PRO Start List for Isuzu IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in South Africa Announced; the Friendly City to see the World's Fiercest Competition

Ryf, Gomez look to repeat for share of $250,000 professional prize purse

Hauschildt, True, Frodeno, and Brownlee highlight a stacked field of additional professional contenders

TAMPA, Fla./NELSON MANDELA BAY, South Africa (Aug. 9, 2018) – Triathlon’s top talent will come together in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa for the 2018 Isuzu IRONMAN® 70.3® World Championship on September 1 and 2. Boasting one of the most competitive professional fields in the sport, the event will make history when the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship takes place in Africa for the first time.
 
“The professional field set to compete in this championship is once again extraordinary. We are looking forward to a great two-day event,” said Andrew Messick, President and Chief Executive Officer of IRONMAN. “Nelson Mandala Bay in Port Elizabeth, South Africa will be an excellent host as the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship hits the African continent for the first time; athletes from all around the globe are in for a treat.”

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In 2017, Daniela Ryf (CHE) added to her accomplishments a third IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship title in four years. Ryf will be looking to add to her impressive career and repeat as champion in 2018. Also vying for the title will be last year’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship runner-up Emma Pallant (GBR). The pro women’s field is stronger and deeper than ever.

Challenging these world champions is a group of talented women looking to break through, led by likes of 2013 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship winner and 2016 runner-up Melissa Hauschildt (AUS), 2015 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship runner-up Heather Wurtele (CAN), multi-time IRONMAN 70.3 Champion Jeanni Seymour (ZAF), and up and coming IRONMAN 70.3 competitor Sarah True (USA).
 
Below is the pro women’s start list for the 2018 Isuzu IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship:

On the men’s side, an equally determined group will seek to win this year’s title with two-time 2016 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Javier Gomez (ESP) returning to defend his crown. Jan Frodeno (DEU), who spent much of his upbringing in South Africa and was the 2016 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, is coming off impressive victories at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside to start the season, along with a win at the IRONMAN European Championship in July. American hopeful and 2016 IRONMAN World Championship runner-up Ben Kanute (USA) makes a return to the field to vie for another podium spot. Joining for his first attempt at an IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship title will be two-time Olympic gold medalist, Alistair Brownlee (GBR). Capping things off is last year’s fourth place finisher Sam Appleton (AUS), who has had a strong 2018 campaign including a victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa. These are just a handful of names who are among the impressive pro men’s field that is expected to line up at the 2018 Isuzu IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in just over three weeks.
 
Below is the pro men’s start list for the 2018 Isuzu IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship:

The 2018 Isuzu IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon will offer a $250,000 total professional prize purse which will be distributed to male and female first- through tenth-place finishers.
 
In addition to the competitive professional field, approximately 4,500 registered age-group athletes, representing more than 90 countries, territories and regions from around the world, are expected to compete at this year’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.
 
For more information about the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, please visit www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/world-championship.aspx. For more information on the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 brands and global event series, visitwww.ironman.com. Media may contact press@ironman.com.
 

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About IRONMAN
A Wanda Sports Holdings company, IRONMAN operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock n’ Roll Marathon Series®, Iron Girl®, IRONKIDS®, International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series races, road cycling events including the UCI Velothon® Series, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, premier marathons including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, and other multisport races. IRONMAN’s events, together with all other Wanda Sports Holdings events, provide more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. The iconic IRONMAN® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Beginning as a single race, IRONMAN has grown to become a global sensation with more than 230 events across 53 countries. For more information, visit www.ironman.com. 
 
About Wanda Sports Holdings
Wanda Sports Holdings is the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape – in three key areas: 1) Spectator Sports (media & marketing business), 2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business), 3) Services (digital, production and service business). Wanda Sports Holding incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media, the iconic endurance brand IRONMAN, and Wanda Sports China. The headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.
 
About 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 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 North American making it way to Chattanooga, Tennessee and marked the first time that the event would take place over two days. This year marks the first time the event will be held on the African continent, taking place in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa and for the second year will be a two-day race. More than 190,000 athletes participated in a season of qualifying races for the championship, a series which consists of over 100 events in locations such as Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland. Approximately 4,500 athletes from around the world are registered to compete in this prestigious race. Participants in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship range in age from 18 to 85-plus, and represent over 90 countries, territories and regions. In 2019, the event will be hosted in Nice, France.