70.3 Races With Kona Slots
Think entry into the Ironman World Championship is beyond reach? Think again. Sometimes it’s as easy as showing up the next day to nab a roll-down slot.
To snag a coveted spot on the Kona start line, you typically have to qualify by finishing an Ironman toward the top of your age group (there were also four 70.3 qualifying races in 2013—Eagleman, St. Croix, Auckland and Japan—but the roll-down slot rarely goes beyond the top three). At least that’s the popular perception. But WTC managing director of global race operations Steve Meckfessel says just cracking the top 10 can sometimes punch your Kona ticket. In fact, at more than half of Ironman races in the past 12 months, more than 50 percent of the Kona slots rolled past ninth position. And there were even more dramatic exceptions: One of the 2013 Kona slots rolled down to 63rd place in the 30–34 women’s category at last year’s Ironman Switzerland. Why? Because many athletes don’t stick around until the conclusion of the roll-down slot handout, assuming they’re already spoken for, or they miss out on the reallocation of slots. “In situations where a slot goes unclaimed (generally in the 18–24 age group, or an older age group where there’s just one or a couple of finishers) and rolls out of that age group, that slot is reassigned to another age group based on our formulation and awarded at the very end of roll-down,” says Meckfessel.
With Kona slots, It seems like 80-90% of people who get one, take it. With the 70.3, its more like 20-30%, so it can roll down from 4th place to 10th for your AG, which never happens in iron man. But I think you have to be there after the qualifying race and sign up right away. A total of 41 Ironman and five Ironman 70.3 races will offer slots for the 42nd edition of the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. The races take place in 24 different countries offering a total of approximately 1920 Kona Slots.
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“People who finish seventh, eighth, ninth and beyond assume the top finishers are all going to take the slots so they don’t bother to stick around for roll-down,” says Meckfessel. “That’s a big mistake. You have to crack the top 10—even 15th in the right age group in the right race will get you a spot, but you’ve gotta invest the extra hour to attend roll-down the day after the race.”
He says the key is going to a race that has a lot of slots—it’s where, on average, you have the best shot at getting a roll-down slot.
At any given Ironman race you can generally expect 50 age-group slots. “We’ve made a level playing field across all our races,” says Meckfessel. “When I joined the company eight years ago there were eight or nine 70.3 races that were Kona qualifiers; now there are four. We’ve shifted slots to our newer races.” On that same note, Ironman Japan will replace Japan 70.3 as a qualifier in 2014.
However, there aren’t any plans to do away with the 70.3 qualifiers all together. “We want to make sure within a given region our athletes have access to qualifying,” explains Meckfessel. “If you look at St. Croix, it’s the only place that athletes in the Caribbean can go qualify. It’s just a unique destination event that benefits from having a Kona qualifying status.”
Click “next page” to see the 2013 Kona roll-down slots in numbers.
The difficulties of 2020 have done little to dent the appetite of IRONMAN from expending its portfolio of events in 2021 and beyond. Recent updates have included Poland, Mallorca and Ireland.
Taking place in Hurghada, the addition of IRONMAN 70.3 Egypt looks set to be attractive to British and European athletes, seeking a late season race in a familiar and warm environment.
IRONMAN BRINGS WORLD CLASS TRIATHLON RACING TO THE LAND OF THE PYRAMIDS WITH NEW IRONMAN 70.3 EGYPT
- Inaugural race to be held on November 19, 2021
- Event joins IRONMAN 70.3 Durban, IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa in BuffaloCity and IRONMAN 70.3 Marrakech as the fourth IRONMAN 70.3 race on African soil
The Red Sea town of Hurghada has long been a magical place for tourists and now, it will extend its fame to a new group of guests: triathletes. Enter IRONMAN® 70.3® Egypt on November 19, 2021, the first-ever IRONMAN 70.3 event in the land of the pyramids and only the fourth on African soil.
“Egypt is a country full of history and today, we are celebrating a truly historical event. Over the years, Hurghada has developed from a small fisherman’s village into a world-famous touristic hotspot and we feel proud and honored to bring IRONMAN racing to this wonderful location,” said Stefan Petschnig, Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa for The IRONMAN Group.
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Founded in the early 20th century Hurghada offers direct access to the Red Sea and mild temperatures ranging from 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) to 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit) in the race month of November.
Athletes will start their race with a one-loop 1,9 km (1.2-mile) swim in Sahel Hasheesh Bay, known for its beautiful sandy beaches and also renowned among diving and snorkeling enthusiast for its beautiful islands and stunning coral reefs.
After transitioning onto their bikes, participants will tackle a flat and fast one-loop 90 km (56-mile) bike course that leads through the desert hinterland of Hurghada with a beautiful overview of the Red Sea mountain range. Finally, athletes get to enjoy a flat two-loop 21,1 km (13.1-mile) run course that takes them through the tourism hotspots of Sahel Hasheesh Bay.
“We are thrilled to bring the first IRONMAN 70.3 to Hurghada and Egypt. With its easy accessibility through our international airport and a perfect touristic infrastructure Hurghada and Sahel Hasheesh Bay are made for international sports events and we are looking forward to soon treating athletes from all over the world to Egyptian hospitality,” said race organizer Hassan Khalifa.
The 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 Egypt will offer 30 age-group qualifying slots to the 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship on December 10-11, 2022 in Taupō, New Zealand. General registration for the event will open on January 14, 2021 at 2 pm CET.
Ironman 70.3 Races With Kona Slots
For more information and registration, please visit www.ironman.com/im703-egypt. Athlete inquiries can be directed to egypt70.3@ironman.com.
70.3 Races With Kona Slots 2020
For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com.