The economic impact of swine flu has yet to be fully realised this year, although the organisers of Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya in Malaysia have now been forced to change date of this year’s race. As swine flu builds momentum worldwide, race organisers are observing latest developments and the potential impact on the summer and autumn/fall 2009 race season.
Regarded as the ‘Intelligent Garden City’, Putrajaya was originally due to play host to the inaugural event on 26 July 2009. Due to the recent outbreak of the H1N1 epidemic, both internationally and locally, Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya 2009 is now postponed to 4 October 2009.
This action is being taken to comply with the requirements from the local and national government authorities, in order to safeguard and control the number of imported cases to Malaysia, which have been on the rise in recent times.
All registered participants will have their entries restated to the new date. For those athletes who are unable to compete on the new date, a refund policy is in progress and will be released in the coming days.
Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya organisers have apologised for any inconvenience caused due to this postponement. In a statement, Race Director A. Chandrakumanan said that the organisers “will keep you updated on the development of this situation as more information is made available to us. We are committed to keep the safety and welfare of all participants as our utmost priority.”
