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Ironman World Championship Returns In May 2022 With First World Championship Outside Hawai`i Before Returning To Kona In October With First-Ever Two-Day Format

St. George, Utah “Rises To It” Once Again, Becoming Host For The 2021 Supersapiens IRONMAN World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission Taking Place On May 7, 2022 

IRONMAN, in collaboration with both Greater Zion and St. George, Utah officials and local and state Hawai`i officials, announced yesterday that the IRONMAN® World Championship®will move outside of Hawai`i for the first time, taking place in St. George, Utah on May 7, 2022, prior to returning to Kona, Hawai`i with a new two-day race format on October 6 and 8, 2022

The 2021 Supersapiens IRONMAN World Championship will take place in St. George, Utah, on May 7, 2022, giving professional triathletes the opportunity to claim a world championship title and a share of the $750,000 prize purse that goes with it. The ongoing uncertainty regarding Kailua-Kona, Hawaii`s ability to host the event in February required a change in venue to outside of Hawai`i for the first time since the inaugural event in 1978.

St. George was selected as the first new host location of the event outside of Hawai`i in 40-plus years based on its strong community support, challenging course, and experience hosting IRONMAN® triathlons and other major events, including the successful recently completed 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3® World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission. St. George will also host the 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on October 28-29, 2022.

“The honor to host the first IRONMAN World Championship outside of Hawai`i is as humbling as it is thrilling. There are few events that hold the prestige and respect of the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona,” said Kevin Lewis, Director of the Greater Zion Convention & Tourism Office. “I think we understand the weight and responsibility we now have to carry forward the cherished significance of the IRONMAN World Championship and we don’t take that responsibility lightly. We have the deepest respect for the IRONMAN World Championship’s legacy in Hawai`i and all that has gone on before – the passion, the dreams, the gut-wrenching persistence, and the human spirit of caring for one another as we push forward to be the best version of ourselves. Hosting the IRONMAN World Championship here gives us the opportunity to truly honor that legacy with our own brand of enduring success, and once again I’m certain we will rise to it.”

“We are fortunate to have built such a strong and trusted relationship with our friends in the greater St. George region over the past 10-plus years,” said Andrew Messick, President & Chief Executive Officer for The IRONMAN Group. “St. George stepped up to ensure IRONMAN athletes will have a 2021 world championship, even if delayed into 2022. We all just witnessed why this special place has been dubbed the ‘Land of Endurance’ and we are confident that we will have an outstanding championship in May.”

IRONMAN World Championship Returns to Kona in October 2022 with Two-Day Race Format

For the first time in the 40-plus year history of the IRONMAN World Championship, the pinnacle event for triathlon will take place over two days with the 2022 IRONMAN World Championship returning to Kona, Hawai`i on October 6 and 8, 2022. The two-day event will see an expanded women’s professional field of 50 athletes race on Thursday, October 6, and 50 professional men race on Saturday, October 8. Details of the age-group races will be communicated in the coming weeks.

“We expect the races in October of 2022 to be unique and historic,” said Messick. “Two days of racing in Kailua-Kona addresses the overwhelming demand from athletes to race in a World Championship and will allow us to host our deferred athletes and place more emphasis on showcasing our women’s and men’s professional races.”

“We are excited to work in collaboration with IRONMAN to bring two events home to Hawaiʻi Island in October of 2022,” said Hawai`i County Mayor, Mitch Roth. “As our island’s premier sporting event, IRONMAN has been a trusted community partner for over 40 years, and we’re ever grateful for their willingness and ability to adapt to our community’s needs and contribute to its vibrancy. That said, we would like to send a sincere mahalo to the city of St. George, Utah, for allowing IRONMAN competitors a stage to compete, as we ready our shores to welcome back our IRONMAN ʻohana in anticipation of next year’s events.”

“It has been a challenging few years, however we have stayed true to our goal to create exceptional experiences for our ‘ohana,” said Diana Bertsch, Senior Vice President, World Championship Events for The IRONMAN Group. “We are grateful to our host communities in St. George and Kailua-Kona as well as their local and state officials, for their willingness to trust us. Our team is committed to putting on incredible race weeks as we add pages to the IRONMAN World Championship history books in May and October 2022.”

IRONMAN athletes registered for the 2021 and 2022 editions of the IRONMAN World Championship triathlon, along with athletes currently registered for 2022 IRONMAN St. George, will be contacted directly with additional information. For more information and event details for the IRONMAN World Championship, please visit www.ironman.com/im-world-championship.