The 2020 Ironman 70.3 Hawaii race has officially been canceled.
Ironman announced Wednesday the triathlon, also known as Honu, will no longer take place as scheduled on Nov. 21. The annual race was originally scheduled for May 30 of this year, but was postponed, first to Aug. 15 and then to the November date, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The next Ironman 70.3 Hawaii triathlon is scheduled for June 5, 2021.
“When we postponed the Ironman 70.3 Hawaii triathlon from its original date of May 30 to November 21, 2020, we felt confident we would still be able to deliver an exceptional event at the later date,” the Ironman Group said in a press release. “Unfortunately, based on further conversations and the updated guidelines set forth by the local authorities in relation to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, along with the health and safety of our community being an utmost priority, the Ironman 70.3 Hawaii triathlon cannot take place in 2020 and will now return June 5, 2021.”
Hawaii County has recorded 243 positive coronavirus tests as of Wednesday. The state’s total case count is 7,260 since Feb. 28.
The release also said all registered athletes of the 2020 Ironman 70.3 Hawaii triathlon will be receiving an email with further information.
Honu is a qualifier for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship and Kailua-Kona’s Ironman World Championship. In July, the 2020 editions of both championships were canceled.
Ironman 70.3 Hawaii consists of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run in Kohala, with the starting line near Hapuna Beach. More than 1,000 athletes competed in last year’s race.
San Francisco’s Justin Riele won Honu last year in 4 hours, 14 minutes and 34 seconds. In the women’s race, Natia Van Heerden, from South Africa, finished in first at 4:50:20.