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2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship Coming To Taupō, New Zealand

August 5, 2020

- Taupō set to host event in December 2022 after 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship cancellation

TAMPA, Fla. / TAUPŌ, New Zealand (Aug. 5, 2020) – IRONMAN announced that Taupō, New Zealand has secured the right to host the 2022 IRONMAN®70.3® World Championship, a two-day event that will take place on December 10-11, 2022.

Taupō was originally set to host the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on November 28-29 prior to the unfortunate cancellation due to ongoing and widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 date means that the world’s top IRONMAN 70.3 athletes will still be able to enjoy a world championship experience in this unique destination that has embraced IRONMAN Group events for more than 20 years.

“While it was disappointing to have to cancel the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship it’s great news for our athletes around the world, those in New Zealand, and the wider Taupō community, that we’ve been able to secure this magical location for a world championship event in 2022,” said Andrew Messick, President & CEO of The IRONMAN Group. “Taupō is an iconic IRONMAN destination and we look forward to having the best triathletes in the world head to New Zealand for what will be a week-long celebration of triathlon.”

The 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship will see athletes take to the beautiful waters of Lake Taupō for the swim leg, before a single-loop bike course and a final run course that winds its way around the waterfront.

“We are ecstatic that, as the home of IRONMAN in New Zealand, we have been able to work with IRONMAN to secure the event for 2022,” said Taupō District Mayor David Trewavas. “We had already laid some solid foundations in preparing to host the world’s top triathletes and this additional time will allow us to offer an extremely polished event that will showcase both the Taupō District and New Zealand to the rest of the world.”

“While it may be two years later than originally planned, we are thrilled to be able to bring the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship to Taupō and can’t wait to continue our work with the great team there to put on an incredible event,” said Diana Bertsch, Senior Vice President, World Championship Events for The IRONMAN Group. “Taupō is an amazing location and natural fit for an event of this magnitude. New Zealand’s historical, cultural and familial ties to Hawai`i are significant and further connect our world championship events.”

With the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, St. George, Utah, USA becomes the next stop for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on September 17-18, 2021, before heading to New Zealand in December of 2022. The previously announced 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship finalist cities of Klagenfurt, Austria and Lahti, Finland will now carry forward to 2023 with an announcement of the selected destination forthcoming.

Further updates on the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship can be found at www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship.

For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com. Media related inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship

In 2006 the inaugural IRONMAN®70.3® World Championship was held in Clearwater, Florida becoming another test for the world’s elite triathletes. Since that auspicious beginning, the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship has grown in stature and popularity moving first to Henderson, Nevada in 2011, where athletes encountered a more challenging terrain and then to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec—its first stop on the new “global rotation” for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. The event reached European soil for the first time ever in 2015, with Zell am See, Austria, hosting an epic and memorable event. In 2016, the race moved from the mountains to the beaches of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. In 2017, the race returned to the United States, taking place in Chattanooga, Tennessee where it became a two-day event for the first time. In 2018, the event reached the African continent for the first time and was hosted in Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa. Continuing the rotation, 2019 saw the French Riviera and Nice, France play host to the ever-growing IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event. More than 200,000 athletes participate annually in a series of qualifying races, consisting of over 100 events in locations such as Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, North America, South Africa and Switzerland. Hosting more than 5,000 athletes from around the world, participants in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship have ranged in age from 18 to 85-plus. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/im703-world-championship.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN®70.3® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series®, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS®, ITU World Triathlon Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf® presented by Westpac, Ultra-Trail® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, road cycling events, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.

About Advance

Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, 1010data and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 17,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.