IRONMAN dangles 100-plus world slots

Over a hundred berths in three IRONMAN World Championships will be up for grabs when the Century Tuna full IRONMAN and the Subic IRONMAN 70.3 races are held 11 June at the country’s premier triathlon hub in Subic Bay.

The organizing The IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events Inc. said 50 slots will be disputed for the IM world meet in Nice, France and another 25 seats will be staked in the Kona, Hawaii championship for the top finishers in the grueling 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run (full IRONMAN) race.

Thirty spots for the World Championship in Lahti, Finland, on the other hand, will be there for the taking in the equally challenging 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21km run (IRONMAN 70.3) battle, paving the way for the greatest number of world tilt slots ever offered in local IRONMAN races.

“This only guarantees a spirited, furious duel in various age group categories for slots in these World Championships, the ultimate goal of each endurance racer,” said The IRONMAN Group/SEI general manager Princess Galura.

The Nice, France world tilt will be staged on 10 September while the Kona, Hawaii event is set on 14 October. The 70.3 championship in Finland will be held 26 and 27 August under the Nordic midnight sun.

A banner field is also expected int the Subic IRONMAN 70.3 race with the premier 40-44 age bracket luring over a hundred bets. Other age category titles to be disputed in both the male and female divisions are 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74 and 75-and-above.

Spicing up the event is the IM 70.3 relay race, which has so far attracted over 50 teams.

While Czech Petr Lukosz, who topped the full IRONMAN PH last year, remains out of the early roster of entries, Filipina champion Ines Santiago is back, keen on her retaining the crown she claimed in wire-to-wire fashion.