This event offers qualifying slots to the 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. WITHDRAWAL OPTIONS: Contact Marti by email in writing to defer your entry to the following year. You will pay a fee of only $75.00 to activate your deferral registration. Taking place on Sunday 17th September, IRONMAN 70.3 Weymouth will be the last event on the 2017 UK & Ireland calendar. There will now be a total of 75 qualifying slots available for age group athletes looking to qualify for the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. How to qualify: The only way to qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship is by earning a qualifying slot at one of the Ironman 70.3 races held around the world. The roll-down policy works the same as with the Ironman World Championship, and athletes pay for the race when they earn their slot ($400 for the 2014 race). Each qualifying Ironman or Ironman 70.3 event will have at a minimum one men’s and one women’s professional slot. For the global 2019 Ironman professional calendar, the number of Ironman World Championship slots is expected to be approximately 100, similar to the current total allocation. XC Age Division Slot - A minimum of two (2) IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship slots will be awarded to EACH XC Age Division. Each IRONMAN 70.3 XC Series event in 2021 will have two (2) preset Age Divisions: 49 and Under (includes both male and female athletes) 50 and Over (includes both male and female athletes).

Hot on the heels of the announcement of IRONMAN 70.3 Egypt next year, long distance racing will be returning to Maastricht-Limburg in 2021. Previously a full-distance event, the new IRONMAN 70.3 Maastricht-Limburg will be the headline event of the Maastricht Multisport Festival.

IRONMAN RACING RETURNS TO MAASTRICHT-LIMBURG

• New IRONMAN 70.3 Maastricht-Limburg headlines Maastricht Multisport Festival
• Inaugural event to be held on August 1, 2021

Twice is a charm. After a two-year hiatus in 2019 and 2020, IRONMAN racing will be returning to the community of Maastricht-Limburg in 2021 with the inaugural IRONMAN® 70.3® Maastricht-Limburg to be held on August 1, 2021.

The community in the southeastern part of the Netherlands previously hosted IRONMAN Maastricht-Limburg four times between 2015 and 2018, and Maastricht Multisport Festival – consisting of a 5150 Triathlon Series Event, a 4:18:4 Short Course Triathlon and an IRONKIDS race – in 2019.

Now, IRONMAN 70.3 Maastricht-Limburg will become the marquee event for the Multisport Festival which will include all other race distances and formats for 2021 as well. “We are delighted to return to Maastricht-Limburg with the IRONMAN brand,” said Stefan Petschnig, Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa for The IRONMAN Group. “But then again we never really left. Multisport Festival Maastricht was a huge success in 2019 and adding an IRONMAN 70.3 race was the logical evolution. It is our way of embracing the community and its dedication to the sport of triathlon.”

With the addition of the new event, The Netherlands will host two IRONMAN 70.3 races in 2021, including IRONMAN 70.3 Westfriesland on June 27, 2021.

“This event showcases our ambitions to position Limburg as an international top sports region. IRONKIDS is a great investment in the future in which school and sports clubs can join in. That was a big reason for us to bring the event to Limburg, which is something we have spent considerable time on with various parties behind the scenes,” said Joost van den Akker, Regional Minister of Sports of the Province of Limburg.

The Province of Limburg and the Municipality of Maastricht have pledged their full support: “We are looking forward to the new event,” added Bert Jongen, Alderman of Sports of the City of Maastricht. “IRONMAN has been a success story for us, and the City has seen a considerable economic impact throughout the years. The new set up of the event weekend offers various options that will cater to young athletes, first timers and experienced athletes alike.”

Athletes of the new IRONMAN 70.3 Maastricht-Limburg will start their race at “St. Servaasbrug” (The Netherlands’ oldest street bridge) and then set out on a 1,9 km (1.2-mile) spectator-friendly swim course in the Maas River. After one loop on the swim course, they then transition onto the newly designed 90 km (56-mile) bike course that leads along various beautiful hotspots in the South of Limburg. With a few small climbs and some straight roads, the one-loop course offers the best of both worlds. The final 21,1 km (13.1-mile) run course provides athletes with an unforgettable experience as they complete three loops that run through the historic city center and pass famous places like “Onze Lieve Vrouwen plein” and “Het Vrijthof”. The finish line is located at the central “de Markt square.

The final 21,1 km (13.1-mile) run course provides athletes with an unforgettable experience as they complete three loops that run through the historic city center and pass famous places like “Onze Lieve Vrouwen plein” and “Het Vrijthof”. The finish line is located at the central “de Markt square. “It’s a challenging time to create a new race, but the Maastricht region, The Netherlands and the surrounding countries are ready,” said Vincent van der Stouwe, the race organiser for IRONMAN in The Netherlands. “Limburg is now inextricably linked to triathlon. The region and its great accessibility are a true asset to further grow the sport, and we are looking forward to welcoming athletes from the neighbouring countries such as Belgium and Germany but also from all over the world.”

General registration for IRONMAN 70.3 Maastricht-Limburg will open at 2.00 pm CET on December 15, 2020.

The 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 Maastricht-Limburg will offer 30 age-group qualifying slots to the 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on December 10-11, 2022 in Taupō, New Zealand. For more information, please visit www.ironman.com/im703-maastricht.

Athlete inquiries can be directed to maastricht70.3@ironman.com. For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com.

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Ironman 70.3 Boise, Ironman 70.3 Kansas and Ironman 70.3 Syracuse, all held in June, will feature significantly greater numbers of age-group qualifying slots for the Ironman World Championship 70.3 event, to be held at Lake Las Vegas on Sept. 9, 2012.

See the complete announcement from the WTC below:

Ironman today announced that three events in its global Ironman 70.3 Series will offer expanded qualification opportunities for the 2012 Ironman World Championship 70.3. Ironman 70.3 Boise, Ironman 70.3 Kansas and Ironman 70.3 Syracuse now each feature 100 age group qualifying slots for the world championship race scheduled for Sept. 9, 2012, at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nev.

“We’ve listened to feedback and recognize that as the popularity of triathlon continues to grow, so does the level of difficulty in earning a slot for world-class events such as the Ironman World Championship 70.3,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman. “While it’s important to maintain the integrity of world championship qualification, choosing select Ironman 70.3 events at which we offer a larger pool of qualifying slots will ensure that more athletes who deserve to race get the chance to do so in Vegas.”

Ironman 70.3 Qualifying Slots

The three Ironman 70.3 races were chosen for specific qualification reasons. Ironman 70.3 Boise scheduled for June 9, Ironman 70.3 Kansas scheduled for June 10, and Ironman 70.3 Syracuse scheduled for June 24, allow athletes the opportunity to qualify relatively early in the season for the 2012 Ironman World Championship 70.3. Additionally, the three races span the West, Midwest and East regions, making them geographically appealing for a larger number of athletes.

Messick closed by saying, “For many of our North American Ironman 70.3 races, you need to either win your age group or place second to be certain of a world championship slot. We believe that there ought to be certain races where world championship slots go deeper, at least in the bigger age groups.”

Ironman 70.3 Qualifying Slots

Since its inception in 2006, the Ironman 70.3 Series has become the fastest growing triathlon series in the world, featuring nearly 60 events across the globe. Each year, more than 114,000 athletes compete for 1,800 coveted slots to the Ironman World Championship 70.3. General registration is open for all three events online, but with the announcement of the expanded number of qualifying slots, the races are expected to reach capacity quickly. For more information about each race or to register, visit Ironmanboise.com, Ironmankansas.com and Ironmansyracuse.com.