The Standard Bank IRONMAN® African Championship in Port Elizabeth is set to make history at the 13th edition of the annual triathlon with the first-ever live television broadcast of the event and a significant number of participants in the professional and international fields. The annual triathlon showpiece takes place on Sunday 2 April 2017 at Hobie Beach.
Perhaps the most exciting new development is the addition of the live broadcast of the Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship, a first for the event and for a broadcast of this kind in South Africa. The dedicated SuperSport channel, DSTV 199, will broadcast the event from start to finish allowing supporters and triathlon fans around the country the opportunity to experience the sport and the city of Nelson Mandela Bay from the comfort of their own homes.
“A live broadcast has been one of our core visions since first bringing the event to Nelson Mandela Bay and we are excited to see it realised. The city of Nelson Mandela Bay will be showcased like never before sharing with South Africa and the world the beauty of our city and passion of our supporters. It is also a major step forward for the sport of triathlon, which continues to grow in popularity and recognition,” said Keith Bowler, Managing Director for IRONMAN in South Africa.
This year also marks the participation of the strongest professional field in the history of the event and possibly the strongest outside of the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaii with total of 75 professional athletes all vying for their share of the $ 150 000 USD prize purse and World Championship qualification points. In the professional women’s field, the World Champion along with three of the five regional champions will toe the line on April 2nd. The women’s World Champion Daniela Ryf, Asia-Pacific Champion Jodie Swallow, African Champion Kaisa Lehtonen and North American Champion Julia Gajer will all feature on the start line at Hobie Beach.
In the professional men’s field the previous three winners in South Africa, including 2013 World Champion, Belgium’s Frederik Van Lierde are expected to line up for the race next month. Van Lierde, who won in 2015, will be joined by defending champion, Ben Hoffman of the USA along with 2014 winner, Germany’s Nils Frommhold while South Africa’s hopes will rest on James Cunnama and Kyle Buckingham.
The Standard Bank IRONMAN African Championship is demonstrating its growing appeal, with this year’s international field set to be the biggest ever assembled for this event. Of a field of more than 2,000 athletes racing, over 700 will be international participants. This is positive news for Nelson Mandela Bay ahead of the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. The city was awarded host status for the event in October last year marking the first time an IRONMAN World Championship has ever been held on the African Continent. An estimated 6,000 athletes from over 100 global qualifying events are expected to hit the shores of Nelson Mandela Bay in 2018.
“It is encouraging to see how far we have come from our first race in 2005 with 480 athletes to now having close to 700 international athletes alone in a total field of over 2000 athletes,” added Bowler.
Another exciting development is the new IRONMAN South Africa Mobile App, which is available for download, free on iOS and Android. The user-friendly app is a must-have for all athletes and spectators, featuring useful information, news and interactive maps to assist athletes while participating in or attending any of the IRONMAN events in South Africa. The features include, among others, live race updates, race schedules, athlete tracking and road closures information.
