Ironman Melbourne Announced for March 25th

WTC has finally announced the much anticipated, and speculated over, Ironman Melbourne, adding to their events in Busselton and Port Macquarie. With Challenge Cairns Australia now has four iron distance races. The new event is also being slated as the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship.

The 226km race will take place in Melbourne’s South East and Bayside suburbs. The course will include a 3.8km swim in the Frankston Foreshore, a fast and smooth 180km bike on the Eastlink Tollway and 42.2km run from Frankston to the Ironman Asia Pacific Championship finish line, located at the iconic St. Kilda sea baths.

WTC Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Messick, said Melbourne is the ideal city to host a championship Ironman race of this caliber because of its reputation as a world-renowned event location.

“The Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship will be one of the most significant and ambitious Ironman races ever held, attracting athletes from across the globe,” Messick continued. “The planning and execution of this event wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Victorian Government and the Victorian Major Events Company and we’re looking forward to staging an exceptional race here in Melbourne with their assistance.”

The Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship is expected to generate an economic impact of approximately $10-million, with strong tourism visitation and broadcast benefits for Victoria.

Premier Ted Baillieu said securing the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship reinforces Melbourne’s reputation as Australia’s home of sport and a leading international city for major events.

“The race will join a calendar of outstanding and successful international events and we’re proud to be selected as the host city for the inaugural race,” Mr Baillieu said. “This outstanding race will show off Port Phillip Bay and our wonderful city to great advantage to a global audience.”

The 2012 Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship is one of nearly 30 events worldwide. Athletes will compete for a professional prize purse of $100,000 USD and 75 age group qualifying slots to the 2012 Ironman World Championship, more than any other race in the Asia-Pacific region.   The Pro’s will be competing for 4,000 Kona Qualifying points.

Registration for the 2012 Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship will open on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011 at 1 p.m. AEST.