An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.2 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.2 km) run completed in that order, a total of 140.6 miles (226.3 km). It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) is a sports event promotion company owned by conglomerate Advance Publications, that produces the Ironman Triathlon, Ironman 70.3, the 5150 series of triathlon races, and other sports events.
Simon Christopher Lessing, MBE, is a British triathlete who won five International Triathlon Union (ITU) world titles. He also won races at 70.3, ITU long distance and Ironman-distance events. He set an Olympic-distance world record in 1996, and is noted for his 2004 Ironman Lake Placid win, where he set a course record of 8:23:12. In 2008 he retired from professional racing. Simon resides in Boulder, Colorado, United States, where he operates Boulder Coaching with Darren de Reuck.
Andrew Robert Potts is a triathlete from the United States. He competed in triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics and is the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Champion. Prior to triathlon, Potts was a swimmer where he won the bronze medal in the men's 400m individual medley at the 1995 Summer Universiade and earned a spot on the USA Swimming national team where he would place fourth at the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 400 IM.
Melissa Hauschildt is an Australian professional triathlete and former middle-distance runner. She is a 3-time World Champion, winning Gold at the 2011 and 2013 Ironman 70.3 World Championship as well as the 2013 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships. She also won Silver at the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championships. In April 2018, Hauschildt set a new Ironman brand record of 8:31:05, at the Ironman North American Championships, breaking the previous record of 8:33:56 set by Chrissie Wellington in 2011.
Madonna Buder,, also known as the Iron Nun, is an American Senior Olympian triathlete and former religious sister. Buder has the current world record for the oldest woman to ever finish an Ironman Triathlon, which she obtained at age 82 by finishing the Subaru Ironman Canada on August 26, 2012.
Chris Lieto is a professional triathlete and the winner of the 2006 Ironman Japan, 2005 Ironman Canada, and 2002 Ironman Wisconsin triathlons.
Jan Frodeno is a German former triathlete who is the gold medal winner in men's triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 3-time winner of the Ironman World Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2019, and 2-time winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2015 and 2018. He had set the world record for the long distance in Roth, Germany in 2016 with 7:35:39 hours. In 2021, he broke his own world record during the Tributtle in Allgäu, Germany against Lionel Sanders, with a time of 07:27:53, setting a new world best for the long-distance triathlon.
Mirinda Carfrae is an Australian professional triathlete and an Ironman Triathlon world champion. Carfrae has achieved podium positions in six of her seven attempts at the Ironman World Championships: three 1st-place finishes, three 2nd-place finishes and a 3rd place. She also won the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Marino Vanhoenacker is a Belgian triathlete. On 3 July 2011, he set a world best time for Ironman full distance triathlon at the Ironman Triathlon at Klagenfurt in Austria, finishing after 7 hours, 45 minutes and 58 seconds, beating Luc Van Lierde's 1997 time of 7h50m27s. His time was subsequently beaten by Lionel Sanders at Ironman Arizona in 2016; the current world best time is held by Tim Don in a time of 7 hours, 40 minutes and 23 seconds at Ironman Brazil in May 2017.
Pedro Ribeiro Silva Gomes, is a Portuguese professional triathlete. He finished second at Ironman Florida in 2010 on his first official Ironman World Circuit professional race, setting a national record at the time with a time of 8:19:26.
Magali Tisseyre is a Canadian triathlete from Montreal who races primarily in long distance, non-drafting triathlon events. She took third place at both the 2009 and 2010 Ironman 70.3 World Championships.
Ognjen Stojanović is a Serbian triathlete.
Kelly Williamson is an American triathlete who races in non-drafting, long-course events. In 2012, she took 2nd place at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Rachel Joyce is an English professional triathlete. She is the winner of the 2011 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships and the second-place finisher at the 2013 Ironman World Championship and 2015 Ironman World Championship. She races in primarily long-distance triathlon events, such as Ironman and Ironman 70.3 distances, and has won events such as Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2017 and Challenge Roth in 2012.
Frederik Van Lierde is a Belgian professional triathlete and 2013 Ironman triathlon world champion.
Lionel James Sanders is a Canadian professional triathlete winner of the 2017 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships. In 2017 and 2021, he also placed second at the Ironman World Championship. In 2014 he placed fourth in the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship held in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. Sanders's first professional race was in September 2013 at the Muskoka Ironman 70.3, where he took 1st place over Andreas Raelert.
Heather Wurtele is a retired Canadian professional triathlete who raced long-distance, non-drafting triathlon events. She achieved over 60 career professional triathlon podium finishes and 30 plus career wins, including 25 half iron distance wins and 7 Ironman wins. Her career highlights include placing third at the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, second at the 2015 Ironman 70.3 World Championship and third at the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. She also placed 3rd at the ITU Long Course World Championships in 2017 and won the North American 70.3 Championships in 2015 and 2016.
Zsombor Deák is a professional triathlete from Romania. Zsombor is a multiple top 5 World Cup finisher and multiple National Champion.
Les McDonald, was the founding President of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) from 1989-2008, and was made an Honorary President for the organization until his death in 2017. He is largely credited with getting the sport of triathlon into the Olympic Games, with the inaugural race taking place at the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney, Australia, in 2000. He is a member of the Triathlon Canada Hall of Fame (2001), Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (2007), the BC Sports Hall of Fame (2009), and the ITU Hall of Fame (2014). He was awarded the Olympic Order in 2010, in Vancouver, by the International Olympic Committee. He was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2013 by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, the Governor General of Canada.
