On September 10, Nice in France will welcome over 2,200 registered athletes to participate in the men’s edition of the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlon.
For the first time in the event’s 40-plus year history, the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlon will take place in two locations with the men’s field racing on the Côte d’Azur. The women’s field will line up in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on October 14.
Live race day coverage will be available on www.ironman.com/live with race preview content available on all of IRONMAN’s social media channels.
Given the new location for the men’s world championship event, regional representation at the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlon sees Europe lead the way with 54% of athletes registered to race. North America has the second largest contingent, accounting for 25% of athletes.
Latin America and Asia follow with 6% each. Oceania will add just over 4% to the field, while Africa and the Middle East will make up the final 4% to complete the athlete field for the 2023 edition of the event.
The United States of America is the most represented nation with 480 registered athletes, followed by Germany (249), France (210), United Kingdom (193), and Australia (89). Other athletes from countries as far as Indonesia, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe are traveling from around the globe to race the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.
Nice, France, will become the first co-host of the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship, the event’s first international location, and the fourth venue to host the iconic race, after Oahu and Kona, Hawai`i and St George, Utah.
- Ryuji Nakagawa (JPN) is the oldest male participant at 79, while Nicholas Catullo (USA) is the youngest at 18.
- 44 is the average age of all registrants.
- 4 athletes will be celebrating their birthdays on race day.
- 93 countries, regions and territories are represented, with top five being the United States, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Australia.
- 43 US states are accounted for, with top five states in athlete count being, California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Colorado.
- 1,269 athletes racing in this year’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlon are IRONMAN All World Athletes.
- 42 qualifying races from around the globe in 2022 and 2023 enabled athletes to reach the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship.
- Approximately 1,700 volunteers will help support the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship men’s race in Nice in 2023.
The 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Nice will kick off with the 2.4-mile (3.8km) ROKA Swim Course, which takes place in Mediterranean waters of Baie des Anges.
Athletes will then embark on the scenic and challenging 112-mile (180.2km) FULGAZ Bike Course which takes in the hinterland of Nice via hillside villages. The bike course also features challenging climbs and technical descents with elevation gains of up to 7,900 ft (2400m).
The four-loop 26.2-mile (42.2km) HOKA Run Course spans Nice’s Promenade des Anglais, passing alongside beach clubs, the Chaises Bleues (blue chairs), and the Negresco Hotel, all with the Mediterranean Sea as a backdrop.
Over the years Nice and the Cote d’Azur region have staked a claim as a major sporting destination, hosting many global sports events. As the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes on the French Riviera in the southeast coast of France, Nice became a birthplace of long-distance triathlon in Europe in 1982 when it first hosted the Triathlon International de Nice.
From 1994-2002, Nice was host to the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships five times. The triathlon became an IRONMAN event in 2005, and Nice has been one of the most popular locations on the IRONMAN race circuit, hosting both IRONMAN France, IRONMAN 70.3 Nice France, as well as hosting the pinnacle event in the IRONMAN 70.3 Series, the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in 2019.
