In order to allow the Port-Macquarie community time to recover from the ongoing floods in the region, officials have postponed the 35th running of Ironman Australia, which was scheduled to take place on May 2. The event will now be held on Sept. 5.
“Last week our team spent time in the region to assess the impact of the recent floods and what it means for this year’s event,” said Ironman Group Oceania managing director Dave Beeche. “During this visit, it was evident that hosting the event as planned is not in the best interests of the community, who are facing a long road to recovery. While on the surface the region has made great progress to get back on its feet quickly, the reality is that hundreds of homes, businesses, infrastructure, water quality and lives have been severely impacted.”
“On top of that there is also a huge demand on the local workforce, following what has already been an incredibly difficult 18 months with bushfires and COVID-19 restrictions,” Beeche continued. “Our thoughts continue to go out to all of those affected and we are looking into ways that the IRONMAN community can help support those most in need. We know for some athletes this will be the third time they have received this news, and we are truly sorry you are yet to experience the Ironman finish line that you have continued to train so hard for.“
Last year’s Ironman Australia event that was supposed to take place on May 3 was originally postponed to September 13, then cancelled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Ironman races in Europe postponed
Today Ironman also announced that a number of European full-distance events would also be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic:
- The Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt that was to take place in June has now been postponed to Aug. 15, 2021.
- Ironman Austria-Karnten scheduled for July has been rescheduled to Sept. 19, 2021
- Ironman Switzerland Thun that was also scheduled for July has been rescheduled to Sept. 5
