World-class athletes set for Ironman

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

Up to 60,000 spectators are expected along the route for the Ironman 70.3 Series triathlon this Sunday, which is expected to generate a €5 million cash windfall for Galway.

And a further tourism spin-off is likely to be created when the city, Salthill and parts of Connemara are showcased to tens of millions of TV viewers around the world.

Around 2,400 competitors from 42 countries around the world will take part in the gruelling endurance race, while they are likely to bring up to 6,600 members of families and friends.

The Ironman 70.3 – so called because it involves a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile cycle and 13.1 mile run – will be screened on TG4 and Setanta in Ireland, as well as Channel 4 in the UK.

It will also be screened on America 1, ESPN and Canal+ as well as in their ‘partner’ syndicated territories across the globe. Setanta alone will be broadcasting the event highlights on their networks in Australia, the UK and Asia, while foreign print journalists – from specialist triathlon magazines in the likes of the US, UK and Germany – will also be in Galway.

A TV company from the UK has already arrived in Galway, and will be recording all the events and putting together a highlights package for all the TV networks.

Galwayman Eoin McCormack of E&R Events – which secured the rights to run Ironman 70.3 in Ireland for the next five years – said the response to the event has been overwhelming.

“This is a huge event for the region and for the country. We have people competing from all over the world; Spain, Portugal, Sweden, France, Germany, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Bahrain. We even have people from São Tomé and Príncipe (off the west coast of Africa near the equator)!

“This is the biggest triathlon event in the world. It’s like bringing the PGA Golf Tour to Ireland. There were 60 cities around Europe that wanted the Ironman franchise. And we got it,” said Mr McCormack.He got the idea to bring the event to Ireland after seeing it in action while living in France, and approached Ironman chiefs with his business partners and fellow Galwaymen Ronan Gilligan and Ruaidhrí Geraghty.

“It’s been a phenomenal success thus far. It’s the second biggest Ironman of its size in Year One, we are the success story of Ironman internationally. The triathlon is the fastest growing individual sport in the UK, there’s a shortage of events there, so there’s huge potential for us to bring people to Ireland.

“We had to shut race entry down after 2,500, it was a huge response. It’s overwhelming, but we’re not really surprise to be honest. Ironman is a very powerful brand, and the market is there for it.

“We didn’t even have to launch our marketing in America, and we got 100 entrants from there. In all, there will be 500 people coming from the States,” said Mr McCormack.