haha! Wish I had done the same!
So for Ironman Maryland how many slot will they have in the woman’s 55-59 - I really want to know this before registering - think they will be forthcoming?
Which is not going to happen, and their own research suggest that’s not going to move the women participation needle.
That will depend how many women in that AG sign up, but for sure at least 1 if you sign up. But you won’t know any more than that until the day before the race.
I just don’t think they are going to have ~500-600 women at this point going forward which is the ~% of equality of men/women racing IM. I think they’ll get more closer to 1k/1k and then add in the men to more of a 66/33 split. So if its 923 as the final tally or 889, I think it’ll be closer to that than 523 or 489.
But it’s dependent on a proportional slot allocation at qualifying races, so how do they get there?
Don’t the women have more pathways to KQ’ing than the men who are only AQ or legacy. There are actual women movement/pathways only correct?
I don’t know, nothing comes to mind.
Based on my research and ChatGPT, it seems that women historically make up 27-28% of Kona entries in the 1 day format(2019 and prior).
Additional historical facts and stats on the field competing in the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i:
- 73% of registered participants (1,783 athletes) are male
- 27% of registered participants (669 athletes) are female
I can see them getting up 1000. I think the majority of the additional slots for 2026 and beyond will be targeted at women. Sorry boys….
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CEO mentions the Women to Tri.
He also talks about the equality in access, not equality in numbers. I just don’t think you’ll see it actually 80/20 split that is seen at normal IM’s. I think it’ll be more closer to 66/33; which would be closer to ~1k females/ ~1.5k males.
Women for tri initiative. Where they allocate an extra 50-100 slots specific to women at a particular race.
but which races - Do you think Maryland is too early for extra spots and they will save them for placid 2026?
Assuming that moves forward for 2026.
It’s a total guess but I doubt Maryland would get it. It’s too early. Look a regional championships like Texas. Historically, those get the extra slots. They could add slots later to lake placid but you are rolling the dice they do that and it’s anyone guess if they do. And they would only do that if they weren’t getting the women numbers from the fall, spring and early summer races.
I would put money on it that it does.
CEO on PTN pod at ~28 min mark, he talks about programs IM has invested in and will continue to do so (legacy, Women to Tri).
I just think at this point in the sporting world, it will be more variance than 80/20 split that is making up IM demographics. I think that specific percentage would be sorta too much of a “backwards” movement, even though it would be more accurate what the actual demographics are. I just think they’ll get closer to 1k athletes for women then 600 imo.
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By the way, not directed at you, but a lot of people here owe PTN an apology as all their Kona speculation was spot on.
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there are no other ways for women to qualify for the IMWC other than placing or legacy. We’re back to - at best - the top 3 women getting a slot. Doesn’t offer much in the way of giving other women a chance to race IMWC.
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This was only for 70.3 distances. It wasn’t a thing for IMWC.