Ironman Announces Global Age-Group Ranking Program

Ironman has announced has a new global ranking program for amateur athletes for the 2013 season. The organization tested a similar program in Europe in 2012 and has decided to expand it to include all 70.3 and Ironman events in the calendar year (as opposed to the Ironman year the Kona Pro Ranking system follows). Athletes who compete in 70.3 and Ironman events will automatically be entered into the Age-Group Ranking Program (AGR). The 2013 series kicked off at Ironman 70.3 Pucon in Chile in January and will conclude at Ironman 70.3 Canberra in Australia in December. Athletes will receive a certain amount of points based on their finishing time.

“After receiving such positive feedback from the triathlete community on the pilot phase, it is a natural progression to further expand the Age Group Ranking program to include all Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of World Triathlon Corporation. “Our athletes from around the world have a competitive spirit and we are excited to offer them an opportunity to track their racing, while rewarding their accomplishments.”

In each Ironman event, Age Group Champions will earn 5,000 points, while first-place finishers of 70.3 events will earn 3,500 points toward their ranking. Points will then be calculated on a sliding scale based upon each subsequent athlete’s finish time, with a minimum of 1,000 points for an Ironman race and 700 points for a 70.3 race, as long as they complete the event.

Points and rankings will be updated weekly at Ironman.com/ranking, starting in early spring.

The top-three race performances will be calculated toward each athlete’s AGR. At the end of the 2013 season, all athletes will receive a special certificate and acknowledgement from Ironman, recognizing their achievement. Competitors who finish in the top 10 percent globally in either Ironman, 70.3 or a combination of the two, will be designated as “Ironman All World.”

For more information, visit Ironman.com/ranking.