Ironman moves premier event from Hawaii to St. George, Utah

Ironman. Photo: Mark Teasdale

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Ironman announced on Thursday that due to COVID concerns, for the first time in 44 years it will be moving its 2022 XC 70.3 World Championship from Kona, Hawaii to St. George, Utah on May 7, 2022. Triathlon’s premier event will then return to Hawaii, where it’s been hosted since 1978 ,with a new two-day format on October 6 and 8, 2022.

St. George’s challenging course and strong community support put it squarely atop the list of new venues from which to pick. Ironman holds intermittent, smaller, albiet lesser-known events in Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, and North Carolina. There’s proven experience in St. George hosting Ironman triathlons and other major sporting events like the Utah Summer Games. 

The postponement of the event in Kona means that for the first time since 1982 there’ll be two Ironman World Championships in one year.

Ironman said in a statement, “As the impact of COVID-19 persists on the Island of Hawai`i, resources remain stretched, and we lack confidence that the Big Island will be ready for us by early next year. As a result, our gracious hosts in St. George, Utah, have risen to the occasion to hold the 2021 edition. The Land of Endurance will mix the striking and austere landscapes of the desert to create a one-of-a-kind World Championship experience. In addition, we will now host a two-day IRONMAN World Championship in Hawai`i in October 2022. This two-day event will see professional women race on Thursday, October 6, 2022 and professional men race on Saturday, October 8, 2022, and age groupers distributed between the two days.”

St. George, having recently hosted an Ironman triathlon, will benefit from an estimated $88 million coming into the region via restaurants, lodging, gas, supermarkets, National Parks entrance fees, retail, and general tourism activity as a direct result of the back-to-back events. Not unlike the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games shined an international light on Northern Utah, these events are shining a bright light on Southern Utah as a vibrant and viable sports host. 

Kona resident of 20 years, International and Hawaii Swimming Hall of Famer, and coach to many Ironman athletes with her international swim camps, Karlyn Pipes, told Townlift from a training trip in Italy, “I was both relieved and disappointed that Ironman moved the World Championships to Utah. Relieved because February is not necessarily the optimal time for the town to support the event due to it being High Season. Disappointed because when Ironman corporation moves the Championships once, they’ve set precedence to do it again in the future. Kona is a small town and many livelihoods count on the financial boom they get from the town bustling with people from all over the world including Ironman athletes, supporters, volunteers, and spectators. It’s a well-known fact that Ironman would like the World Championship event to be twice the size that it currently is. Due to safety and limited space, the number is always going to be restricted if held in Hawaii. In St. George, they can easily accommodate 4,000 – 5,000 athletes and that’s a lot of revenue. Reportedly, the 2022 edition of the Ironman World Championships will be held in Kona in October. I look forward to the return of the great event in Kona.” She never ceases to feel inspired and privileged to be an Ironman finish-line ‘athlete catcher’. 

An expanded number of coveted slots are available for the opportunity to take home the $750,000 prize in the race which will be called the 2021 event. The application process is open now.