Ironman has announced it is introducing new and modified athlete categories for its full and 70.3 races going forward.
The changes are being brought in to increase inclusivity and further align the organisation's rules with World Triathlon's policies.
So what has Ironman actually decided to do?
Ironman category changes: What you need to know
Well, for a start, Ironman has created a completely new Open division, which will allow all able-bodied athletes to take part in Ironman events without having to compete in a gender or age-based group.
As such, there won't be any approval process for athletes to go through to race in this open division. Instead, you can just self-select the division during the registration process.
Anyone competing in this new Open division will still be bound by the brand's Competition Rules, but they won't be eligible for world championship qualifying slots.
The move differs to the approach recently announced by British Triathlon, who have updated their categories to include a female category, “for those who are the female sex at birth”, and an open category, for “all individuals, including male, transgender and those non-binary who were male sex at birth.”
In addition, Ironman has taken the decision to expand the existing PC Open/Exhibition division so that it now includes athletes with an intellectual disability. As a result, the category will now be known as the Physically Challenged/Intellectual Disability (PC/ID) Open division.
Athletes competition in this newly-modified division will also be eligible for the PC/ID Open World Championship Drawing slots for both the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 world championships.
"Inclusion in Ironman changed my life because it helped me get my dreams by giving me a big crazy goal,” said Chris Nikic, the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman.
“Now I also have a purpose to help others enjoy this amazing opportunity. A huge thanks to Ironman for being first and inspiring all the major running races around the world to follow."
Alignment with World Triathlon
Ironman has also aligned with World Triathlon on a number of other areas. Most notable is the fact that transgender athletes that are transitioning from male to female will need to maintain a testosterone level of less than 2.5 nMol/L for two years in a row before being approved to compete as a female.
In addition to that, athletes transitioning from male to female will also need to make sure they haven't competed as a male in an official multisport competition, or in a related sport, such as swimming, cycling, athletics and cross country skiing, for a minimum of four years prior to gaining approval to compete as a female.
However, athletes will be able to compete in the new Open division in Ironman events during that period.
Meanwhile, eligibility requirements for athletes transitioning from female to male remain unchanged from the existing policy.
All changes will go into effect from 1 March 2023 and you can read the organisation's full Transgender Policy here.
Top image credit: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images
