IRONMAN ATHLETES’ CHOICE AWARDS ANNOUNCED FOR IRONMAN AND IRONMAN 70.3 TRIATHLONS AROUND THE GLOBE
TAMPA, Fla. (March 17, 2023) – IRONMAN today announced the global results for the IRONMAN® and IRONMAN® 70.3® Athletes’ Choice Awards, highlighting the highest-scoring events in a variety of categories based on athlete surveys from all the 2022 IRONMAN® and IRONMAN 70.3® races from around the world.
Out of the 50 IRONMAN Series triathlons that took place in 2022, globally, the Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns race earned the biggest honor in Overall Satisfaction. Out of the 118 IRONMAN 70.3 series events that took place in 2022, globally, the IRONMAN 70.3 Rwanda race took top honors in Overall Satisfaction.
In Europe, IRONMAN Kalmar triathlon wins gold in the IRONMAN Athletes’ Choice Awards for Will Recommend To A Friend, and silver in the biggest honor, the Overall Satisfaction award. And, hot off the heels from being voted “World’s #1 Bucket List Race” last year by the IRONMAN community on social media, the IRONMAN Switzerland-Thun triathlon secured multiple top-10 results, including first for Overall Bike Experience and second for Overall Swim Experience/
Results for the 2022 Global Athletes’ Choice Awards were gathered from post event surveys sent to all athletes who completed an IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 race. Surveys were based on a five-point satisfaction scale and encompassed multiple categories including: Most Recommended Race, Overall Swim Experience, Overall Bike Experience, Overall Run Experience, Overall Satisfaction, Overall Venue Experience, Overall Host City Experience and Post-Race Celebration Experience, among others. Nearly 65,000 total survey respondents gave feedback to decide the winners for each category of IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events, marking a major accomplishment for the winning events and their host communities.
Below are the top performers in each category for the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 Global Series events:
· Best Overall Race
o Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns
o IRONMAN 70.3 Rwanda
· Best Swim Course
o IRONMAN Chattanooga, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America Series
o Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Gdynia
· Best Bike Course
o IRONMAN Switzerland Thun
o ISUZU IRONMAN 70.3 Durban
· Best Run Course
o Certified Piedmontese Beef IRONMAN Tulsa, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America Series
o IRONMAN 70.3 Oregon
· Will Recommend To A Friend
o IRONMAN Kalmar Sweden
o IRONMAN 70.3 Michigan
· Overall Venue Experience
o Itaú BBA IRONMAN Brazil
o IRONMAN 70.3 Egypt
· Overall Host City Experience
o Enea IRONMAN Gdynia
o IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie
· Post-Race Celebration Experience
o IRONMAN Kalmar Sweden
o Itaú BBA IRONMAN 70.3 Fortaleza
* Top-3 results & honorable mentions of each category listed in appendix
To view the full list of 2022 Global IRONMAN Athletes’ Choice Award results, please visit www.ironman.com/2022-athletes-choice-ironman for IRONMAN events and www.ironman.com/2022-athletes-choice-ironman-703 for IRONMAN 70.3 events.
Limited spots remain in many of the most popular IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons globally. Athletes are encouraged to check out open IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events globally by visiting www.ironman.com/races.
For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, please visit www.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to emeapress@ironman.com
APPENDIX A: Top Results for each category
| Overall Event Satisfaction | ||
| RANK | IRONMAN | IRONMAN 70.3 |
| 1 | Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns | IRONMAN 70.3 Rwanda |
| 2 | IRONMAN Kalmar Sweden | IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée |
| 3 | Enea IRONMAN Gdynia | IRONMAN 70.3 Aix en Provence |
| Regional Honorable Mention | Itaú BBA IRONMAN Brazil | IRONMAN 70.3 Muskoka |
| Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | Itaú BBA IRONMAN 70.3 Rio de Janeiro | |
| Cairns Airport IRONMAN 70.3 Cairns | ||
| Will Recommend To A Friend | ||
| RANK | IRONMAN | IRONMAN 70.3 |
| 1 | IRONMAN Kalmar Sweden | IRONMAN 70.3 Michigan |
| 2 | IRONMAN Wales | Itaú BBA IRONMAN 70.3 Florianopolis |
| 3 | Itaú BBA IRONMAN Brazil | Itaú BBA IRONMAN 70.3 Rio de Janeiro |
| Regional Honorable Mention | Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns | IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong |
| Athletic Brewing IRONMAN Lake Placid, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland, Cork | |
| Overall Swim Experience | ||
| RANK | IRONMAN | IRONMAN 70.3 |
| 1 | IRONMAN Chattanooga, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Gdynia |
| 2 | IRONMAN Switzerland Thun | IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland Cork |
| 3 | Enea IRONMAN Gdynia | IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina |
| Regional Honorable Mention | Itaú BBA IRONMAN Brazil | Itaú BBA IRONMAN 70.3 Florianopolis |
| Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand | IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong | |
| Overall Bike Experience | ||
| RANK | IRONMAN | IRONMAN 70.3 |
| 1 | IRONMAN Switzerland Thun | ISUZU IRONMAN 70.3 Durban |
| 2 | IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | IRONMAN 70.3 Musselman |
| 3 | IRONMAN Wales | Cairns Airport IRONMAN 70.3 Cairns |
| Regional Honorable Mention | GWM IRONMAN Western Australia | Itaú BBA IRONMAN 70.3 Florianopolis |
| Itaú BBA IRONMAN Brazil | ||
| Overall Run Experience | ||
| RANK | IRONMAN | IRONMAN 70.3 |
| 1 | Certified Piedmontese Beef IRONMAN Tulsa, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | IRONMAN 70.3 Oregon |
| 2 | Enea IRONMAN Gdynia | St. Jude IRONMAN 70.3 Memphis |
| 3 | IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | Cairns Airport IRONMAN 70.3 Cairns |
| Regional Honorable Mention | Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns | IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea |
| Itaú BBA IRONMAN Brazil | Itaú BBA IRONMAN 70.3 Maceio | |
| Overall Venue Experience | ||
| RANK | IRONMAN | IRONMAN 70.3 |
| 1 | Itaú BBA IRONMAN Brazil | IRONMAN 70.3 Egypt |
| 2 | Athletic Brewing IRONMAN Lake Placid, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | IRONMAN 70.3 Michigan |
| 3 | Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | IRONMAN 70.3 Coeur d’Alene |
| Regional Honorable Mention | IRONMAN Portugal – Cascais | IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée |
| Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns | IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong | |
| Overall Host City Experience | ||
| RANK | IRONMAN | IRONMAN 70.3 |
| 1 | Enea IRONMAN Gdynia | IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie |
| 2 | IRONMAN Wales | IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga |
| 3 | Cairns Airport IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns | ISUZU IRONMAN 70.3 Mossel Bay |
| Regional Honorable Mention | Itaú BBA IRONMAN Brazil | |
| IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | ||
| Overall Post Race Celebration Experience | ||
| RANK | IRONMAN | IRONMAN 70.3 |
| 1 | IRONMAN Kalmar Sweden | Itaú BBA IRONMAN 70.3 Fortaleza |
| 2 | Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand | Itaú BBA IRONMAN 70.3 Rio de Janeiro |
| 3 | Itaú BBA IRONMAN Brazil | IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie |
| Regional Honorable Mention | Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas, part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America | IRONMAN 70.3 Rwanda |
| IRONMAN 70.3 Muncie |