IRONMAN Foundation to Support Local Initiatives in St. George, Utah in Conjunction with 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship Presented by Utah Sports Commission

September 13, 2021

IRONMAN Foundation providing over $45,000 in charitable giveback to the greater St. George region

GEORGE, Utah. / TAMPA, Fla. (September 13, 2021) – The IRONMAN Foundation^® will distribute more than $45,000 in giveback to charitable initiatives and groups in the greater St. George region in conjunction with the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission, including a service project benefitting students from the Washington County School District. Combined with the giveback for the IRONMAN North America Championship earlier in the year, the IRONMAN Foundation’s overall giveback in St. George in 2021 will be $65,000, bringing the total amount awarded to the region to over $465,000 since IRONMAN started conducting events in St. George.

Community Grants

In IRONMAN host cities worldwide, The IRONMAN Foundation Community Fund provides community and volunteerism grant opportunities to nonprofit organizations. In all of 2021, the IRONMAN Foundation will distribute more than $2 million in grant funding to support the needs of race communities around the world.

In conjunction with the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship the following five local nonprofit organizations will receive Community Grant awards:

• DOVE Center will receive $2,500 to expand the center’s prevention education program to the sports community, focusing on the principles of teamwork and fair play to teach healthy relationship skills to community youths.
• Family Healthcare will receive $2,500 to provide healthcare services to financially insecure and uninsured patients who cannot afford to pay for healthcare.
• Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Utah will receive $2,000 for its A Brush with Kindness program, which assists low-income families with home improvements, such as the installation of wheelchair ramps.
• Headin’ Home Inc. will receive $2,500 to support equine assisted therapy programs to veteran’s, first responders, and others in need.
• Washington County Sheriff Search and Rescue will receive $3,000 for communication devices for communicate with law, fire, and EMS agencies on rescues, expanding the organization’s medical capabilities.

The remaining charitable funds will be distributed to various non-profit groups that will be volunteering at the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship.

“We are thankful for the opportunity to be able to give back to these amazing organizations within the St. George community,” said Audra Tassone, Executive Director of the IRONMAN Foundation.  “The last year and a half have been difficult for so many not-for-profits. We are honored to support these groups that are working hard to make a difference in their community and help those in need while also shining a light on the area as we celebrate athletic achievements at the highest level.”

Service Project – We’ve Got Your Back(pack)

From Wednesday, Sept. 15 through Friday, Sept. 17, athletes are invited to the IRONMAN Foundation booth inside of IRONMAN Village to help with the We’ve Got Your Back(pack) program. IRONMAN team members and volunteers will be packing 100 backpacks with school supplies and healthy snacks. The Washington County School District’s Foundation will then provide the backpacks to students in need.

IRONMAN Foundation Athlete Team

Five athletes will race the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission in support of the IRONMAN Foundation and its programs, including Carlos Omar who is aiming to set a Guinness World Record. The 2021 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship will be the 14th IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon that Omar will compete in during the 2021 calendar year, getting him closer to his goal of completing 25 IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons within one year. Along his journey to reach the record, Omar is raising awareness and funds for the IRONMAN Foundation, with the money he raises going back to his hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as the other race communities where he is racing on this journey.

For more information on IRONMAN and the IRONMAN Foundation, please visit www.ironman.com and www.ironmanfoundation.org. For media related inquiries, please contact press@ironman.com.

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About the IRONMAN Foundation 

The IRONMAN Foundation creates positive, tangible change in race communities by engaging athletes and volunteers to participate in programs that demonstrate service through sport and commitment to community. Since 2003, over $50,000,000 has been provided through giveback programs led by the IRONMAN Foundation to more than 9,500 local, regional, national, and global nonprofit initiatives. Through these partnerships, IRONMAN and Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series participants are powerfully linked to the community and together help leave a positive legacy behind in race communities long after event day. For more information on IRONMAN Foundation programs, including Team IMF, Community Fund, Rock This Town®, Your Journey Your Cause, Race for Change and Women For Tri, visit www.ironmanfoundation.org.

About the 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. In 2021, the event takes place in the Red Rocks of St. George, Utah on September 18 in the United States and again on October 28-29, 2022, before shifting to Lahti, Finland on August 26-27, 2023. 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^® Running Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS^®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf^®, Ultra-Trail^® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events including Haute Route^®, and gravel racing like Gravel Epic^®, 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-ironman-group.

bout 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.