Ironman Japan
 Ironman Japan
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| venue |
Hokkaidō (2013–2015) Gotō (Nagasaki) (2001–2009) Lake Biwa (1985–1997) Japan 
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| First run | 1985 |
| Last event | 2015 |
| organizer | World Triathlon Corporation |
| Records | |
| distance |
 3.86 km
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| track record | Men: 8:47:53 h, 2013 Martin Jensen Women: 9:58:30 h, 2014 Shiao-Yu Li 
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| Website | Official website |
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The Ironman Japan was a triathlon sporting event over the Ironman distance (3.86 km swimming, 180.2 km cycling and 42.195 km running) that took place every August from 2013 to 2015 in Tōyako on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō . Previously, a triathlon under the same name was held eleven times in Hikone on Lake Biwa and nine times in Goto on the island of Fukue-jima between 1985 and 2009 .
organization
Ironman Japan venues |
1985 to 1997 at Lake Biwa
The Yanmar Ironman Japan was first held in Hikone on Lake Biwa in 1985, a few months after Ironman New Zealand, as the world's only second qualifying competition outside of the USA for Ironman Hawaii . The winners of the 1985 premiere were among 424 participants Julie Moss and Dave Scott , who a few months earlier had declared that he no longer wanted to contest Ironman competitions. While the first event in 1985 ran over the full Ironman distance, the following year the track length was 3.6 km swimming, 155 km cycling and 30 km running. The third edition of the event did not take place until 1988.
In 1989 Dave Scott won again and his winning time of 8:01:32 h represented the fastest time ever in an Ironman competition and the fastest time to date in a triathlon organized under the trademark Ironman in Japan. Julie Moss was in Not only was she the fastest woman this year, she also left all men behind except Scott and runner-up Scott Molina . In 1992 Greg Welch won in 8:07:39 hours with a 20 minute lead. Then there was another year without Ironman Japan, until Mark Allen won the ninth event in 1995 .
During the 1997 competition, a typhoon raged in the region, so swimming in Lake Biwa was canceled without replacement. Instead, the participants went directly to the bike course every five seconds. Due to the storm damage, the state government saw itself unable to offer the necessary logistical support to carry out the event in the following year, so that the Ironman Japan did not take place again from 1998.
2001 to 2009 in Gotō
It was not until 2001 that another organizer, Universal Sports Marketing as a license partner of the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), organized a new competition under the name Ironman Japan, but about 950 km west of Hikone in Gotō on the island of Fukue-jima in the Nagasaki Prefecture . The swim course was now in the Pacific in Tomie Bay, then a hilly bike course with several loops and a running course over two laps around the Omnidake mountain and the airport awaited the athletes.
In 2003, the local administration decided, for fear of a possible SARS epidemic, to only allow participants living in Japan to take part in the competition, but then also allowed foreigners from regions that were not at risk. In previous years at Lake Biwa, the field of participants was already limited to non-Japanese, a maximum of 100 athletes who did not live in Japan were allowed to start.
In 2009, the Australian Luke McKenzie set the course record on this course with a time of 8:28:31, the fastest time achieved by a woman on this route was achieved in 2008 by the Japanese Naomi Imaizumi in 9:33:59.
Two weeks before the ten-year anniversary event in Gotō, which was actually planned for June 13, 2010, the triathlon was canceled for medical reasons due to an acute spread of foot and mouth disease . The 50 qualifying places for the Ironman Hawaii were therefore instead awarded on July 11th in Jeju-do ( South Korea ) at the Jeju International Triathlon (JIT). Only athletes who had already been registered for the Ironman Japan ("IQ Division") could get a slot (= starting place).
The event itself has been continued - without the trademark "Ironman" - since 2011 over the same distance, but with an additional relay rating , as "Brahman King" under the name Gotō Nagasko International Triathlon .
2013 to 2015 in Tōyako
It was not until 2013 that the Ironman Japan appeared again in the WTC competition calendar. The new event, organized this time directly by the WTC, was held around 2300 km northeast of Gotō under the well-known name Ironman Japan in Tōyako on Lake Tōya , the northernmost non-freezing lake in Japan, on the island of Hokkaidō . In August 2014, the German Michael Rünz achieved the first Ironman victory of his career there. In 2015, Swen Sundberg followed him as the second German winner in this race, before Lothar Leder had already won the competition in Gotō in 2003.
Amateurs were able to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona at the Ironman Japan over forty qualification places spread over the individual age groups . Professional triathletes who fought for the 25,000 US dollar prize money in Tōyako were able to qualify for the competition in Hawaii via the Kona Pro Ranking System (KPR).
In Tōyako, the winner and winner each received 2,000 points, and further places received a correspondingly reduced number of points. For comparison: The winner in Hawaii receives 8,000 points, the winners in Frankfurt , Texas , Florianópolis and Port Elizabeth each receive 4,000, and in the other Ironman races either 1,000 or 2,000 points.
On November 29, 2015, the organizer WTC announced that the event would not be continued. The background to this was the collapse of a bridge on the bike route; according to the WTC, alternative routes are not an attractive option.
Route
- The swim course was in Tōya Lake and comprised two laps.
- The bike course led over a lap through the surrounding area along the Yotei mountain with an altitude of 1,892 meters.
- The running route ran over two undulating laps along Tōya Lake.
Course records
The course record on the course in Tōyako was set by the Dane Martin Jensen in 8:47:53 h in 2013 , and the fastest woman in Tōyako in 2014 was the Taiwanese Shiao-Yu Li 9:58:30 h.
Winners list
Ironman Japan in Tōyako
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(SR: course record)
Ironman Japan in Gotō
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Ironman Japan at Lake Biwa
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Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Ironman History: 1980s
- ↑ Ironman Media Guide 2010 (PDF)
- ↑ Ironman calling it quits ( English ) In: New York Times . October 8, 1984.
- ^ Mike Cobb: Americans do well in Japan . In: Lakeland Ledger . July 1, 1985.
- ^ Newswire . In: Los Angeles Times . September 1, 1986.
- ↑ Destination: Ironman Japan ( English ) World Triathlon Corporation . 22th January 2014.
- ↑ Nick Munting: Ironman Facts - the Real Ones! In: rec.sport.triathlon (Google Groups). April 16, 1997. Retrieved October 29, 2015 .
- ↑ International, US Qualifiers Announced for 20th Anniversary Ironman Triathlon World Championship ( English ) World Triathlon Corporation . January 9, 1998. Archived from the original on January 19, 1998.
- ↑ IM Japan closed to travelers due to SARS scare . In: slowtwitch.com . May 7, 2003. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Harald Eggebrecht: Ironman Lanzarote and Japan Fernduell Hellriegel and leather . In: tri2b.com . May 15, 2003.
- ↑ 2010 Ironman Japan event canceled (June 1, 2010)
- ^ Ironman Japan Athletes Offered Qualifying Opportunity
- ↑ Home Gotō Nagasko International Triathlon
- ↑ Ironman Japan: First Ironman success for Michael Rünz (August 24, 2014)
- ↑ Distribution of points and prize money for professional triathletes ( Memento from April 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Professional Athlete Qualification & Validation . In: ironman.com .
- ↑ Organizers forced to discontinue Ironman Japan . WTC. November 29, 2015.
