World’s Top Male Triathletes Return to the French Riviera for the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship Triathlon

September 9, 2025

- More than 2,500 registered male athletes from 86 countries, regions, and territories will converge in Nice, France for the men’s race of the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship on Sunday, September 14

NICE, France / TAMPA, Fla. (September 9, 2025) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Top male triathletes from around the world are set to take center stage on the Côte d’Azur on Sunday, September 14 for the 2025 IRONMAN^® World Championship^® triathlon in Nice, France. More than 2,500 registered age-group and professional athletes from 86 regions, countries, and territories will tackle the legendary course as they race for IRONMAN World Championship glory.

Regional representation at the men’s 2025 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon sees Europe lead the way with 48 percent* of athletes registered to race, followed by North America with the second most, accounting for 24 percent of athletes. Asia and Oceania both make up 10 percent of athletes apiece, while Latin America will add seven percent to the field. Africa and the Middle East will make up the final two percent to complete the athlete field for the 2025 men’s edition of the event.

The United States of America is the most represented nation with 501 registered athletes, followed by host nation France (284), Germany (228), United Kingdom (217), and Australia (156). Other athletes from countries as far as Armenia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam are traveling from around the globe to race the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon in Nice.

Notable age-group athletes competing at the men’s 2025 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon include:

• Richard Burgess (USA) – will represent as the oldest competitor at 76-years young, while Brayden McKenzie (AUS) will be the youngest male competitor at the IRONMAN World Championship at 18 years old.
• Luke Ambler & Jonny Mason (Halifax, UK) – Luke is the founder of ANDYSMANCLUB – one of the UK’s fastest growing mental health charities, supporting over 6,000 men every week through more than 300 free peer-support groups nationwide. In 2025, Luke and his good friend Jonny are taking on a powerful mission: to complete all five UK IRONMAN events; including full and middle distances as part of their campaign Mission Possible for ANDYSMANCLUB. Luke is a former professional rugby player turned endurance athlete and a leading voice in men’s mental health.  At eight years old, Luke’s parents separated which sent him into a spiral, causing him to comfort eat and put on a lot of weight and became a victim of bullying. During this time, Luke’s mother was also in a serious car accident, leaving her with brain damage. To help him cope, Luke’s dad encouraged him to get into rugby, which gave him a feeling of significance that he’d never had before. He was soon scouted to play for Leeds Rhinos. In 2016, Luke’s brother-in-law – Andy Roberts – took his own life, aged just 23, leaving behind a young daughter. A few days later, determined to help other men going through mental health challenges, Luke created Andy’s Man Club. A close friend, Jonny Mason is a proud dad of three, business owner and passionate triathlete, who having lost family members to suicide, found strength and healing through IRONMAN races.
• Luke Hopkins (Austin, Texas, USA) – Luke is a NASM Certified Personal trainer, professional bodybuilder, hybrid athlete, content creator, and entrepreneur. Prior to working as a personal trainer, Luke earned his bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from the University of Southern California. Throughout his life Luke has had to overcome adversity. discover purpose and find his ‘why’ through family challenges. Through a passion and commitment to living a healthy and active lifestyle, Luke has undertaken a journey to complete an IRONMAN triathlon and, in the process, share his journey across his social media. In 2024, Luke completed two IRONMAN 70.3 races, qualifying for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in the process, and then completed his goal of finishing an IRONMAN, which he did in Wisconsin last September. Following his success, Luke has found a passion for his new hobby and wants to encourage others to enjoy the journey of training and smashing their goals.
• Brayden & Travis McKenzie (Adelaide, Australia) – In June 2025, father and son Travis and Brayden McKenzie completed IRONMAN Cairns – the result of a six-year journey that began with a pact following a horrific cycling crash. It was Travis’ first IRONMAN in 12 years and Brayden’s first ever.  In June 2019, when Brayden was just 12 years old, he and his dad were both struck by an out-of-control van while out riding their bikes together. Brayden suffered a fractured pelvis, concussion, and abrasions down his right side. Travis, a multiple time IRONMAN finisher prior to the accident, was hurt even worse, with his injuries requiring four operations and 12 months off work.  Needing a lofty goal to work towards their recovery, the duo made a commitment to each other that they would both do an IRONMAN together once Brayden was old enough.  Six years from the accident, Brayden and Travis completed IRONMAN Cairns, both qualifying for the IRONMAN World Championship. Brayden will be the youngest competitor competing in Nice this year.
• Aaron Fleming (Queenstown, New Zealand) – In 2000, aged just 16, Aaron faced a life-altering challenge when he underwent major lung surgery. Doctors advised him that he would never be able to physically exert himself again. Defying these grim predictions, Aaron completed his first IRONMAN triathlon in 2006 at IRONMAN New Zealand. Since then, he has completed an IRONMAN triathlon on every continent that hosts the event, conquering races in the USA, Australia, Malaysia, England, South Africa, and Brazil. And now he’s off to the IRONMAN World Championship. Aaron’s achievements in triathlon have also served a greater purpose. Through his athletic endeavors, he has raised over $40,000 for various charities, with a significant portion benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Association. Aaron has been to dark places during his life, but for 20 years IRONMAN has made him strong and opened doors in his career he would never have opened. Aaron credits IRONMAN with saving his life.
• Antal Vamosi (Calenzana, France) – On 31 October 2013 – in Nice – Antal lost his wife after battling two brain tumor surgeries. During his late wife’s treatment, the couple’s three daughters were born prematurely in Nice just before their mother’s operation. While walking down the Promenade des Anglais, Antal made a promise to himself that he would one day complete an IRONMAN event in Nice to honor his late wife. He turned his grief into motivation by buying a bike and started triathlon training after her passing. He has since completed nine IRONMAN 70.3 events and nine IRONMAN events and was recently able to qualify for the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice. He will now have the chance to fulfill the promise he made to himself more than a decade ago. After years of completing races with deep personal meaning, resilience and inspiration, he is ready to honor his wife and set an example for his three daughters.

To hear some of these inspiring athletes share their stories of overcoming adversity and empowering others to prove that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE®, the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship Men’s Ambassador Athlete Panel will be taking place on Thursday September 11 at 12 p.m. on the IRONMAN Village Stage, Miroir d’Eau in Nice, and is open to the general public. The panel will also be livestreamed on the IRONMAN Triathlon YouTube Channel.

Additional interesting facts and stats on the field competing in the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship men’s race in Nice, France:

• 49 is the average age of all registrants
• 4 athletes will be celebrating their birthdays on race day
• 86 countries, regions and territories are represented, with top five being the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Australia
• 40 qualifying races from around the globe in 2024 and 2025 enabled athletes to reach the IRONMAN World Championship
• Approximately 1,500 volunteers will be helping across race week and on race day to help make the IRONMAN World Championship women’s race in Nice successful in 2025.

The 2025 IRONMAN World Championship in Nice will kick off with the 2.4-mile (3.8km) ROKA Swim Course, which takes place in blue Mediterranean waters of Baie des Anges. Athletes will then embark on the scenic and challenging 112-mile (180.2km) ZOOT Bike Course which follows through the hinterland of Nice via the beautiful hillside villages. Athletes will enjoy the picturesque views of the Alpes-Maritimes region on the ascent and then have an opportunity to take in Clues de Gréolières on their descent. Along with stunning coastline, and charming villages, the course also features challenging climbs and technical descents with elevation gains of up to 7,900 ft. (2400 meters). The four-loop 26.2-mile (42.2km) HOKA Run Course spans end to end of the iconic Promenade des Anglais, passing alongside the famous beach clubs, the Chaises Bleues (blue chairs), and the monumental Negresco Hotel, all with the Mediterranean Sea as a backdrop. With each loop, competitors will experience the energy of the crowd as they tackle the flat, fast course, and push their limits culminating in a World Class finish line experience on the Promenade des Anglais.

How to follow all the action on Race Day

Live race day coverage of the men’s 2025 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for global viewers including proseries.ironman.com, DAZN, and YouTube, as well as L’Équipe in France, Outside TV in the U.S. and Canada, ZDF in Germany, ESPN (within Disney+) in Latin America and the Caribbean, and iQIYI in China, among others. Live race day coverage will begin at 5:15am CEST.

Fans can also follow the @ironmantri social channels for a behind the scenes view of what it takes to have a chance at world-title glory. The ‘A Fighting Chance’ IRONMAN series will drop three new pre-race episodes featuring eight athletes, with Episode 1 on Monday, Sept. 8, Episode 2 on Wednesday, Sept. 10, and Episode 3 on Friday, Sept. 12, giving audiences a glimpse of what it takes to prepare for race day, as well as the staging behind such an iconic event. Find live race-day coverage of the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon in Nice globally via proseries.ironman.com.

For more information about the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship men’s race in Nice, France please visit www.ironman.com/races/im-world-championship-nice. To learn more about the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and series of events, please visit www.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

*Percentages rounded, approximate

###

About the IRONMAN World Championship

On February 18, 1978, 15 competitors came to the shores of Waikiki, Hawai`i to take on the first-ever IRONMAN<sup>®</sup> triathlon. It was an idea hatched by John Collins, a Naval Officer stationed in Hawai`i, and his wife Judy during a swim club gathering. Collins’ proposal was a friendly test of fitness combining the three toughest endurance races on Oahu into one race: The 2.4-mile Waikiki Rough-water Swim, the 112-mile Around-Oahu Bike Race, followed by a 26.2-mile run on the Honolulu Marathon course. That first race would set the stage for what IRONMAN triathlon would become: the most-challenging single-day sporting event in the world, and a brand symbolizing the belief that “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^®.” Since its inception in 1978 on the Island of O`ahu and continued history in Kona on the Island of Hawai`i with recent stops in St. George, Utah and Nice, France, the IRONMAN World Championship^® triathlon has etched its name in history through historic performances, inspiring athletes, and a lifetime of memories that define the sport of triathlon today. The IRONMAN World Championship remains the most iconic single-day endurance sporting event in the world and is the culmination of 40 global IRONMAN events with over 94,000 athletes around the world striving for one of the coveted qualifying slots of any sporting event in the world. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/races/im-world-championship.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group is the world’s largest operator of participation sports with a portfolio of brands, events, media, partners, merchandise, and digital platforms operating in over 50 countries worldwide. A global portfolio consisting of hundreds of events includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, 5150^® Triathlon Series, IRONKIDS^®, premier running events including the Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Running Series, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf^®, the UTMB® World Series of trail running, the Epic Series™ of mountain biking including the Absa Cape Epic^®, and a collection of road cycling and other multisport races. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, millions of athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. From its beginnings as a single race among friends in Hawai’i, The IRONMAN Group has become a global sensation and collection of high-growth lifestyle brands that inspire people to unlock their potential in life. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about/ironman-group.