2016 IRONMAN All World Athlete Champions announced

After a successful year of competition in 2016, IRONMAN has announced the overall IRONMAN All World Athlete (AWA) Champions for each age group category. IRONMAN athletes received the IRONMAN All World Athlete designation in their age groups by competing in multiple events and earning Age Group Ranking points during the 2016 season. Racers were rewarded for their top three performances throughout the year, with the combined points determining the champion for each division.

The 31 overall IRONMAN All World Athlete Champions represented 10 different countries, with 20 champions hailing from the United States (twelve female, eight male). Australia had the second-most champions with three (two female, one male). Other countries represented were Denmark and Germany, both with one female Age Group Champion, and Brazil, Canada, Columbia, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom, each with one male Age Group Champion. The most represented states in the US were California, Colorado and Illinois, each with four athletes.

Over 24,800 athletes worldwide accrued enough points in 2016 to earn the designation of IRONMAN All World Athlete. The United States led the country standings with 8,256 athletes, followed by Australia (2,047), Germany (1,432), the United Kingdom (1,486), Canada (1,185) and Brazil (718).

To earn IRONMAN All World Athlete status, competitors must finish the season within the top 10% of their age group with their combined top three races. Athletes that have earned IRONMAN All World Athlete status are then classified into three levels: Bronze (top 10%), Silver (top 5%) and Gold (top 1%).

Globally launched in 2013, the Age Group Ranking program offers age-group athletes a way to earn points based on their race finishes and to measure their race performances against their fellow competitors regionally, as well as from around the world, in one cumulative system. Beginning this year, IRONMAN has also added a new designation of All Country Athlete. This ranks athletes’ yearly performances within their represented countries. Athletes who finish the season in the Top 10% of their country will now be recognized as an IRONMAN All Country Athlete. This allows competitors to see where they stand in comparison to their fellow countrymen and women.

Below are the winners in the overall IRONMAN All World Athlete category which includes performances from IRONMAN, IRONMAN 70.3 and sprint-distance events:

Full results that include champions in all categories (Overall, IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3) and more information, including a list of frequently asked questions about the IRONMAN Age Group Ranking program can be found online.

A Wanda Sports Holdings company, IRONMAN operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon Series, 5150 Triathlon Series, Iron Girl, IRONKIDS, six of nine International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Triathlon Series races, road cycling events including the UCI Velothon Majors Series, mountain bike races, premier marathons and other multisport races.

IRONMAN’s events, together with all other Wanda Sports Holdings events, ‘provide more than 680,000 participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings’. The iconic IRONMAN series of events is billed as the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN brand in 1978, through a single race in Hawaii, IRONMAN has grown to become a global series with more than 260 events across 44 countries.

Wanda Sports Holding is billed as the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape – in three key areas: (1) Spectator Sports (media & marketing business); (2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business); and (3) Services (digital, production and service business). Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Wanda Sports Holding incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media, the IRONMAN brand and Wanda Sports China. The company headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.

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