An Evening of Champions and Inspiration in the Big Apple

On Monday 12th November 2018, IRONMAN and the IRONMAN Foundation will host the World Premiere Screening of the 2018 IRONMAN^® World Championship brought to you by Amazon. The sixth annual screening event will be presented by the New York Health & Racquet Club at The Times Center in New York City with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. Sharing the hosting duties for the evening’s affair will be “The Voice of IRONMAN” and IRONMAN Foundation Ambassador Team Captain, Mike Reilly, along with IRONMAN Foundation Ambassador and Fox Sports anchor and reporter, Shannon Spake, as they introduce guests to the magic of the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon, which took place on October 13 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i.

The red-carpet gala will begin with a welcome reception and silent auction before the premiere screening of the Emmy Award winning annual NBC broadcast of the IRONMAN World Championship. Event attendees will get a first look at the fierce competition and compelling storylines of the broadcast special before it airs on NBC on November 24 at 4:30 p.m. ET (check local listings for time and channel). The evening will conclude with a moderated Q&A panel that includes featured athletes who competed at this year’s world championship event and exude the IRONMAN mantra “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.”

EVENT ATTENDEES

During the welcome reception, attendees will have an opportunity to meet-and-greet inspirational age-group athletes as well as current and former professional athletes. Special guests include:

• Patrick Lange: Last year’s IRONMAN World Champion added another record-breaking performance to his resume with a victory at the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon. This past October, Lange became the first athlete in race history to break the eight-hour barrier. He capped off his win by celebrating with a marriage proposal at the finish line to his girlfriend Julia who said “YES!”
• Sarah True: A two-time Olympian, True was the top female professional from the United States at the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship brought to you by Amazon, finishing in fourth place. She adds this performance to a long-list of accomplishments including a fourth-place finish in triathlon at the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio.
• Rachel Brenke: Brenke is powerhouse who seemingly does it all. A mother of five, she is a 11-year cancer survivor, lawyer, and successful businesswoman who now mentor’s young entrepreneurs as they make their own way in the corporate world. She has shown her commitment to sport and ability to balance what life can bring while achieving her goals.
• Marcus Cook: In only a year and a half, Marcus dropped from 489lbs down to 233lbs. Following the death of close friend, Marcus decided to make huge lifestyle changes and now attribute his success to triathlon. He competed in his first IRONMAN triathlon in 2017 at the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship Texas and has raised over $100,000 to support the IRONMAN Foundation.
• Isabella de la Houssaye: Isabella is a mother of five and multi-time IRONMAN finisher who continues to battle Stage IV lung cancer. With amazing fortitude and the completion of the run portion of the IRONMAN World Championship, Isabella has now finished a marathon in all 50 states.
• Glenn Hartrick: In 2014 Glenn was hit by a car, leaving him a paraplegic. A former established IRONMAN triathlete, Glenn immediately sought out ways to continue competing. His insistence to his therapist to let him try a handcycle in the parking lot of his rehab facility opened up his world to paratriathlon.
• Brent and Kyle Pease: The Pease Brothers established the Kyle Pease Foundation to enable athletes with disabilities to share the joy of endurance racing. Inspired by the Hoyts, Brent competes with brother Kyle, who has spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy, pulling him in the swim, riding with him on the bike and pushing him in a specially-designed wheelchair in the run. The brothers are just the second duo in that category to ever complete the IRONMAN World Championship.
• Sarah Reinertsen: Reinertsen was the first above-the-knee amputee to finish the IRONMAN World Championship accomplishing the feat in 2005. She later went on to become a gold medal winning para-triathlete. This year she returned to Kona to celebrate her place in history and IRONMAN’s “40 Years of Dreams.”

“After winning our 17th Sports Emmy Award, we are excited to return to New York City and premiere this year’s IRONMAN World Championship NBC special ahead of its airdate on November 24.  The broadcast special gives viewers an extraordinary look inside a truly amazing event, and as we celebrated our 40th Anniversary, this year’s IRONMAN World Championship was no exception,” said Christopher Stadler, Chief Marketing Officer for IRONMAN. “We are honored to work with the IRONMAN Foundation as we continue to grow this red-carpet event and silent auction to a larger audience than ever before while raising money for a great cause.”

The IRONMAN Foundation has provided more than $50 million in support since inception. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the IRONMAN Foundation’s Community Fund, which provides grant funding to nonprofit organizations in race communities where IRONMAN events are held.

In addition to the funds raised from the event’s ticket sales, the IRONMAN Foundation will hold a silent auction with a variety of unique items including this year’s IRONMAN World Championship finish line tape signed by the top three professional male and female finishers, an autographed jersey signed by NFL running back Todd Gurley, and an IRONMAN 70.3^® Puerto Rico race experience package, just to name a few. Online bidding is available now and open to event attendees and the general public by visiting the following link – IRONMAN Foundation Silent Auction.

There will also be an opportunity to bid during the live auction at the premiere on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to race at the 2019 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i as well as the 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France.

“The IRONMAN Foundation looks forward to celebrating 40 Years of Dreams in New York City while making a tangible difference in our race communities,” said Sarah Hartmann, acting Executive Director of the IRONMAN Foundation. “The event celebrates the inspiration, perseverance and commitment of IRONMAN athletes and the foundation’s mantra of ‘Service Through Sport, Commitment to Community.’”