Ironman Choice Awards reveals Sweden is hot on athlete’s race list

Ironman’s annual Athlete’s Choice Awards reveals the most sought-after races around the world. The categories are broken down to include best swim, bike and run course on top of most recommended and overall satisfaction.

Anyone still deciding on which race to sign up for this year, the awards speak volumes in terms of finding the type of course that matches your strengths, goals and definition of fun. Both the 70.3 and full distance races are ranked across five categories. Chosen as the Ironman Global Award Winner for Most Recommended, Overall Satisfaction and Best Run was Kalmar-Sweden. Ironman published an anonymous quote from an athlete praising the race experience at the winning venue.

Global Ironman Awards

“The atmosphere in the event area, the stunning views along the bike course, and, above all, the incredible people of Kalmar cheering you on, all leading up to the finish line! This truly was an extraordinary experience and the perfect race for a first timer like me.”

The entire list of categories are Overall Satisfaction, Most Recommended, Best Swim, Best Bike and Best Run. Kalmar-Sweden made all top five lists in the Global Awards.

Other favourites that comprised the top five in Overall Satisfaction were Ironman France, Nice in second, Australia’s Cairns, Austria’s Kaernten-Klagenfurt, and Wales. The list is proof that Ironman athletes are tough, putting a rough swim and less than ideal weather, as is often the conditions in Wales, on the map.

For those who often choose their race based on the swim course, your fellow athletes have highlighted the best ones, albeit maybe not the fastest ones.

Top five races for the Best Swim were Brazil, Cairns, Florida, Malaysia and Spain’s Vitoria. Top five Best Bike courses went to Switzerland, Wales, Kalmar-Sweden, Lanzarote and Maryland. Making the list again was Kalmar-Sweden at the top of the Best Run category, followed by Frankfurt, South Africa, Texas and Cairns.

Global Ironman 70.3 Awards

In the Ironman 70.3 awards, the top Overall Satisfaction was awarded to New York’s Musselman, followed by three races in France, namely Nice, Vichy and Aix en Provence, with Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro also making the cut. Most Recommended went to Bagsaen, Thailand at the top, followed by Rio de Janeiro, Michigan, Brazil again with Aracaju Sergipe, and San Juan, Argentina.

Best Swim went to California’s Santa Cruz, Aracaju Sergipe, Panama, Malaysia’ Langkawi, and Washington Tri Cities. Winner of the Best Bike course was Musselman, followed by runner-up Elsinore in Denmark, Santa Cruz, Michigan and Bagsaen, Thailand. The popular Coeur d’Alene won for Best Run, followed by Italy’s Emilia Romagna, Oregon, Punta del Este in Uruguay, and North Carolina.

North American Ironman Winners

Awards also went to the top three races in each category across North America. Notable winners were gold for  Ironman Florida in the Overall Satisfaction category, with Lake Placid in second and Arizona rounding out the list. Lake Placid topped the list for Most Recommended, with Florida in second and Wisconsin taking third. Best Swim went to Florida, Wisconsin and Maryland, respectably. Best Bike went to Maryland, Lake Placid and Florida, and Best Run to Texas, Lake Placid and Arizona.

North American 70.3 Winners

Musselman, Ohio and Pennsylvania Happy Valley took the spots in Overall Satisfaction. Michigan, Oregon and Washington nabbed Most Recommended. Best Swim went to Santa Cruz, Washington and North Carolina. Again making the list were Musselman, Santa Cruz and Michigan for Best Bike, and Coeur d’Alene, Oregon and North Carolina had the Best Run courses.

Ironman also released statistics on the health of its races, revealing more than 200,000 athletes registered for Ironman and 70.3 events in 2024. The data also showed that more young people are participating, with growth in the 30-34 age group and a 25 per cent increase in participants under the age of 30.

The majority of athletes who registered came from the US, followed by Great Britain, France, Germany and Australia.

With some great races in our own backyard, the results do tantalize the imagination and racationer in all of us with stellar rankings for many overseas races.

The Awards were determined by about 48,000 athletes surveyed. For the full roster visit: https://www.ironman.com/athletes-choice-2024