2026 IRONMAN World Championship Returns to Kona for Single Day Race

IRONMAN, in collaboration with local and state officials announced that beginning in 2026 the IRONMAN^® World Championship will return to Kona exclusively hosting a reimagined event format with men and women racing together on the same day.

The 2026 event will take place on October 10, 2026 and welcome nearly 3,000 triathletes.

Innovations in the one-day event format will include enhanced and equal broadcast coverage for women and men, new start times that promote fair competition across both races, and other advancements to elevate the race experience for all athletes.

Extensive research and community feedback across all groups of athletes showed a resounding shared sentiment – The IRONMAN World Championship triathlon in Kona, Hawai’i holds a special place in the hearts of IRONMAN athletes, and is the definitive location for both female and male athletes to compete.

For the first time in its history, the IRONMAN World Championship moved to split locations in 2023 for two reasons. Significant numbers of deferrals from cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic required two days of racing, and a 2-day single-location format was tried in 2022 and found to be unsustainable for the local community in Kona.

Since first announcing the format change, IRONMAN monitored and tracked feedback and athlete behavior across a wide range of inputs, including direct customer feedback, post-event surveys, online sentiment tracking, discussions with triathlon clubs, coaches, and partners, and data on athletes taking qualifying slots and their behavior following participation in the IRONMAN World Championship races.