Hefei to host 2016 IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon

Wanda Sports Group has signed a cooperation agreement with the Hefei Municipal Government. The announcement came at a press conference held on January 7. 

Under the agreement, Hefei, the capital and largest city in Anhui Province, will hold the World Triathlon Corporation’s (WTC) flagship event, IRONMAN 70.3 (1.9km swim + 90km cycle + 21.1km run), this year. 

In this year’s Hefei event, 15 athletes will qualify for the Ironman World Championship to be held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in 2017. 50 will qualify for the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA.

The competition in the Eastern Chinese city is expected to be held in October, and more information will be released soon, according to Gao Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the Hefei municipal government.

Wanda completed their acquisition of the WTC on November 19, 2015. This acquisition enables China to take ownership of a world-class competition for the first time. Wanda announced that some events on the worldwide Ironman race circuit prior to the Ironman World Championship, the biggest event on the extreme endurance sports calendar, would be held in major Chinese cities. 

According to Wanda’s plan, by 2016, 2 or 3 Chinese cities will be able to host Ironman's international events. The number of Ironman cities in China will further expand in 2017. Wanda aims to make Ironman the largest competition participation platform in China.

Source: Xinhua

Proofread by John Devlin