Ironman World Championship announces changes to start times

Ironman has announced changes to the swim starts for its World Championship events. For the 2015 Ironman World Championship presented by GoPro, the men’s age-group race will begin at 06:55, with the women’s age-group race starting fifteen minutes later at 07:10. As in 2014, the professional men’s field will start at 06:25 A.M., with the professional women beginning at 06:30.

The 2015 Ironman 70.3 World Championship swim waves will also be adjusted to accommodate both professional and age-group athletes. The altered gap times between waves are designed to minimize swim and bike density on the course.

Ironman notes that the decision to adjust the swim start times was made following a thorough analysis of past participant data and with the goal to manage course density and level the playing field throughout each event. The objective of the adjusted swim start times is also to deliver a safe event while providing a world championship experience for all athletes.

“The adjusted swim starts at the Ironman World Championship will help to ensure a fair start for both professional and age-group athletes,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman. “By spacing out the start times, especially increasing the gap between the professional women and age group men, the athlete field will be more evenly spread throughout the course and provide a safe and balanced racing atmosphere.”

The new start times will not change the existing cut-off standards for the Ironman World Championship, (2 hours and 20 minutes for the swim and 10 hours and 30 minutes for the bike) but will alter the total finish time of the entire course to 16 hours and 50 minutes.

“We are proud to continue to enhance the athlete experience at the Ironman World Championship events. As the top competitors in the world, these athletes deserve the highest quality race possible,” said Diana Bertsch, Vice President, Ironman World Championship Events.

“The Ironman World Championship events represent the most prestigious triathlons in the world,” added Bertsch. “Our hope is that we can continue to enhance the quality of these races as the sport continues to advance.”

2015 Ironman World Championship (Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i) new start times:
06:25 Pro Men
06:30 Pro Women
06:55 Age Group Men
07:10 Age Group Women

2015 Ironman 70.3 World Championship (Zell am See-Kaprun, SalzburgerLand, Austria) new start times:
10:45 Pro Men
10:48 Pro Women
10:50 Physically Challenged and Hand Cycle Athletes
10:58 Men 35-39
11:04 Men 30-34
11:10 Men 25-29
11:15 Men 18-24
11:20 Men 40-44
11:26 Men 45-49
11:31 Men 50-54
11:36 Women 30-34
11:41 Men 55-59; Women 55+
11:46 Women 40-44
11:50 Women 50-54
11:54 Women 35-39
11:58 Men 60+
12:02 Women 45-49
12:05 Women 18-29

The IRONMAN World Championship takes place each October in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i and is considered one of the most prestigious one-day endurance events in the world. The IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship began a global rotation in 2014 and will take place this year in Zell am See-Kaprun, SalzbergerLand, Austria on 30 August. This will mark the first time the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship takes place in Europe.

 

from press release