It was announced today that for the remainder of 2020, the IRONMAN Group will not host any further events in the United States leading to the cancelation of IRONMAN® 70.3® Florida triathlon in Haines City. Additionally, no other events will be rescheduled during 2020.
Over the past two weeks the surge of COVID-19 infections in key event locations has led to the cancellation of events in Arizona (IRONMAN Arizona, Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona), Florida (IRONMAN 70.3 Florida – Haines City), Tennessee (Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville), and Texas (IRONMAN 70.3 Texas – Galveston, Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio).
Despite having safe and successful events in some of those locations just weeks prior, the dramatic shift of conditions particularly in Arizona, Florida and Texas has changed the ability to responsibly host events.
“With COVID-19 infections on the rise around the United States, we are not comfortable hosting any further events in 2020,” said Andrew Messick, President & CEO for the IRONMAN Group. “While we remain confident that our Safe Return to Racing Guidelines will protect athletes, volunteers and staff, the public health environment at this moment is not conducive to any type of mass gatherings. We expect to be back in action for 2021 with events that follow guidelines and recommendations consistent with the expectations set by public health entities and our race communities.”
In 2020, The IRONMAN Group launched virtual racing opportunities through IRONMAN Virtual Club and Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club platforms as a way to help bring the communities together and allow for athletes to be able to maintain the structure and continuity that training, and competition provides while physical events were not possible. These racing options remain free and available for people all over the world. To date, the virtual club platforms have seen participation from over a half a million athletes from 190 nations for one of the 62 IRONMAN VR or Rock ‘n’ Roll VR races.
About The IRONMAN Group
The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series®, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS®, ITU World Triathlon Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf®, Ultra-Trail® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, road cycling events, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.