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IRONMAN VR Team Challenge heads to Europe, Middle East, and Africa as the Live Broadcast Racing Format Enters Round Two Airing Exclusively On The IRONMAN Now Facebook Watch Page

April 7, 2021

- The second round in the three-week competition cycle begins with three teams of age-group athletes from Europe, Middle East, and Africa facing-off in Sprint, Olympic and Half-Distance virtual duathlons kicking of Thursday, April 8. - Preview show slated for Wednesday, April 7 on IRONMAN Now Facebook Watch page at 8 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. GMT) - Featured Captains include Former Welsh international professional rugby union player Shane Williams, heart transplant athlete and inspiring keynote speaker Elmar Sprink and IRONMAN World Champion, IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion and IRONMAN African Championship age-group winner Michelle Enslin

LONDON / TAMPA, Fla. (April 7, 2021) – Following the completion of the first round of the IRONMAN® VR™ Team Challenge that featured teams from North America, the competition will head oversees to Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) bringing a new region into the mix. The new live broadcast racing format focuses on three teams of age-group athletes that will compete and be broadcast exclusively on the IRONMAN Now Facebook Watch page. The three-month-long IRONMAN VR Team Challenge consists of three, three-week competition cycles which first began on March 17, 2021, pitting athletes from the North American region, before moving to EMEA and then Asia-Pacific. All eyes are now on EMEA as the region showcases its three teams who will battle it out for bragging rights over three weeks beginning on Thursday, April 8. A preview show to introduce the team captains will air on Wednesday, April 7 at 8 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET).

The EMEA competition cycle will consist of three teams of age-group athletes who will race in Sprint, Olympic, and Half Distance virtual duathlons. The teams will be captained by former Welsh international professional rugby union player Shane Williams, heart transplant and motivational speaker Elmar Sprink and IRONMAN®World Champion, IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion and IRONMAN African Championship age-group winner Michelle Enslin from South Africa. Notable professional triathletes will also be featured each week providing the teams an opportunity to bolster their scoring with Pro Wild Card Lifelines while engaging with the teams on the broadcast. Following the EMEA IRONMAN VR Team Challenge, the competition will continue with three teams from Asia-Pacific in the following weeks to come.

“We are extremely excited to showcase the EMEA region in the next installment of the IRONMAN VR Team Challenge, we have a great line up of team captains and look forward to following their progress as they battle it out for the regional bragging rights,” said Stefan Petschnig, Managing Director of IRONMAN EMEA. “Each team captain brings a wealth of experience in different aspects, from dealing with the pressures of playing international rugby in front of thousands of spectators on the world stage, to conquering the IRONMAN World Championship and winning her age group, to an athlete with an incredible story of overcoming obstacles and inspiring people every day. We are in for a thrilling and entertaining IRONMAN VR Team Challenge. We look forward to the next three weeks.”

The next IRONMAN VR Team Challenge will be broadcast starting with a preview show on Wednesday, April 7 at 8:00 p.m. GMT (3:00 p.m. ET) with the first EMEA featured region competition taking place on Thursday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m. GMT (3:00 p.m. ET). IRONMAN VR Team Challenge can be viewed on the IRONMAN Now on Facebook Watch page by visiting www.facebook.com/IRONMANnow.

Broadcast Schedule

Date

Featured Region

Event

April 7

EMEA Introduction of Team Captains from EMEA
April 8 EMEA

Olympic Distance Duathlon

April 15

EMEA Sprint Distance Duathlon
April 22 EMEA

Half-Distance Duathlon

April 29

Asia Pacific Introduction of Team Captains from Asia Pacific
May 6 Asia Pacific

Olympic Distance

May 13

Asia Pacific Sprint Distance
May 20 Asia Pacific

Half-Distance

EMEA Team make-up

The three-week EMEA competition cycle features three age-group Team Captains who will be required to complete the respective virtual events for that week (Sprint, Olympic, Half Distance). Additionally, each week, the captain will be tasked with forming a team of two athletes to join them for the weekend duathlon competition with the identified team members completing one of the disciplines (i.e. one biker and one runner). There will be no swim portion for the EMEA competition. There will also be two professional athletes joining the EMEA regional showcase as part of the challenge. Notable professional athletes will provide the opportunity to bolster the scoring with Pro Wild Card Lifelines while engaging with the teams on the broadcast. The professional athletes will join in the competition by posting a single sport split for either the bike or run segments. Team captains will have one opportunity during their three-week competition to swap one of their split times with a coordinating split time from their pro ambassador athlete, prior to the time being unveiled, allowing them to better their overall team time and performance.

EMEA Team Captains

Representing EMEA as Team Captains will be former international professional union rugby player Shane Williams, heart transplant athlete and inspiring keynote speaker Elmar Sprink and IRONMAN World Champion, IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion and IRONMAN African Championship age group winner Michelle Enslin. These captains will be tasked with forming a duo of athletes to join them each week for the competition scoring. Team Captains for the EMEA region to include:

  • Shane Williams– RetiredWelsh professional rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. Shane is the record try scorer for Wales, and is fourth on the international list of leading rugby union test try scores. He is Wales’ most capped winger and is considered to be one of the greatest wingers to play the sport. Learn more about Shane here.
  • Elmar Sprink– During IRONMAN Austria in 2010, Elmar Sprink was forced to withdraw after experiencing physical discomfort. This started the search for the cause of his condition. He was placed on a heart transplant donor list in the summer of 2011 and in June 2012, a suitable heart was found. Exactly 757 days after the operation, on July 6, 2014, Sprink was back competing in triathlon events and finished his first IRONMAN with the new heart in Frankfurt. Learn more about Elmar here.
  • Michelle Enslin– Michelle is a veteran triathlete, multi-time IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa, IRONMAN 70.3 Durban and IRONMAN African Championship age-group winner, 2018 IRONMAN World Championship age-group winner (coming second in her age-group category in 2019), 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship age-group winner (placing fifth in her age-group category in 2019) and IRONMAN 4 the Kids Ambassador. Michelle is an energetic and uplifting individual which she channels into her love for triathlon, charity and loving on animals.

Team Captains for Asia Pacific IRONMAN VR Team Challenge triathlon will be unveiled in the weeks to come.

North American Final Results

Following the three weeks of North American competition, Team Morgon Latimore, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and IRONMAN U Certified Coach, prevailed earning the top spot with a combined final score of 265 points. Following in second Team Ryan Kinder, Nashville based singer and songwriter, with a combined score of 240 points, and Team Shannon Spake, veteran sportscaster, rounded out the competition with a combined score of 210 points. Each team captain was joined by a trio of athletes each week who helped contribute to the scoring competition scoring. For a recap of the final week of North America competition visit here.

Rules and Process

Each region competes in its own three-week-long competition and consists of a Sprint, Olympic and Half-Distance virtual triathlon simulation. The teams from North America competed during round one in a triathlon format on March 18; EMEA will take part in round two in a duathlon format starting April 8 and Asia Pacific will begin their portion of the competition on May 6. In addition to watching the live racing unfold, viewers of the broadcast are able to engage through live interaction consisting of challenges, Q&A, and voting polls. At the end of each three-week regional challenge, the Champion Team Captain is announced. The winner is decided by whichever captain has the most cumulative points at the end of the three-weeks of competition. Team captains set up IRONMAN Foundation Your Journey, Your Cause fundraising campaigns where they are be able to collect donations for a charity and cause that is important to them. The winning team from each regional showcase will receive a $5,000 donation from the IRONMAN Foundation to further grow their Your Journey, Your Cause fundraising campaigns.

Scoring will be based on:

  • Athletic Performance: Each week, team captains will test their endurance by competing in each of the respective disciplines of the Sprint, Olympic, or Half-Distance virtual duathlon/triathlon (dependent on swimming ability in respective region). The scores for their swim, bike, and run segments for each distance are cumulative and combined with their selected team members swim, bike, and run times.
  • Social Media and Engagement: Athletic performance is not the only way teams can move up the leader board; throughout their three-week-long competition each team captain will share their personal experiences including favorite triathlon memories and tips, among other topics through their social media pages. During the live broadcast, viewers will vote on their favorite social media posts throughout the week, rewarding teams with more points.
  • In-Broadcast Challenges: Throughout each region’s three-week-long competition, In-Broadcast Challenges will require athletes to think on their feet to showing off their triathlon knowledge, helping them to earn more points and move them up on the team leader board.

For additional details on the IRONMAN VC platform, visit www.ironmanvirtualclub.com/. Questions about the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series can be directed to 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 IRONMAN Virtual Club

The IRONMAN® Virtual Club™ (VC™) brings the global IRONMAN® community together virtually week-after-week. Launching in April of 2020, the platform gives athletes from around the world access to IRONMAN U Certified Coach curated workouts, training resources, and challenges that prepare athletes to compete in the IRONMAN Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series. Athletes have the opportunity to train, compete, earn, and be rewarded as they set their goals towards a successful year of racing. In addition, through the Race Honorably campaign, IRONMAN’s goal is to provide an exceptional virtual racing experience with credible results that requires athletes to do their part by entering accurate data. Additional details about the IRONMAN VC platform can be found at www.ironmanvirtualclub.com/.

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 Marathon 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, and Women For Tri, visit www.ironmanfoundation.org.

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, 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.