70.3 Worlds changed to one day, St. George to host again in 2022

Ironman has announced changes to the Ironman 70.3 World Championship events for both 2021 and 2022 “based on the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Travel and border restrictions are expected to prevent as many as half of the athlete field from being able to attend the 2021 Ironman  70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah,” Ironman said in a release today. “As a result, the race will shift to a single-day event with both men and women racing on Saturday, September 18. Additionally, the 2022 Ironman 70.3 World Championship that was set to be held in Taupō, New Zealand will also now be held in St. George, Utah, giving the travel-restricted athlete community an opportunity to race in the “Land of Endurance” with a two-day format from October 28-29, 2022.”

Ironman remains “committed to discussing how to bring the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event to Taupō in a future year,” the release continues.

The 2023 Ironman 70.3 world event, which is scheduled for Lahti, Finland is to “continue as planned.”

The Ironman 70.3 World Championship first took place in 2006 in Clearwater, Florida, which served as the site of the event until 2011, when it moved to Henderson, Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas. Since 2014 the 70.3 worlds have enjoyed a global rotation – that year Mont-Tremblant, Que. served as the first Ironman world championship event outside the United States. Since then the races have taken place in Zell Am See, Austria (2015), Sunshine Coast, Australia (2016), Chattanooga, Tennessee (2017), Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa (2018), Nice. France (2019).