KAILUA-KONA — The state of Ironman? Pretty good and only getting better, according to Andrew Messick, CEO and President of Ironman.
Messick delivered his annual “State of Ironman” speech at the Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel luau grounds on Thursday, touching on the growth of the company, its initiatives and partnerships.
But what stole the show was the festive announcement of the Ironman 70.3 World Championships destination for 2020 — Taupo, New Zealand.
“We are pleased to bring the Ironman 70.3 World Championship back to the Oceania region,” Messick said. “Taupo is unique and beautiful destination with a local community that has embraced Ironman events and the thousands of athletes for 20 years now. We are excited to welcome some of the world’s most elite triathletes to what will no doubt be a fantastic world championship event.”
The event will move from its traditional late August, early September race date and will take place on Nov. 28-29, with the women racing on Saturday and the men racing on Sunday.
With a strong Ironman history that spans 20 years, Taupo has been a host city to the Ironman New Zealand triathlon since 1999 and also hosts a 70.3 race.
Unlike the 140.6-mile Ironman World Championship on the Big Island, the 70.3 world championship is on a global rotation that began in 2014. The 2019 edition of the 70.3 World Championship is in Nice, France and Messick said the take rates for those slots have been the highest Ironman has have ever had.
As for the state of Ironman, the overall numbers continue to trend upward. Messick said roughly 225,000 unique athletes participated in Ironman races around the globe. In more than 50 countries there were 41 Ironman full distance events, and the 70.3 series had 110.
The coming year will see races added in Greece, Russia and India — among others.
Messick also spoke on Ironman’s partnerships with technology companies like Amazon — the title sponsor of the world championship — and Facebook. He hopes it will help share the inspirational stories the races provide to a larger audience.
“We are creating a bigger, broader broadcast platform,” Messick said. “We want to create more enhanced ways to engage with our community.”
Messick closed by reflecting on 40 years of Ironman, which started all those years ago on the shores of Waikiki. Four decades later, the event continues to be a phenomenon and has provided thousands with memories that will last a lifetime.
“Who would have thought 40 years ago this one race on Oahu could have turned into what it has,” Messick said. “We are humbled and honored to help shape the direction of Ironman for years to come.”
