How to Watch the Ironman 70.3 North American Championships
Olympians, world champions, previous winners—everyone will be fighting it out for the North American title. Here's how to watch Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga.
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This Sunday, 3,000 athletes will take to the streets of Chattanooga for the competitive Ironman 70.3 North American championships. Titles, bragging rights, and $75,000 in prize money is on the line—and nearly 100 pros (including Olympians and world champions) will be battling it out on the hills and in the rain. And you can watch it all on Outside Watch—and get the finish line feed below.
The 70.3 Chattanooga Course
A popular U.S. race and host to the Ironman 70.3 Worlds in 2017, Chattanooga will feature a new point-to-point (yes, current-assisted) river swim with water temperatures in the low 70s—making a non-wetsuit swim a possibility for the pros. Athletes will then head out of town for a rolling one-loop course—with about 2,200 feet of climbing—and then come back for a riverfront run with a few steep little hills.
While the weather is typically in the high 80s and humid, scattered thunderstorms on Sunday could lead to rain on and off throughout the race.
Who to Watch
Olympic gold medalist Flora Duffy is headlining the women’s race. Although she’s raced a 70.3 before in South Africa during the earlier parts of the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be her one of first high-profile forays into the mid-distance against a deep and competitive field. She’ll be up against 2016 70.3 world champion Holly Lawrence, as well as Canadian Olympian and many-time 70.3 champion Paula Findlay. Ironman and 70.3 world champion Mirinda Cafrae will be gearing up her 2022 season as well as she returns to peak form after giving birth to her second baby (and dealing with husband, Tim O’Donnell’s heart attack). Alongside them, keep an eye on speedy runners Tamara Jewett and Jackie Hering, and New Zealander Hannah Wells in the middle of a U.S. racing trip.
The men’s side isn’t short of champions either. Olympian Ben Kanute will be up against fellow American Rudy von Berg—both have finished on the podium at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, with Kanute taking second when worlds were held on this course in 2017. Canadian Jackson Laundry will be looking to continue his winning streak after he beat out a competitive field, including von Berg, at 70.3 Oceanside in April. With 61 pro men on the start list, though, plenty of them will be looking to take that top position: Matt Hanson, Eric Lagerstrom, Taylor Reid. And, perhaps most anticipated, O’Donnell will be making his post-heart attack return to racing as well.
How to Watch
As part of the ongoing partnership between Outside and Ironman, 70.3 Chattanooga will be the second of a dozen 70.3 races streamed live on Outside Watch. Everyone can watch live for free on Outside Watch or, in Canada and the U.S., on the Outside app. Outside+ members will also be able to watch the replay on-demand later.
Coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 22, and includes on-the-ground commentary along with in studio announcers. Pro races start at 6:50 a.m.
On race day, you were also able able to watch the finish line feed throughout the day, for all your friends and family as they make their way to the line below. (The feed has since ended.)