IRONMAN Returns Men's and Women's World Championship to Kona

Originally published at: IRONMAN Returns Men’s and Women’s World Championship to Kona - Slowtwitch News

Photo: Donald Miralle for IRONMAN

Starting in 2026 both the men’s and women’s IRONMAN World Championship will be held on the same day in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

“The 2026 event will take place on October 10, 2026 and welcome nearly 3,000 of the most competitive and committed triathletes in the world to compete at the highest level and challenge themselves on the most iconic course in the sport of triathlon,” today’s announcement revealed. “Innovations in the one-day event format will include enhanced and equal broadcast coverage for women and men, new start times that promote fair competition across both races, and other advancements to elevate the race experience for all athletes.”

According to IRONMAN CEO Scott DeRue, there were three principles that were taken into consideration in order to make the decision: taking an “athlete first” perspective so that “everything starts with the athlete,” gathering as much feedback from a variety of sources in order to be as objective as possible, all while both respecting IRONMAN’s rich history and looking to the future.

IRONMAN’s research and polling made it clear that age group and pro athletes alike wanted to race in Kona.

The Numbers That Convinced IRONMAN to Return to Kona

“A significant majority of women and men, across all age groups, want the same two things – to race together, and to race at the beating heart of our sport in Kona, Hawai`i,” DeRue wrote in a letter to the community released earlier today.

In addition to the polling data, IRONMAN found that “the two-day format did not lead to increased participation among women. Splitting the IRONMAN World Championship race across two days has not inspired more women to enter the sport or increase the frequency of racing among women. Unexpectedly, this format actually resulted in more athletes leaving the sport after completing the IRONMAN World Championship – which for many women and men is the pinnacle of their career in the sport of triathlon.”

Built It, But They Didn’t Come: On World Championships Participation and Qualifying for 2026 and Beyond

In an interview with DeRue ahead of the release, he said that the breakdown of male and female athletes would be “mostly proportionate,” taking into consideration the “programmatic initiatives” that IRONMAN has taken on – for example the Legacy and Women For Tri programs. “Operational changes” including start times and wave configurations will allow IRONMAN to “actively manage the density on the bike course,” DeRue continued, and IRONMAN “will do everything we can to protect the integrity of the pro race, especially for the women.”

DeRue also stressed that the event coverage would provide “equal coverage baed on race dynamics,” and that IRONMAN will continue to experiment with different options in its coverage (including split screens, dedicated channels, drone technology, etc.) to allow for more flexibility in order to “provide equal content.”

IRONMAN is determined to ensure the race-day experience will be every bit as fair for the age-group racers.

“We have the utmost respect for our athletes and their dream to qualify for the IRONMAN World Championship and race in Kona,” DeRue said. “The Kona mystique is not something you simply read about or see on a course map. You feel the Kona mystique with every stroke, every pedal, every step, and every magical moment in one of the most historic sporting destinations in the world. From swimming in the crystal blue waters, to transitioning on the pier overlooking the open ocean, to cycling through the incredible lava fields, and then running down Ali`i Drive and crossing the most iconic finish in the sport – it’s an experience that few will ever have in their lifetime. We appreciate the impact our decisions have on the lives of our athletes and the communities within which we have the privilege of operating, and because of this, our decisions are made with great care. We may not always get everything right, but we will always be principled in our decisions, learn and be willing to adapt, and always put our athletes first.”

IRONMAN Extends Partnership With Nice

While Nice will no longer be hosting the IRONMAN World Championship after the men compete there in September, today’s announcement includes the news that the city will be hosting the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in 2026 and 2028, with a “mutual option to host the event in 2030.) Renowned as the “birthplace of long-distance triathlon in Europe” thanks to the famous Nice International Triathlon that started in 1982, Nice has been hosting IRONMAN events for over 20 years, and was a popular choice as a world championship venue.

After hosting the 70.3 worlds in Clearwater, Florida for five years, followed by a three-year stint in Henderson, Nevada, IRONMAN began rotating the host city for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship at the 2014 race, which was held in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. Nice hosted the championship in 2019.

Nice to Host 2026, 2028 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships

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See https://www.ironman.com/news/2026-world-championship-announcement

So as expected a one day event for both women and men on Kona and the 70.3 world championship in Nice. I’m curious how Ironman intends to make room for 3000 athletes on the island.

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IM never really gave the 2d event or the rotating championships an honest tri ← see what I did there

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What would be the M/F split?

can they post the race slot allocations in a timely manner?

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IIRC historically it’s been ~ 65% M

Such a cliff hanger of an article. Teach that CEO some Pyramid Principle!

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They said 18% Women, 82% men for the races

what is the first ironman race to qualify for 2026?

For men, it has to be something on the weekend of Aug 24. Possibly Estonia or Switzerland.

last qualifying for 2025 is Copenhagen on Aug 17. So any race after that.

Heh, ya I was thinking talk about burying the lead!

“Unexpectedly, this format actually resulted in more athletes leaving the sport after completing the IRONMAN World Championship”

Unintended consequences are a…well in this case probably not best to use the word.

I agree. It’s kind of silly to think that women’s participation would jump up in just a couple of years. It would take a serious investment and patience to build up women’s participation, and I guess IM decided it isn’t worth it.

I’m bummed by the news. Even though the writing was on the wall, I was hoping for a rotating venue with men and women together in a two-day event. I have little interest in traveling all the way to Kona to stay in a small town over-saturated with triathletes.

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could you give us your source please ?

Pulling this across from the 70.3 2026 announcement
Link to the IRONMAN letter:

Key (imho) extracts (edited):
"In 2026 the IRONMAN World Championship will return to Kona [as] a single day

"women and men together [and] expand the number of athletes racing to nearly 3,000 [From pod DeRue said: in 2026 “between 2500 and 3000” and the men/women split of circa 80/20%: proportionate to current IM entry profile (say 2200 and 550)] @Dr_Sandman @uva0224

"Increased coverage of the race, including equal broadcast coverage for both professional men and women athletes

"Innovations in start times and swim waves

“we are also happy to share that Nice, France will host the 2026 and 2028 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship events (plus option for 2030).”

PTN pod with DeRue:

The actual article from Triathlete Magazine, did you not read it?
" According to data shared by Ironman, women now make up 18% of Ironman triathlon participants – about the same as it was in 2015, according to Triathlete contributor Thorsten Radde."

I would be shocked if they don’t have ~1k women each year in Kona (regardless if that is disportionate/fair).

I would. Back in 2018 based on quick math, 18% of the field were women in Kona, which is inline with Thorsten’s percentage of overall women participation in the sport today. That was 448 women in a field of 2400. So even increasing the field to 3000 I don’t see how they get to 1000.

I read the article backwards…lol…

Not unless the change the slot allocation method and give equal number of slots to women :-