More than 6000 athletes and about 12,000 supporters arrive in Taupō for the Vinfast Ironman World Championships.
The biggest sporting event on Taupō's calendar is about to hit the streets - the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
More than 6200 athletes from 119 countries, plus more than 10,000 supporters, are filling up the town fast ahead of this weekend’s racing - with the women’s event on Saturday and the men taking centre stage on Sunday.
Long-time Race Director of Ironman New Zealand and Ironman 70.3 New Zealand, Wayne Reardon, said everyone involved in the event, from organisers and stakeholders to athletes and the local community, are “beyond excited” to finally bring the World Championship to Taupō.
“As a local Taupō resident, it’s a true honour to bring this iconic event to my hometown. Hosting the VinFast Ironman 70.3 World Championship has been six years [in the] making.” The town was originally meant to host the event in 2020, but Covid-19 restrictions put paid to that.
“We couldn’t be more delighted to finally showcase the best of Taupō to the world and create an unforgettable experience for all those competing, supporting, and spectating,” Reardon said.
Taupō District Mayor David Trewavas said the community can’t wait to welcome thousands of athletes and their whānau to the region for the event.
“It’s got a nice international flavour - the amount of voices and accents around the place is really quite exciting and I think the town is looking spicko too, it’s looking beautiful - all credit to the people involved who have done it.”
He has been given the honour of firing the starter’s gun.
“Hopefully I don’t cock it up. This is a world championship so pretty serious athletes coming.”
Hundreds of local residents are involved in the event, and many more will be spectators around the course, which included a swim along the lake front, a run leg that maximises spectator opportunities along Lake Terrace and a cycle leg that takes in Broadlands Rd and SH5, and crossing the spectacular Aratiatia Rapids.
People wanting to get around are advised to use the East Taupō Arterial Route and commuters to Rotorua should use SH30 which joins SH1 at Upper Atiamuri, while racing is on.
Trewavas said hopefully all the retailers were prepared for the influx of visitors.
“Hopefully they have got the shoulders back and do a few extra hours.
“We conservatively think the spend is about $20 million but it’s the international profile - people see it and think ‘I might go and have a look at that place next year’. It’s the ongoing business from it and it’s the same with the Supercars, we have had such an uplift in Australian people.”
Local people were also getting valuable experience in how to host very large events which would bode well for the future and it wasn’t just the township of Taupō that would benefit.
“It’s filled Tūrangi up and Mangakino, Rotorua all sorts of places like that. It’s a truly regional event really, nationally significant sporting event for the year in the calendar.
This weekend’s event would be covered live by a number of outlets including Sky Sport Now in New Zealand, Outside TV in the United States, L’Equipe Live in France, iQIYI in China and beIN Sports for the Middle East, North Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, amongst others.
More than 100 professional athletes will battle it out for a piece of the $US500,000 professional prize purse and the crown of Ironman 70.3 World Championship. The World Championship triathlon will also be the culmination of the inaugural Ironman Pro Series and the last chance for professional athletes to score points towards their final standings
Two-time Kiwi Olympic medallist Hayden Wilde and two-time Ironman 70.3 Taupō champion Kyle Smith will line up on Sunday as genuine contenders for the 2024 men’s title.
Joining them on the start line in Taupō are fellow Kiwis Braden Currie, Mike Phillips, Jack Moody, Ben Hamilton, and Sam Osborne, and some of the world’s best triathletes in the shape of reigning world champion Rico Bogen (DEU), 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallist Léo Bergère (FRA), Paris 2024 Olympics representative Jelle Geens (BEL), and current Ironman Pro Series leader Gregory Barnaby (ITA).
Professional athletes will battle it out for a piece of the $US500,000 ($NZ868,000) professional prize purse and the crown of Ironman 70.3 World Champion, with the winner taking home $US75,000 ($NZ130,000).
The World Championship will also be the culmination of the inaugural Ironman Pro Series and the last chance for professional athletes to score points towards their final standings, with a maximum of 3,000 points on offer to the winners in Taupō. At the conclusion of both professional races in Taupō, the first-ever Ironman Pro Series Champions will be crowned, with the female and male winners earning a historic bonus payout of $US200,000 each. A total bonus prize pool of $1.7million USD will be shared among those finishing in the IRONMAN Pro Series top 50 in each gender.
Hayden Wilde qualified for this weekend’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship last year in a dominating performance in only his second Ironman 70.3 in Melbourne last year.
Wilde’s first ever Ironman 70.3 was in 2019 with the aim of qualifying for the 2020 Ironman 70.3 World Championship which was due to be held in Taupō before the Covid-19 pandemic. Wilde finished third that day, behind compatriot Kyle Smith who won the race.
“He [Kyle] raced awesome that year. I knew that when he transferred to the long course, he was going to be extremely dangerous,” said Wilde. “He’s an animal in the swim, on the bike, and then he can hold himself pretty well on the run. It’s really cool just to see Kyle excel extremely well in the long distance. I’m a big fan of him, and I think it’s really nice for both of us to be racing at home. It’s going to be exciting. The last time I raced Kyle was in this distance in 2019, so really looking forward to getting back on the start line with him and all the other lads.”
Since that race in 2019, Wilde has exploded into a household name in New Zealand sport thanks to his two Olympic medals – bronze in Tokyo and silver in Paris. After the Olympics in July, Wilde turned his attention to giving himself the possible shot at winning the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in front of friends and family.
“I’m based in Whakatane on the East Coast, but I was originally born here in Taupō. It’s super special, friends, family, grandparents, everyone’s coming over to watch. At the moment, not just in triathlon, sport in general is having a huge spike in New Zealand, so there’ll be people from all sorts of sporting codes coming to watch. They say there’s going to be 26,000 people, including participants and their families, but I feel like there’s going to be a lot more coming in,” said Wilde.
“We’ve got a massive rich history in sport. We love punching above our weight and normally, we don’t get to hold a World Championship in New Zealand, not just for a triathlon, but just sport in general, normally it’s only a Rugby World Cup that we get to host here, so it’s a lot different for us, and hopefully the community gets behind it,” he said. “It’s really cool that Taupō and the local iwi are letting us race here as well. It’s a blessing to be here, we know how sacred this land is, so it’s really nice that they’re letting us do our thing here. Hopefully we can just get out there, respect the land, and respect the people, and get the job done.”
In what will be just his third Ironman 70.3 race, Wilde knows he’s going to have to give it everything he’s got and empty the tank to win the world title – and has set a lofty goal of a 65-minute (1:05) run leg over the 21.1km course.
“I went out and said I want to run a 65, I’ve run this course a few times during a few training sessions and was able to hit those numbers. It’s courageous for sure and I know that, but in Melbourne I was on more or less that time, it was a flatter course but the same wind direction, but I feel like I’ve trained a lot more specifically since that Melbourne race. It all depends on how the race goes, I know watching as a fan, watching these lads race, the bike has been full on so you might not have those legs but if I’m smart on the bike and come off feeling good, I’ll definitely aim for 65 – if I blow, I blow, but I gave it a good crack,” he said.
Another Taupō local Kyle Smith will be hoping he is the Kiwi standing on the top step of the men’s podium on Sunday.
“The title would be a memory for life and career defining for me especially here at home in front of family, friends and people I’ve grown up with, and hopefully inspire the next generation of kids from Taupō too,” said Smith.
“I think this race is the most anticipated and exciting race in a long time. Post Olympics, athletes coming in definitely throws a spanner in the works and will be an exciting race, but I hope I can hold my own and win on home soil.”
Like Wilde, Smith raced Ironman 70.3 Taupō back in 2019 to try and qualify for the 2020 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. He won that day, and four years later, in December 2023, would go on to the win that race for a second time.
“It’s absolutely amazing to have the Ironman 70.3 worlds here in Taupō. It was the whole reason I got into long course triathlon in the first place back in 2019, racing here at Ironman 70.3 Taupō and qualifying for the original 2020 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. So racing here in Taupō means the world to me and for the World Champs to be here, and be in with a shot of winning, is a great feeling,” he said.
It’s unusual for New Zealand triathlon stalwart Braden Currie to enter into a race not considered one of the favourites, but that is the situation he finds himself heading into Sunday.
“I think if we’re honest, it’s probably going to be relatively hard for me to win this distance, but I’ll give it my best shot. If a few things go my way, then we’ll be up for a good chance,” said Currie.
“I think that bike course is going to change things up a little bit, a little bit more undulating, and it’s definitely going be a bit more physical, so people are going to push that ride very, very hard. So, whoever is going to win is going to have to be gritting their teeth and hanging in there to still be at the front of the race because I’ve noticed from these World Champs races or the bigger races around the world this year, that the separation in times on the bike can really blow out between the guys who are absolutely going for it and the guys who are hoping that they can run through. So, it’s going to take a phenomenal ride and then to be able to put together a solid run.”
By his own admission, Currie has had a difficult year of racing but still finds himself in position whereby securing a place in the top 10 of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship would land him in the top 10 of the Ironman Pro Series – and a healthy payday.
“It’s been a relatively tough year, but I’m still actually holding in there on the points of the Pro Series so if I can get into that top 10, I think there’s still a shot at getting sixth or seventh. If I have a good day, then that’s a pretty good payday and well worth turning up to race for,” he said.
“It’s pretty amazing to have a World Championship in New Zealand and such a strong field, and such a big field. I think it’s great boost for triathlon in New Zealand for people to get to experience the sport of that scale. So for me, it’s a real pleasure.”
The professional men’s race gets underway at 7:00 a.m. NZT on Sunday 15 December, with live coverage beginning at 6:30 a.m. NZT.
Live coverage of the 2024 VinFast Ironman 70.3 World Championship will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for global viewers including proseries.ironman.com, DAZN, YouTube
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