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The Ironman global triathlon series has confirmed its newly-split World Championship events will be co-hosted by Nice, France, and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, until 2026.
Confirmed:
- Hawaii was previously confirmed for 2023 women’s World Championships
- Nice has now been revealed as host for this year’s men’s race
- Ironman says the two venues will now alternate hosting duties until at least 2026
Context:
Ironman confirmed in November that it would split its men’s and women’s events from 2023, shifting away from the traditional format by which both annual races would take place in one location, historically Kailua-Kona.
Nice is well known to the triathlon series as it has hosted the Ironman France and Ironman 70.3 Nice France events since 2005, and previously staged the Ironman 70.3 World Championship event in 2019.
Comment:
Andrew Messick, president and chief executive, Ironman Group, said: “Nice, France, as the European birthplace of long-course triathlon is the right place to showcase this evolution.”
Coming next:
After separating its men’s and women’s World Championships, Ironman will be able to work on commercialising the events as separate market propositions, with the potential to sell different packages of sponsorship or media rights.
