2022 70.3 World Championship Narrowed Down to Two European Cities

The race in 2022 will continue with the two-day format (with the men on one day and the women on another) it’s had since 2017. Officials also expect around 6,000 athletes to participate—which would be an increase over recent years due to additional Women for Tri slots allocated to female participants. This past year’s event, in Nice, France, saw just over 5,500 registered competitors.

After starting in Clearwater, Florida in 2006 and then taking place just outside Las Vegas, Nevada from 2011-2013, the 70.3 World Championships have rotated cities since then. This year the race will take place in Taupo, New Zealand. It also moved back to a November date for 2020 because of the winter weather in the southern hemisphere in September. Next year, in 2021, the 70.3 World Championships will return to the U.S. in St. George and will be held over a Friday and Saturday to accommodate the religious population in the region.

According to Ironman officials, if the race is held in Klagenfurt, they’d be looking at a July date, and if it’s in Lahti, it would be in August. The details of courses have not yet been determined.

Over the years, the 70.3 World Championship has grown in prestige and size, attracting top competitors and taking on its own event staff and bidding process from locations.

“The evolution of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship has been considerable and as we return to Europe in 2022, we have two locations in Lahti, Finland and Klagenfurt, Austria that have shown they deserve this opportunity to host the world’s best,” said Ironman CEO Andrew Messick in the press release. “Just as the Ironman 70.3 World Championship showcases world-class competition, it is important that we continue to select venues from around the globe that meet the standards these top performers deserve.”

Both Lahti, Finland and Klagenfurt, Austria currently host races and would continue to hold those events. Klagenfurt, in the southern Alps, has been home to the popular Ironman Austria-Kärnten for over 20 years. Lahti, just north of Helsinki, has only hosted a 70.3 race the last two years in June, but provided a unique experience with a late afternoon start that allowed competitors to finish “under the midnight sun,” since it stays light nearly all day at that latitude at that time of year.

Ironman 70.3 World Championship Locations

2006-2010

Clearwater, Fla. (USA)

2011-2013

Henderson, Nev. (USA)

2014

Mont-Tremblant, Quebec (Canada)

2015

Zell am See-Kaprun, SalzburgerLand (Austria)

2016

Mooloolaba, Queensland (Australia)

2017

Chattanooga, Tenn. (USA)

2018

Nelson Mandela Bay (South Africa)

2019

Nice (France)

2020

Taupo (New Zealand)

2021

St. George, Utah (USA)