A strong line up of Australian professional male triathletes are set to take on the best in the world at the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo.
The men’s race will see six Australians amongst the 50-strong professional field, all shooting for World Championship glory on Sunday.
Over 2,400 professional and age-group women will take centre stage on Saturday 14 December, while around 3,800 men will go head-to-head on Sunday as New Zealand hosts the prestigious event for the first time. Professional athletes will battle it out for a piece of the $500,000 USD professional prize purse and the crown of IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, with the winner taking home $75,000 USD.
The VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship will also be the culmination of the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series™ and the last chance for professional athletes to score points towards their final standings, with a maximum of 3,000 points on offer to the winners in Taupo. At the conclusion of both professional races in Taupo, the first-ever IRONMAN Pro Series Champions will be crowned, with the female and male winners earning a historic bonus payout of $200,000 USD each. A total bonus prize pool of $1.7million USD will be shared among those finishing in the IRONMAN Pro Series top 50 in each gender.
Brisbane’s Josh Amberger is the top seeded Australian in the field, having secured his spot in Taupo after winning the IRONMAN 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship in Langkawi, Malaysia, last October. This year Amberger has had a number of top-10 finishes at races around the world, including at IRONMAN South Africa, the Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns and IRONMAN Malaysia.
Mitch Kibby heads into the World Championship with a buildup like he’s never had before, with he and his partner welcoming their first child, a daughter, into the world last weekend.
Kibby was ninth at the IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship on December 1, before heading back home to Melbourne with his daughter arriving early on December 7.
“It's been quite a different preparation to last year but I'm happy with how the days have stacked up in the last few months,” said Kibby. “I had a short training block at Falls Creek before Busselton and was content with my form in Western Australia. Our first baby has just arrived three weeks ahead of schedule on Saturday 7 December and she split the IRONMAN race calendar perfectly. Fingers crossed I'll make the plane on Friday and be there to take on the world.”
Kibby is looking forward to taking on the best in the world, having finished 16th at the 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, at an event that has been many years in the making, originally planned to be held back in December 2020.
“There has been so much talked about the Taupo course and the December race date. It's really great for New Zealand to have the spotlight and I hope for their sake, and ours, we get a nice day to show off the scenery,” said Kibby. “I love that we can race in our summer and hope the athletes from the Northern Hemisphere have been cold and wet for months.
“It's our Grand Final day and it's a great test of our ability to handle the roller coaster of the year and the challenge of getting our best energy on the day we want it,” he said. “I have a close eye on the IRONMAN Pro Series points and would be well satisfied with an uneventful day to move into the top 50 at the finish.”
Caleb Noble will make his IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship debut this weekend and is excited by the prospect of racing at what is almost a home World Championship.
“I think it’s great that we finally have a chance to race close to home for a World Championship with a stacked international field,” said Noble. “Taupo seems like a perfect place for the race to be held and glad it has finally arrived after all the years being postponed. The preparation has gone well for me, I went away on a training camp in Falls Creek after IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne for just under three weeks to best prepare for this race without being too far from home.
“It would be great to finish my year with a solid result here. I have made a lot of changes throughout this year so finishing off strong would be great validation that I have made the right decision for my career going forward,” he said. “Since qualifying back in April this year, I have aimed to plan the year out around this race.”
Kurt McDonald is another Aussie set to race at his first IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on Sunday with this race being circled on the calendar for some time now.
“My preparation for the upcoming IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship has been long and specific. My entire calendar has been based around this event, so I am eager to get on the start line, arrive fit and healthy, with a lot of confidence in my ability come race day,” said McDonald. “Having qualified at the 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship in Langkawi, this event has been on my radar for over 12 months. I am excited to show off all the progression I have made during this period.”
McDonald has his sights set on mixing it up with the best in the world across the 1.9km swim, 90km ride and 21.1km run.
“A strong performance will make 2024 a great success. Being my first appearance at an IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship there is no external pressure, however on a personal level, I would love to secure a top-10 finish,” said McDonald.
Sunday’s race will also feature Australians Calvin Amos and Nicholas Free, both of whom have had some strong results on home soil this year.
The professional men’s race will feature some the best middle-distance athletes in the world including defending IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen (DEU), Paris 2024 silver medallist Hayden Wilde (NZL) and bronze medallist Leo Bergere (FRA) and current IRONMAN Pro Series leader Gregory Barnaby (ITA).
The professional men’s race gets underway at 7:00 a.m. NZT on Sunday 15 December, with live coverage beginning at 6:30 a.m. NZT.
Live coverage of the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for global viewers including proseries.ironman.com, DAZN, YouTube, Sky Sport Now in New Zealand, Outside TV exclusively for the U.S. and Canada, L’Équipe Live in France, iQIYI in China and beIN Sports for the Middle East, North Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, amongst others.
For more information about the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event, please visitwww.ironman.com/im703-world-championship.