Thursday, November 02, 2017

Ironman Malaysia Update : 3 More Days to Hottest Ironman Race!

FREDRIK CRONEBORG AND DIANA RIESLER RETURN TO IRONMAN MALAYSIA TO DEFEND THEIR TITLES

Over 1,800 athletes expected in Langkawi for IRONMAN® Malaysia and IRONMAN® 70.3® Langkawi on November 11, 2017

TAMPA, Fla./KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: (November 6, 2017) – Some of the world’s best triathletes will convene in Langkawi, Malaysia on 11 November 2017 to race at the 5th edition of IRONMAN® Malaysia, as announced today by IRONMAN, a Wanda Sports Holding company.

Fredrik Croneborg – who won his first IRONMAN race in Malaysia last year with a time of 8h39min12sec – is back to Langkawi in 2017 hoping to take the trophy home again. The 36 year-old Swedish triathlete shared his excitement to be back to Langkawi this year “IRONMAN Malaysia is my favorite race. I’ve raced all around the world but Malaysia is where I perform at my best and if feels special because I got my first IRONMAN win here. Langkawi is also one of the nicest destination for holidays and I will keep coming back, even after my racing career. Starting as a defending champion, it's impossible to improve my ranking, but I feel better prepared this year. I hope I can improve my timing from last year and hopefully retain my title.”

In the professional female category, Diana Riesler from Germany will be the most expected contender for the win on Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa finish line after winning the three previous editions of IRONMAN Malaysia in 2014, 2015 and 2016. “IRONMAN Langkawi was my first ever IRONMAN race in 2008 as an amateur and I promised myself to come back to race again here as a professional. I returned in 2014 as a professional athlete and bagged my first IRONMAN win. The tropical climate and the hospitality of local supporters make it really special. I’m excited to race in Langkawi again and fight for another win on November 11.”

“We are delighted to have our two defending champions Fredrik Croneborg and Diana Riesler back to Langkawi this year. They are both exceptional triathletes and an inspiration for all the age-group athletes who will be racing here on 11 November.” said Geoff Meyer, Asia Managing Director for IRONMAN. “The amazing response from the IRONMAN community shows that Langkawi is one of the preferred locations to race and we are looking forward to another great race this year.”

The full list of professional triathletes racing at IRONMAN Malaysia can be downloaded here

This year’s event in Langkawi will host over 1,800 athletes shared between IRONMAN Malaysia and IRONMAN® 70.3® Langkawi. More than 70% of registered athletes are coming from over 50 different countries. The Top 4 countries are Japan, Singapore, Australia and Philippines.

2017 IRONMAN 70.3 Langkawi will be an age group race only offering 30 qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.

2017 IRONMAN Malaysia will offer a $25,000 USD professional prize purse and 50 age-group qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN® World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States of America.

2017 IRONMAN Malaysia and 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 Langkawi races are part of the 2018 Asia TriClub Qualifier Series.

IRONKIDS race will be held on November 10, for kids aged between 4 and 17, taking part in 3 distances; 500m, 1km and 1.5km dash along Cenang Beach, sharing the IRONMAN finisher’s arch with kids able to experience the same finish line as their heroes at the Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa.

The IRONMAN Sports and Lifestyle Expo will take place from November 8-12 at Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre (MIEC), featuring booths by sports and lifestyle exhibitors as well as the IRONMAN official merchandise.

The 2017 IRONMAN Malaysia Langkawi is supported by Malaysia Major Events (MME), a division of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia; Kedah State, Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), and Naturally Langkawi.

Athlete inquiries may be directed to malaysia@ironman.com.

For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com.  Media may contact Aw Li-Ann at li-ann@ink.net.my.

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About Malaysia Major Events
Malaysia Major Events (MME) is a division of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia (MoTAC). MME was established under the Government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to identify, promote, facilitate as well as support viable international events to be staged in Malaysia. With its main objective to enhance Malaysia’s economic growth and profile, MME is also tasked to identify and support major event bids for sports, arts, lifestyles and entertainment events and provide assistance to home-grown and home-hosted events in order to further strengthen Malaysia’s global appeal as the venue of choice for major events in the region. MME also acts as a conduit between the public and private sectors in ensuring seamless processes are achieved through synergistic relationships with diverse event stakeholders in staging successful events in Malaysia.
For more information, please visit www.mymajorevents.com.my and follow MME on Facebook.com/MalaysiaMajorEvents, twitter @MyMajorEvents and Instagram @mymajorevents.

About IRONMAN
A Wanda Sports Holdings company, IRONMAN operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series®, Iron Girl®, IRONKIDS®, International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series races, road cycling events including the UCI Velothon® Series, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, premier marathons including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, and other multisport races. IRONMAN’s events, together with all other Wanda Sports Holdings events, provide more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. The iconic IRONMAN® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Beginning as a single race, IRONMAN has grown to become a global sensation with more than 200 events across 50 countries. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.

About Wanda Sports Holdings

Wanda Sports Holdings is the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape – in three key areas: 1) Spectator Sports (media and marketing business), 2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business), 3) Services (digital, production and service business). Wanda Sports Holding incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media, the iconic endurance brand IRONMAN, and Wanda Sports China. The headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.