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The Ironman Kona World Championship has been canceled for the first time since its inception in 1978.
“According to the schedule, continuing worldwide travel restrictions and other circumstances beyond our control, Ironman World Championship events cannot proceed as scheduled,” according to a statement, citing the continuing pandemic. of coronavirus.
Ironman Kona was originally scheduled for October 10 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. On May 14, organizers announced that it was postponed until February 6, 2021, due to the virus. Now, it has been completely canceled.
The Ironman combines a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike, and a 26.2-mile marathon race, taking the best men around eight hours and the best women nine hours.
The Ironman 70.3 World Championship, originally scheduled for New Zealand in late November, was also announced as canceled on Tuesday after being indefinitely postponed in May.
Triathletes who qualified for the 2020 championships will be contacted and have the opportunity to compete in 2021 or 2022.
The next Ironman is October 9, 2021 in Kailua-Kona. The next Ironman 70.3 is September 17-18, 2021 in St. George, Utah.
The Ironman has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978 (and twice in 1982). It was originally a February event on Oahu. He was transferred to the Big Island in 1981.
The 2019 Ironman world champions were German Jan Frodeno and Anne Haug. The full results for Ironman 2019 are here.
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Ironman Kona first canceled originally appeared on NBCSports.com
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