Alissa Doehla (USA) and Nicholas Chase (USA) Earn Victories in 20th Edition of the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN VR Pro Challenge

August 21, 2020

– Nearly 4,000 athletes from 92 nations registered to compete in a three-division format for IRONMAN VR20 
– More than 115,000 people from around the globe have now joined IRONMAN Virtual Club platform 

TAMPA, Fla. (August 21, 2020) – Alissa Doehla from Fort Wayne, Ind. and Nicholas Chase from St. George, Utah completed an American sweep of the professional women’s and men’s races during the 20th edition of the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN^® VR™ Pro Challenge. Friday’s race positioned six professional athletes, three women and three men, for a head-to-head-to-head match up on a 90km bike ride on a portion of the IRONMAN Austria-Kärnten bike course, utilizing Official Virtual Cycling partner ROUVY’s augmented reality. The athletes took on a 500m swim and 5km run prerecorded at multiple training locations in their home communities around North America which were aired during the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN VR20 Pro Challenge broadcast on the IRONMAN Now Facebook Watch channel. The full broadcast can be viewed, HERE.

In the professional women’s race, it was Alissa Doehla (USA), a multi-time IRONMAN 70.3 podium finisher, emerging victorious finishing with an overall time of 2:53:47. Behind Doehla, Pamela-Ann Bachelder St-Pierre (CAN), a full-time physiotherapist as well as a professional triathlete with multiple top-ten IRONMAN 70.3 finishes, finished in second with a time of 2:56:59. Jennifer Spieldenner (USA), multi-time IRONMAN 70.3 top-ten finisher, rounded out the group in third with a time of 3:09:07.

Professional women’s results:

In the professional men’s race, 10-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force turned pro triathlete, Nicholas Chase (USA) provided an impressive performance, finishing with an overall time of 2:31:11. Behind Chase, Tripp Hipple (USA), an age-group IRONMAN World Champion turned pro with multiple top ten IRONMAN performances, followed in second place with a combined time of 2:35:12. Rounding out the group was two-time Olympian and four-time IRONMAN champion Brent McMahon (CAN) taking the third position with an overall finishing time of 2:41:02.

Professional men’s results:

In total, nearly 4,000 athletes from more than 92 nations and 44 states set out to participate in IRONMAN VR20. The IRONMAN 70.3 half-distance simulation requires athletes to complete a 5km Run, 90km Ride, and 21km Run between Friday, Aug. 21 at 6 a.m. ET (10 p.m. GMT) and race close, Sunday, Aug 23 at 7:59 p.m. ET (11:59 p.m. GMT). Competitors who race in the IRONMAN VR20 Classic division can do the three race segments anywhere, indoors or outdoors, in any order and are not required to do the segments consecutively.

The over 600 athletes who registered for the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN Virtual Racing Championship Series are bound by a different set of rules over a four-week long regulated age-group competition designed to reward top-performing athletes in a structured and competitive virtual environment. An athlete’s overall standing is based upon their top three performances in aggregate over a four-week period. Athletes competing will have the opportunity to earn race slots to the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship with a total of 75 qualifying slots allocated across age groups for top performers.

IRONMAN VR20 leaderboard updates can be found by visiting the IRONMANVR Facebook Page.

Bringing the IRONMAN community together virtually, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Club™ continues to grow and now has 117,000 members on the platform with thousands completing IRONMAN Virtual Club Challenges since its recent launch.

Full details and specifics regarding the IRONMAN Virtual Club are available on www.ironmanvirtualclub.com. For questions about the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series, athletes can email ironmanvr@ironman.com. 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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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 (www.advance.com), a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.