The second edition of the Ironman 70.3 Triathlon race is just one day away in Rubavu District, Western Province. READ ALSO: Over 300 athletes set for Ironman 70.3 Triathlon race 2023 The highly-anticipated race, slated for Saturday, August 5, is taking place for the second time in Rwanda. It is one of a series of long distance triathlon races organised by the World Triathlon Corporation. READ ALSO: Ironman Rwanda 70.3 wins global award The race Organised locally by Global Events, the highly-anticipated race is one of a series of long distance triathlon races organised by the World Triathlon Corporation. Rubavu was approved as the race host city. Ordinarily, most Ironman events have a limited time of 16 or 17 hours to complete the race, depending on the course. The mandatory cut off time to complete the 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim is 2 hours 20 minutes, while the mandatory bike cut off time for when an athlete must have completed their swim, transition and bike varies generally between 10 hours and 30 minutes. Any participant who completes the triathlon within these time constraints is designated an Ironman. READ ALSO: Sports tourism: Rwanda added to Ironman 70.3 race calendar Who will participate? Over 300 athletes from 29 countries, including 60 Rwandan nationals, are expected to grace the 2023 Ironman triathlon. Participating countries iinclude Kenya, Austrialia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, DR Congo, Czech republic, Germany, Egypt, Spain, France, UK, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Caledonia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Slovenia, Ukraine, USA, South Africa and hosts Rwanda. Itinerary Athletes participating in Ironman 70.3 Rwanda will take on a 1.9km swim at the waterfront of Lake Kivu, a 90km bike course, and a multi-lap 21.1km run course that spans the shoreline of Lake Kivu. The athletes will begin with swimming after which they will ride bikes from the lake to Pfunda and cross the road to Karongi and return to Kivu Serena Hotel. They will then head to Kigufi and Kivu Paradise Resort and return to Kivu Serena Hotel in a distance that covers 45 km. They will do another round to cover the required 90km. How ready is Rubavu? Rubavu was approved as the race host city after the Ironman Group in January 2022 made Rwanda the fourth African country, besides South Africa, Morocco and Egypt, to host the Ironman 70.3 events. Deograrias Nzabonimpa, the Acting Mayor of Rubavu district, said that everything is set for the tournament to kickoff. “We prepared well and everything was sorted in time, now what’s remaining is the race kickoff,” said Nzabonimpa. “Rubavu has been hosting bigger events over the years and we hope with no doubts that this race will be a success too. We expect a big supporting crowd tomorrow as always.
