The final race of the IRONMAN season in Europe reportedly reached sell-out status in the beginning of October – with IRONMAN adding that all its races in Europe sold out for the 2024 race season.
(Earlier this year, IRONMAN stated that entries for its European events got off to a strong start, with 82% of IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race entries for the 2024 season sold out as early as January 2024.)
New data released by IRONMAN, following the recent sell-out of IRONMAN Portugal-Cascais (held on October 18, 2024), also indicates a growing popularity of the sport amongst younger athletes. Participation figures amongst 18-35 year-olds in Europe are at an all-time high.
2024 marked a 24% increase in 18-35 year-olds registering for an IRONMAN, with IRONMAN Kärnten-Klagenfurt Austria seeing the biggest overall increase (91% YOY), and IRONMAN Copenhagen being most popular overall among under 35s.
While local participation has seen strong growth across the IRONMAN 70.3 series, international travel is also said to be increasing, especially across the IRONMAN series in the region.
Following a decline in travel for races post-pandemic, IRONMAN data also indicates that the appetite for race travelling has returned, especially amongst UK athletes. The UK, France and Germany made up the largest European travel contingent for European events, with an overall increase of 13% YOY in destination race traveling.
Thanks to a warm Mediterranean climate, late season date, and fast course, it is no surprise that IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona was the most popular destination race this year, with over 91 different countries represented.
Over 15,000 athletes crossed their very first IRONMAN triathlon finish line in Europe this year, which marked a 12% year-on-year increase. Belgium and the Netherlands saw the greatest overall growth in athletes, with 51% and 36% YOY increase respectively.
Thomas Veje Olsen, Managing Director of The IRONMAN Group in Europe, Middle East and Africa said “As a team, our primary goal is to deliver life changing experiences for every athlete no matter where they choose to race, so to have all our European IRONMAN races sold out in 2024 is a big moment for our entire team.
“We feel proud and privileged that athletes trust us to be with them on such a momentous journey. It’s also encouraging to see more younger athletes and first timers coming into the sport, and we are grateful to be part of their first steps into the triathlon community.”
IRONMAN adds that the rise in the sport’s mainstream popularity is highlighted by the increased participation of a host of well-known personalities across social media and reality TV, such as:
- Belgium’s Rob Van Impe, more commonly known as Average Rob;
- The UK’s Stephanie Joshi, more commonly known as Nutty Foodie Fitness;
- UK football YouTuber, Theo Baker;
- Former Love Island UK stars Greg O’Shea and Adam Collard;
- As well as high profile sports stars and household names such as former Wales rugby international, Shane Williams, and British racing driver Billy Monger.
The participation of these influencers is helping to inspire others to begin their first steps on various fitness journeys.
Thomas Veje Olsen added, “We are proud to be able to offer such a variety of race experiences in exciting and bucket list destinations for our athletes across Europe, whether that is city centre courses in Hamburg, Frankfurt or Copenhagen, to those nestled under the gaze of the Alps, such as Thun in Switzerland or Klagenfurt in Austria, and coastal destinations such as Emilia-Romagna in Italy, Cascais in Portugal or Nice in France.
“Next year we also expand to two exciting new destinations; Leeds in the UK and Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendee on France’s Atlantic coast becoming an IRONMAN race for the first time.”
2025 season entries
In 2024 IRONMAN Hamburg was the fastest IRONMAN race to be sold out and looks set to repeat that feat for 2025 at already over 90% full – while IRONMAN France Nice and IRONMAN Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendee both sit at over 80%.
IRONMAN Copenhagen, IRONMAN Wales and IRONMAN Leeds are all hovering around 70% full having been open less than four weeks, while the popular IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona opened last week.
Top 3 travel markets
- UK
- France
- Germany
Top 3 favourite travel races
- IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona (91 countries represented)
- IRONMAN Kärnten-Klagenfurt Austria (84 countries represented)
- IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg (89 countries represented)
Top 3 growth markets
- Belgium +51% YOY increase
- Netherlands +36% YOY increase
- Poland +31% YOY increase
Most popular races among 18-35 year-olds in 2024
- IRONMAN Kärnten-Klagenfurt Austria +91% YOY increase
- IRONMAN Tallinn Estonia +84% YOY increase
- IRONMAN Switzerland Thun +72% YOY increase