In a week-long tribute to the iconic IRONMAN World Championship, IRONMAN offered up a virtual alternative in the shape of the IRONMAN VR Championship Celebration.
The virtual celebration included the first-ever offering of a virtual full-distance IRONMAN triathlon – IRONMAN VR27 Kona. This enabled athletes to complete in seven-day, three-day and traditional 17-hour race formats.
Commencing on Sunday, October 4 and running through Sunday October 11, IRONMAN VR27 Kona saw over 8,000 registered participants take on the virtual IRONMAN.
In addition, over 14 hours of programming on IRONMAN Now via Facebook Watch provided a global audience with an in-depth view into the history and personalities behind the IRONMAN World Championship.
Through the hosted Kona Celebration Daily Show viewers across the world were able to relive all the hallmarks of world championship week virtually, including the E Komo Mai Welcome Ceremony, Ho‘ala Swim celebration, Underpants Run, Heroes of Hawai`i and much more.
IRONMAN VR27 Kona – by the numbers
- In total, over 8,000 registered participants took part in IRONMAN VR27 Kona
- Athletes represented 49 US states and 117 nations
- The United States led the way with over 2,200 participants, followed by United Kingdom (over 550), Germany (just under 500), India (over 350), Canada (over 300), and Philippines (over 250)
- Other nations represented included Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, and United Arab Emirates, among others
- Of the 49 US states represented, the greatest number came from California, followed by Florida, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, and New York
- 1,526 participants completed their first 140.6 full-distance race
- 123 participants completed their first 140.6 full-distance race in the traditional 17 hours
- Over 2,300 IRONMAN TriClub members registered for IRONMAN VR27 Kona
- In total, more than 33,000 athletes participated in the IRONMAN VR Kona Series
IRONMAN Virtual Club Platform – by the numbers
- The IRONMAN Virtual Club platform has reached more than 120,000 members since the inception of the platform
- In total, there have been over 330,000 registrations to participate in the IRONMAN Virtual races
- Over 17,000 TriClub members are registered on the IRONMAN Virtual Club platform
- To date, 127 athletes have completed all 27 IRONMAN VR races. Over the past 27 weeks of racing, these athletes have completed at least 425km of running and 1,401km of cycling
Kona Celebration Daily Show – E Ola Mau
Over the course of the race week, over 2.4 million tuned in to watch the Kona Celebration Daily Show on IRONMAN Now on Facebook Watch.
Hosted by Michael Lovato and Dede Griesbauer with reporting by Greg Welch and Matt Lieto, the program also featured special guests including IRONMAN legends, Master Coaches and professional athletes giving viewers an in-depth look at the greatest athletes and achievements over the event’s 40-plus-year history.
The week culminated with an edited re-air of the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship featuring live commentary from the top pros, legends of the sport and staff members taking viewers from swim start to the midnight finish.
www.ironmanvirtualclub.com
www.ironman.com
