Ironman Racing Back in Langkawi for Ironman Malaysia and Ironman Langkawi 70.3

Over 1500 athletes are toeing the start line in one of the toughest races in the Ironman racing circuit, Ironman Malaysia and Ironman Langkawi 70.3.   Eight-hundred fifty participants are  going to compete for the 55 allocated qualifying slots to the 2023 Ironman World Championships in Kona, and 650 athletes in the 70.3 version will be fighting for the 30 available slots to the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Lahti, Finland.

This will be the first race in Langkawi since the pandemic happened with the last event held last October 2019, when ITU legend Javier Gomez and Dutch Tessa Kortekaas won the elite categories.

More than 50 countries are represented in this event with local triathletes from Malaysia being the largest field at 43% and 25% from the rest of Asia.

The oldest participants in Ironman Malaysia are both from Japan being 79 year-old Mamuro Nakashima and 68 year-old Satomi Murata.

Langkawi Tourism Association Chief Executive Officer Zainudin Kadir said that Ironman Malaysia can generate RM55 million in revenue for the island.

“The Ironman Malaysia generated RM50 million when it was held before the pandemic. We are confident of surpassing that figure this year. It is expected that 30,000 to 40,000 people will visit Langkawi in connection with the events.

“It will boost the local tourism industry as a whole. The return of sports events is at the right time since 90 per cent of the island revenue depends on tourism,”.