Three 70.3 Events To Feature 100 70.3 Worlds Slots

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.”

RELATED PHOTOS: Ironman 70.3 Boise

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.”

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.