The IRONMAN Foundation has announced the 2020 IRONMAN Foundation Ambassador Team, recent inductions into the Mālama Club, along with its 27 service project initiatives for this season.
The 2020 IRONMAN Foundation Ambassador Team is comprised of 33 carefully selected members: two team captains, 25 age-group triathletes, and six professional triathletes. The Mālama Club will comprise a total of 17 individuals.
“We have an extraordinary group of athletes serving as IRONMAN Foundation Ambassadors this season,” said Sarah Hartmann, Executive Director of the IRONMAN Foundation.
“This includes seven special age-group ambassadors who will specifically spearhead three programs: the Gold Star Initiative military program, the IRONAID program for athletes in the healthcare industry, and the IRONMAN University coaching program, linking our athletes to IRONMAN U programming and support.”
Last season, with support of IRONMAN Foundation Ambassadors, the IRONMAN Foundation provided US$1.8 million in grant funding to more than 1,500 local, regional, national and global non-profit initiatives throughout IRONMAN, IRONMAN 70.3, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series communities.
In addition, nearly 1,600 volunteers provided hands-on help in IRONMAN race communities through various service projects. Each service project benefits local non-profit partner organizations, linking athletes to the local community and leaving a legacy behind after race day.
This has included the Bike for a Kid pop-up service project, an IRONMAN Foundation and FLO Cycling program, which will expand its impact this year through the support of PLAYTRI, the Official Triathlon Store of IRONMAN.
“Athletes, TriClubs, volunteers, and their supporters are invited to join us at IRONMAN and Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series events throughout the season as we connect with our local race communities for unique, life-changing opportunities,” Sarah Hartmann continued.
“When we unite for a common purpose – changing lives through sport – we leave our IRONMAN legacy behind long after race day.”
2020 IRONMAN Foundation Ambassador Team
IRONMAN Foundation Ambassadors have been chosen for their involvement in each of their own communities and they will continue to exemplify what it means to ‘Race for More’ by focusing their efforts on the IRONMAN Foundation’s 27 giveback initiatives this season.
Leading the 2020 IRONMAN Foundation Ambassador team as IRONMAN Team Captain will be the ‘Voice of IRONMAN’ Mike Reilly and leading as Rock This Town Ambassador Captain will be Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series emcee Ann Wessling.
In addition, all six professional triathletes from last season will be returning for 2020.
Mirinda Carfrae, a three-time IRONMAN World Champion, along with husband Timothy O’Donnell, a multi-year IRONMAN World Championship top-10 finisher who placed second at the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship.
Additional pro triathletes are IRONMAN and USA Triathlon Hall of Fame Triathlete, eight-time IRONMAN World Champion, and the ‘The Queen of Kona’ Paula Newby-Fraser. She is joined by former Olympic athlete, and a USA Triathlon Olympic/ITU Athlete of the Year, pro triathlete Sarah True along with 2016 and 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 Africa Champion and fourth-place finisher at the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship Ben Hoffman.
Finally, Matt Russell, who made a comeback and placed sixth at the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship and won 2019 IRONMAN Lake Placid, rounds out the pro triathlete ambassadors.
This year’s ambassador team also showcases a variety of impactful age-group athletes:
- Shannon Spake is a multiple IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon finisher and a veteran sports broadcaster.
- Sebastien Bellin is a former professional basketball player who has played for the Belgian national basketball team.
- Nashville singer, songwriter, and guitarist Ryan Kinder is one of country music’s most promising up-and-comers.
- Mike Ergo is a Marine Corps veteran who has completed several tours in Iraq.
- At age 40, Derek Fitzgerald became the first American heart transplant recipient to complete a full-distance IRONMAN race.
2020 IRONMAN Foundation Mālama Club
In 2018, the IRONMAN Foundation expanded its ambassador program by launching the Mālama Club, a team of IRONMAN athletes who are ardent supporters of the IRONMAN Foundation’s mission of creating positive, tangible change in race communities, and embody the spirit of the Hawaiian word Mālama, meaning to ‘take care of, preserve and protect’.
Members of the Mālama Club include Darrell Freeman and Dr Timothy Deer, who have both raced in support of the IRONMAN Foundation for many seasons. This year, Dr. Deer will continue to help lead the IRONAID program.
Darrell Freeman is an entrepreneur and business leader in the Nashville area and leads the Freeman Family Foundation. The newest addition to the Mālama Club is Todd Behringer, Founder and CEO of Bicycle World Texas in Waco, Texas. He is a longtime supporter of the IRONMAN Foundation and raced at the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship in support of its programs.
