1,450 Women Make History at 70.3 Worlds

On Saturday, Sept. 9, 1,450 athletes made history by becoming the first women to compete on their own day at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. While Swiss star Daniela Ryf was dominating the professional race up front, age-group women were enjoying the challenging Chattanooga course. The impressive field tackled a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim in the Tennessee River, followed by a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride through Lookout Mountain and into downtown Chattanooga, capped with a 13.1-mile (21 km) run along the Tennessee Riverwalk and Riverfront Parkway, finishing at Ross’s landing. In order to qualify for the 2017 Icy Hot Ironman 70.3 World Championship, more than 185,000 age-group athletes competed to earn slots at over 100 Ironman 70.3 events held worldwide.