Ironman announced today that the Ironman World Championship will move outside of Hawaii for the first time in its 44-year history, taking place in St. George, Utah on 7 May 2022, prior to returning to Kona, Hawaii with a new two-day race format on 6 and 8 October 6 2022.
The 2021 Supersapiens Ironman World Championship will take place in St. George, Utah, on 7 May 2022, giving professional triathletes the opportunity to claim a world championship title and a share of the $750,000 prize purse. The ongoing uncertainty regarding Kailua-Kona and Hawaii's ability to host the event in February next year, as originally planned, required a change in venue to outside of Hawaii for the first time since the inaugural event in 1978.
St. George was selected as the first new host location based on its strong community support, challenging course, and experience hosting Ironman triathlons and other major events, including the successful recently completed 2021 Ironman 70.3 World Championships. St. George will also host the 2022 Ironman 70.3 World Championship on 28-29 October.
“The honour to host the first Ironman World Championship outside of Hawaii is as humbling as it is thrilling. There are few events that hold the prestige and respect of the Ironman World Championship in Kona,” said Kevin Lewis, Director of the Greater Zion Convention & Tourism Office. “I think we understand the weight and responsibility we now have to carry forward the cherished significance of the Ironman World Championship and we don’t take that responsibility lightly.
We have the deepest respect for the Ironman World Championship’s legacy in Hawaii and all that has gone on before. Hosting them here gives us the opportunity to truly honour that legacy with our own brand of enduring success
“We are fortunate to have built such a strong and trusted relationship with our friends in the greater St. George region over the past 10-plus years,” said Andrew Messick, President & Chief Executive Officer for The Ironman Group. “St. George stepped up to ensure athletes will have a 2021 world championship, even if delayed into 2022. We all just witnessed why this special place has been dubbed the ‘Land of Endurance’ and we are confident that we will have an outstanding championship in May.”
2022 Ironman World Champs returns to Kona with two-day event
For the first time in its 40-plus year history, the 2022 Ironman World Champs will take place over two days in Kona, Hawaii, on 6 and 8 October, 2022. The two-day event will see an expanded women’s professional field of 50 athletes race on Thursday, 6 October, and 50 professional men race on Saturday, 8 October. Details of the age-group races will be communicated in the coming weeks.
“We expect the races in October of 2022 to be unique and historic,” said Messick. “Two days of racing in Kailua-Kona addresses the overwhelming demand from athletes to race in a World Championship and will allow us to host our deferred athletes and place more emphasis on showcasing our women’s and men’s professional races.”
“The loss of the past two Ironman World Championship races certainly dealt us an economic blow," said Luana Hospitality Principal, Eric von Platen Luder. "Our restaurants have always received a big boost from the race, athletes, and their families. We are very excited to hear that with two races next October we can plan to make up for the economic losses from the past two race cancellations."
Ironman athletes registered for the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Ironman World Championship triathlon, along with athletes currently registered for 2022 Ironman St. George, will be contacted directly with additional information. For more information and event details for the IRONMAN World Championship, please visit www.ironman.com/im-world-championship.
