the first IM given its swim cancellation risk? I assume Texas Hamburg/Frankfurt (all regional champs) will stay. Shoehorning Cairns in there this year meant too many IMs in a short space of time. Will IRONMAN respond to the PTO heading down to the Gold Coast (T100 on 21st March) somehow?

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Rouvy added a bunch of oman course last year. Also interesting that rouvy partnered back with ironman about the same time

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If they’re paying all that money, you’d have to also assume that the race in Muscat (or maybe one of the 70.3s) is now part of the pro series.

Edit: the full IM in December wouldn’t work for the pro series, so it would either have to be the Regional Champs in February (as the season opener?) over the one in October (less likely)

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Woah woah.

Muscat is a great place, incredible food and some really delightful human beings.

It’s a desert it can only look so good but the city and the extended country is a beautiful place. Especially the Dhofar region.

And Oman unless down at the Yemen border is a very safe “westernised” Arab state. They have reasons for this and their relationship with the western powerhouse countries. Essentially it wouldn’t exist without the western armies this day.

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Would I want to race there? Fuck no it’s hotter than shit.

But it’s a great place.

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Nice is inked for 2028. The option is for 2030.

Oman has been hosting a 70.3 since 2019, so would have had enough experience to make 2027 work.

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I don’t think either the early race or the promised November full distance will fit in the IM Pro Series 2026 or 2027.
Bound to be an option to start the 2027 season with
We can expect the 70.3WC 2029 to be last race of the Series (in November). Oman haven’t the proven/assured capability to stage a high prestige race next year. But give them time.

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They have the 2 most important things, tons of money and the absolute backing of the government. These 2 things alone will ensure it’s at least a solid race if not a fantastic race. I could see Oman going over the top for this WC so it’s one worth targeting.

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I imagine it will be mostly Euro and APAC athletes, travel from the US will probably be a nightmare.

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How so.

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I hope no one from the US wants to go, it will be the only way I qualify as it’s the last year of my AG before clicking over. But other than that there is no reason Oman would be an issue Oman is a strategic ally of the US.

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I’m specifically referring to how long the travel will take, not any political/religious differences.