At a ceremony last week in Utah for the Governor’s State of Sport Awards, the 2021 Intermountain Health IRONMAN World Championship race presented by Utah Sports Commission was named as the Event of the Year.
The event took place in St George, Utah on May 7, 2022, after a two-year hiatus caused by the global pandemic.
With an inability of Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i to host the event in its usual location, the city of St George, Utah and the surrounding area of Greater Zion stepped up – becoming the first host venue outside of Hawai`i since the event first began in 1978.
IRONMAN noted that the 2021 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon, which was postponed to 2022 and relocated from Hawai`i, drew more than 15,000 athletes, family, friends, volunteers, partners, and staff to Utah, bringing over US$40 million in local economic impact, based on a survey conducted by a research team at Dixie State University and other data analysis. The 2,800 athletes competing represented all 50 states in addition to more than 80 countries, regions, and territories around the world.
“We are grateful for all our partners in Utah for opening their doors and allowing us to put on an IRONMAN World Championship event for our global community who had been waiting for years to compete on triathlon’s top stage,” said Andrew Messick, President and Chief Executive Officer for The IRONMAN Group.
“Being honoured with this award is a testament to our teams’ collective, dedicated work to put on an event that captures the imagination of our athletes and benefits from the strong partnerships that have been built in Utah over 12 years.”
The Event of the Year Award is seen as a fitting recognition after what has been a long-standing partnership between Utah and IRONMAN, with Washington County hosting 14 of IRONMAN’s races in the last 12 years – including three world championship events in just 13 months.
On May 6, 2023, Greater Zion will host the Intermountain Health IRONMAN 70.3 St George triathlon, which is designated as the North American Championship, providing for more qualifying slots and professional athlete prize money.
Created in 2012, The Utah Sports Commission, in conjunction with the Governor, created the State of Sport Awards to celebrate Utah’s sports industry and honour excellence at the high school, collegiate, professional, Olympic, and Paralympic levels. The state’s finest athletes, teams, coaches, events, and sports icons are selected by a nominating committee made up of Utah’s sports professionals and media, ultimately determining those that had the most remarkable accomplishments in the previous year.
Other honourees at this year’s Governor’s State of Sport Awards included the likes of professional golfer Tony Finau, University of Utah Head Football Coach Kyle Whittingham, and Olympic Gold Medalist Speedskater Apolo Ohno, who became an IRONMAN triathlon finisher when he completed the 2014 IRONMAN World Championship.
In 2023, the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship will take place in two locations for the first time in the history of the event – with the men racing in Nice, France on September 10 and the women racing in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i on October 14.
