Taupo Lands 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 Worlds
IRONMAN announced that they have awarded the 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships to Taupo, NZ. The announcement comes less than a month after IRONMAN was forced to cancel the previously postponed 2020 World Championship events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While it was disappointing to have to cancel the 2020 edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship it’s great news for our athletes around the world, those in New Zealand, and the wider Taupo community, that we’ve been able to secure this magical location for a world championship event in 2022,” said Andrew Messick, President & CEO of The IRONMAN Group. “Taupo is an iconic IRONMAN destination and we look forward to having the best triathletes in the world head to New Zealand for what will be a week-long celebration of triathlon.”
“We are ecstatic that, as the home of IRONMAN in New Zealand, we have been able to work with IRONMAN to secure the event for 2022,” said Taup? District Mayor David Trewavas. “We had already laid some solid foundations in preparing to host the world’s top triathletes and this additional time will allow us to offer an extremely polished event that will showcase both the Taup? District and New Zealand to the rest of the world.”
With 2020 being the first year since 1978 without an IRONMAN World Championship being awarded, the next IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships will both be contested in America, with 70.3 Worlds in St. George, UT and the annual October race in Kona. The previously announced 2022 70.3 Worlds finalist cities of Klagenfurt, Austria and Lahti, Finland will now carry forward to 2023, with a final determination to be announced at a later date.
