When entries for the 2013 Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship Melbourne went on sale this morning it took just 4 minutes 57 seconds to sell out. This beat the 2012 event, which set a world best time sell-out time last year of 5 minutes and 10 seconds.
“This is a great achievement and testament to what an incredible event our team produced [last time],” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman. “Melbourne is the preeminent sporting capital of Australia and perfect venue for this iconic event.”
The rate of sell-out for Ironman Melbourne 2013 reflects the popularity of triathlon in Australia, and the Ironman brand in particular, and follows World Triathlon Corp’s (WTC’s) recent acquisition of local event organizer USM Events. Breaking the 5 minute barrier to sell out the event also points to robust event registration systems working behind the scenes Down Under.
It is also worth pointing out that Ironman Melbourne 2013 sold out more than twice as fast as the 2012 Ironman US Championship in New York. Last year, this event witnessed a rapid sell out, with the main batch of general registration tickets going in a lightning fast 11 minutes.
Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship Melbourne will be held on Sunday 24 March 2013.
The records have continued to tumble for the IM Melbourne event, as it took Craig Alexander to produce his best ever time (7hr 57min 44sec) to win the inaugural event after an epic battle with Cameron Brown, a race the New Zealander described as the hardest of his life.
The women’s race also produced extraordinary fast times with Switzerland’s Caroline Steffen stopping the clock at 8hr 34min 51seconds falling a minute shy of Chrissie Wellington’s world record.
