Women For Tri, a program of the IRONMAN Foundation, has announced that a total of 500 additional women will earn an invitation to race in the 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. The event takes place in Taupо̄, New Zealand on November 28-29, 2020.
Slots will be awarded to top finishing female athletes at 20 select races worldwide. The additional slots will be utilized by Women For Tri, launched by IRONMAN in 2015, to ‘welcome and empower new female triathletes to be a part of the sport’s continued growth in high-level competition.’
“With the introduction of our two-day world championship format, there is an opportunity for more high-achieving female triathletes to earn a spot to the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship,” said Andrew Messick, President and Chief Executive Officer of IRONMAN.
“As we continue to bring this pinnacle event around the world, the athletes that represent the Women For Tri team will help continue to grow the sport globally.”
Following the standard IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship rolldown ceremony at the 20 select races, 25 additional slots will be awarded to the next most qualified women, proportional by age group. IRONMAN notes that this will create a deeper field of female athletes while maintaining the integrity and prestige of an IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event.
The program launches in Ireland at IRONMAN 70.3 Dún Laoghaire on August 25, 2019.
| Event | Date | Country |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Dún Laoghaire | Aug 25, 2019 | Ireland |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast | Sep 8, 2019 | Australia |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Lake Placid | Sep 8, 2019 | USA |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Weymouth | Sep 22, 2019 | UK |
| UnitedHealthcare IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina | Oct 19, 2019 | USA |
| Subaru IRONMAN 70.3 Coquimbo | Oct 19, 2019 | Chile |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Arizona | Oct 20, 2019 | USA |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Shanghai Chongming | Oct 20, 2019 | China |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Langkawi | Oct 26, 2019 | Malaysia |
| Bicycle World Texas IRONMAN 70.3 Waco | Oct 27, 2019 | USA |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney | Nov 24, 2019 | Australia |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Taupо̄ | Dec 7, 2019 | NZ |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells-La Quinta | Dec 8, 2019 | USA |
| Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa | Jan 26, 2020 | South Africa |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai | TBD | UAE |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Rico | Mar 15, 2020 | Puerto Rico |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Florida | Apr 19, 2020 | USA |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Marbella | Apr 26, 2020 | Spain |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Pays d’Aix | May 17, 2020 | France |
| Subaru IRONMAN 70.3 Victoria | TBD | Canada |
All net proceeds from the registration revenue of the 500 additional slots will go towards supporting Women For Tri’s TriClub grant program. To date, nearly US$300,000 has been awarded by this program to TriClubs around the world to support women’s engagement initiatives, including bringing first-timers into the sport.
Since its inception in 2015, Women For Tri has reported an 18% increase in female participation in IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events, totalling more than 71,000 female athletes globally.
The IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship is the pinnacle event in the global IRONMAN 70.3 series. The 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship race in Taupо̄, New Zealand will be a two-day event with the professional and age-group women racing on Saturday, November 28 and the professional and age-group men racing on Sunday, November 29.
Throughout the 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 qualifying season, nearly 5,000 athletes will qualify to race in the 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship by way of more than 100 IRONMAN 70.3 races around the world.
www.womenfortri.com
www.ironmanfoundation.org
www.ironman.com/worldchampionship70.3
