The documentary special highlighting the 2022 World Championship Ironman will premiere on Sunday, November 27th at 14:00-15:30 EST on NBC and will chronicle the event, which returned to Kona and the Island of Hawaii for the first time in three years due to the pandemic.
The documentary special also showcases the event’s change to a two-day format for the first time, providing for focused female and male racing. Ironman added that this also allowed… ‘more opportunities for inspiring stories to be told of both professional and age-group athletes competing in the prestigious triathlon that took place this past October 6 and 8, 2022.’
The documentary special will also be made available globally on the Ironman YouTube channel, following its airing on NBC.
Since the first Ironman World Championship documentary special aired in 1991, the show has earned 68 Sports Emmy nominations and 16 Sports Emmy Award wins. It has also been a factor in Ironman’s popularity, particularly in North America.
The 2022 documentary was filmed and produced by The Ironman Group production team. The documentary was filmed utilizing nine handheld cameras and two underwater cameras. Providing the aerial coverage were five drones, two helicopters and a FlyCam.
Ironman cites a number of feature stories for the 2022 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship documentary special:
- Just 18 months after giving birth to her daughter, professional triathlete Chelsea Sodaro aims to become the first American woman to win the Ironman World Championship in over 25 years.
- Two young Norwegians at the top of the sport, Olympic gold medallist and reigning Ironman World Champion Kristian Blummenfelt and Ironman 70.3 World Champion Gustav Iden, go head-to-head for world championship supremacy in their debut appearances in Hawaii.
- Veteran professional Tim O’Donnell returns to the pinnacle of competition only 15 months after suffering a heart attack.
- Chris Nikic a 22-year-old who made history by becoming the first person with Down syndrome to complete a full-distance Ironman triathlon in November of 2020, looks to spread his message to others and finish the iconic race in Kona.
- After numerous appearances and 13 age group titles over the years, Cherie Gruenfeld looks to go out on top as the oldest female athlete to ever finish the Ironman World Championship.
Seriously injured in the 2016 Brussels Bombing, former professional Belgian National Team basketball player Sebastien Bellin, shares his journey from victim to survivor. - ‘Super’ Sam Holness continues making his mark as the world’s first openly autistic endurance athlete to take on the iconic Ironman World Championship just a month after becoming the first person with autism to complete a full-distance triathlon at Mainova Ironman European Championship Frankfurt.
- Australian Paralympic triathlon silver-medallist Lauren Parker competes in her third world championship event in just over a year, and returns to Hawai`i to compete in the Ironman World Championship for the first time since suffering a bike crash that paralyzed her at the peak of her career.
- Mother and daughter special team Beth & Liza James, aka Team Liza, who 16 years ago were in a severe car accident that left Liza with a traumatic brain injury, return to Kona in their quest to make Ironman history by becoming the first mother-daughter special team duo to complete the iconic triathlon.
