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Event Information:
Watch
the
Hawaii Ironman live online streaming.
The
Ford Ironman World Championship
is a long distance triathlon
competition that will be held on
October 13, in Kailua-Kona,
Hawaii. It will be the 36th such
Ironman Triathlon World
Championships, which has been held
annually in Hawaii since 1978, with
an additional race in 1982. The
championship is organized by the
World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).
For entry into the World
Championship race, amateur athletes
are required to qualify through a
performance at an Ironman or
selected Ironman 70.3 race. Entry
into the championship race can also
be obtained through a random
allocation lottery or through the
Ironman’s charitable eBay auction.
The division of athletes is divided
into professional, age group,
physically challenged, and hand
cycle divisions.
For
professional triathletes, the
championship season marks the second
year of a point system that will
determine which professional
triathletes will qualify for the
championship race. To qualify,
points are earned by competing in
WTC sanctioned Ironman and Ironman
70.3 events throughout the
qualifying year. For the
championship race that period is
September 1, 2011 to August 31,
. The top 50 male and top 30
female pros in points at the end of
each qualifying year qualify to race
in Kona. An athlete's five highest
scoring races are counted in the
point totals. At least one Ironman
race must be completed and only
three Ironman 70.3 races count
towards an athlete's overall point
total. Prior champions receive an
automatic entry for the Championship
race for a period of five years
after their last championship
performance provided that they
compete in at least one
full-distance Ironman race during
the qualifying year. Their entry
does not count toward the number of
available qualifying spots. The
Ironman series consisted of 28
Ironman races plus the 2011 Ironman
World Championship which was itself
a qualifier for the
Championship.
The name Ironman Triathlon refers to
both the original Ironman triathlon
and the annual Ironman World
Championship. Also called Ironman
Hawaii, the world championships of
the event, held annually in Hawaii
since 1978 (with an additional race
in 1982), are now preceded by a
series of qualifying events. Ironman
Triathlon became known for its
grueling length, harsh race
conditions, and television coverage.
The
Ironman World Championship has been
held annually in Hawaii since 1978,
with an additional race in 1982. It
is owned and organised by the World
Triathlon Corporation and is
currently sponsored by Ford. It is
the annual culmination of a series
of Ironman triathlon qualification
races held throughout the world.
From 1978 through 1980 the race was
held on the island of Oahu, the
course combining that of three
events already held there: the
Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4
mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike
Race (115 mi./185.07 km, originally
a two-day event), and the Honolulu
Marathon. In order to link the end
of the bike stage to the start of
the marathon course, the bike stage
was reduced by 3 miles. In 1981 the
race was moved to the less urbanized
Big Island, keeping the distances
the same: a 2.4 miles (3.86 km) open
water swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, a 112
miles (180.25 km) bike ride across
the Hawaiian lava desert to Hāwī and
back, and a marathon (26 miles 385
yards, 42.195 km) run along the
coast of the Big Island from Keauhou
to Keahole Point and back to Kailua-Kona,
finishing on Alioi Drive.
Since
1982 the race has been held in the
fall each year, before which it was
held in the spring, giving two races
in 1982. The most recent Ironman
World Championship took place on
October 9, 2010. Qualifying for the
World Championship is achieved
through placement in one of the
other Ironman races or some Ironman
70.3 races. The current Ironman
Hawaii course record was set in 1996
by Luc Van Lierde (Belgium), whose
winning time was 8 hrs 4 mins 8 sec.
The women's course record is 8 hrs
54 mins 2 sec, set in 2009 by
Chrissie Wellington (Great Britain).
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