More than 2.600 participants take part in the Ironman sports competition in Frankfurt, central Germany, Sunday, July 7, 2013. Athletes from 55 countries are competing on a race course which includes 3.8 kilometres of swimming, 180 kilometres of cycling and 42.195 kilometres of running.VIDEO
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Triathletes run while unzipping their wetsuits as they cross onto land at the finish the first phase of the Ironman 70.3 triathalon in Boulder, Colo., Sunday Aug. 4, 2013. Roughly 2000 competitors swam, biked and ran in the event.Chattanooga has a lengthy history of hosting swim competitions, biking events and road races, as well as triathlons, which combine the three sports.
On Thursday, the Chattanooga Sports Committee landed the monstrous stamina test known as the Ironman, which starts with a 2.4-mile swim, continues with a 112-mile bike race and finishes with a 26.2-mile run. The five-year contract will bring an estimated $40 million to the city, with the first of the Ironman series competitions scheduled for Sept. 28, 2014.
“It’s a perfect fit for both of us,” Steve Meckfessel, the managing director for Ironman’s global operations, said Thursday. “We’re as excited as we can be with this announcement of a long-term partnership. We do races all over the world, and we’re operating in over 20 countries and are in markets such as Melbourne, Australia, and Frankfurt, Germany. We’re in markets like Lake Placid, which has great Olympic legacy, and now Chattanooga.
“It’s a fantastic day, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the way the community has reached out to us and organized themselves.”