Ironman brand owner World Triathlon Corp (WTC) has announced a US$50,000 increase to the prize purse for its 7 September 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. The US$250,000 purse is the largest award ever offered for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
WTC notes that the prize purse is also the second biggest purse in long course triathlon after the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i.
The purse will be distributed among the top 10 professional male and female finishers, who earn the right to compete in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship by qualifying at Ironman 70.3 events around the world. In total, more than 2,000 domestic and international athletes will compete in the 1.2 mile-swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run through the scenic Laurentian Mountains and around the Quebec countryside.
“The Ironman 70.3 race series has been steadily growing since its inception in 2006. Ten new Ironman 70.3 races were added to the calendar for 2014,” said Andrew Messick, CEO of Ironman. “As the sport of triathlon continues to grow globally, Ironman remains a leader in competitive prize purses – offering a total of US$1.8 million for the 2014 Ironman 70.3 qualifying race series.”
Nearly 150,000 athletes will participate in the global Ironman 70.3 Series during the 2014-2015 season, which consists of over 70 events in locations across North America and Europe and other countries such as Australia, Brazil, Malaysia and South Africa. Each age-group winner at the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship will automatically qualify for the 2015 Championship.
