The Ironman in Hawaii is a high mass for long-distance triathletes. It is only the 1st time in the 43-year history of the competition that an edition has been canceled.
The organization lists a number of reasons on the event’s website why February 2021 is too early. She refers, among other things, to “the state of the pandemic around the world, border and travel restrictions, opportunities for athletes to qualify, our mission to make it a truly competitive World Cup and our desire to maximize our athletes and hosts allow preparation time “.
The race in February 2021 would actually count as the 2020 edition. As in 1982 (then also in February and October), 2 races were planned in Hawaii next year. Due to the cancellation, there will be no winner on the honors list for this year.
“We are very disappointed that we cannot host an IRONMAN World Championship for the first time in our 43-year history,” it said. “But we’re going to do everything we can to make the next editions extraordinary world championships. The event will return on October 9, 2021.”
The Ironman in Hawaii consists of 3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of cycling and 42.195 kilometers of walking. German triathletes have dominated men in recent years. A German has always won since 2014. Jan Frodeno was honored for the 3rd time as world champion in Kailua-Kona last year.
With Luc Van Lierde (in 1996 and 1999) and Frederik Van Lierde (in 2013), 2 Belgians won in the past. Bart Aernouts was the last Belgian on the podium with a second place in 2018.
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