Which are the most "easy" Ironman to get slot to Kona?

Often we get messages to the writing of triathletes of age groups that ask us in which races are more likely to get slot for Kona. In the following article we will try to solve those doubts that many readers have.

 

The first thing to keep in mind is that it is very difficult to qualify because there are many triathletes who fight for it and very few places. The allocation of the slots for each age group depends on the total number of finishers in each group with respect to the total of the triathletes that finish each Ironman.

There is always a minimum slot per group, although in that group there is only one person who finishes the test. Also keep in mind that the time with which a triathlete is classified the following year may not be enough for it. We can make a comparison with the entrance exams to the university, where the cut-off grade each year varies according to the number of places and applicants.

For example in the Ironman of Lanzarote 2016 there were two slots in the male age group of 25-29 years, and the second slot was achieved with a time of 9: 35: 34. For 2017 that mark is only a reference, because you can get the slot with a longer or shorter time ... and you can also vary the number of these, as we said before, are assigned depending on the finishers of each group with respect to the total.

How many tests make up the classification calendar for Kona 2017?

The classification calendar for 2017 consists of 44 tests, the first was the last 28 of August in Vichy (France) and the last will be the 27 of August of 2017 in Coeur d'Alene in the USA. Most Ironman have 40 slots but there are some special cases. There are 5 competitions that distribute 75 slots, are those corresponding to the continental championships (South Africa, Texas (USA), Florianópolis (Brazil), Cairns (Australia) and Frankfurt (Germany) .Finally we must mention that there are four IM 70.3 that also they give slots for Kona, all in China, a few weeks ago they played the Hefei and Xiamen with 50 slots each and next year will be held those of Liuzhou and Qujin with 30 slots per race.

In the next link (or click on the image) you can download the calendar with all the races and their slots for Kona 2017.


Are there Ironmans where it is more "easy" to get slot?

As a general rule, there are some Ironmans that, due to their date on the calendar, it may be easier to get a slot, we will explain why.

Let's take the example of how to qualify for the Hawaii 2017 World Cup. On the one hand, there are the first Ironmans of classification cycle (Vichy, Wisconsion, Mallorca, etc ...) that is to say those that are disputed between the end of August and the middle of October.

Why is it theoretically “easier” to qualify here? because these are dates before Kona, therefore the best are preparing the Hawaii Ironman and obviously they would not contest one in the previous weeks. It is also true that they are tests chosen by some of the best age groups that in 2016 have decided not to run Kona and want to qualify for 2017 early.

The next period most likely to be able to get slots for Hawaii 2017 will be in the races that take place during the last weeks of July and those of the month of August (Switzerland, Canada, Maastricht, Hamburg, etc ..) And why will it be easier to get slot in these races? The answer is because the best ggee on those dates should already be classified.

Obviously, the two periods that we have cited as "easy" must always keep in mind that it will also be very difficult to get the slot. We know cases of triathletes who have gone to compete in Kalmar in Sweden (end of August) who have done a great race ... but they were left without a slot because in the roll down nobody rejected their place.

We must also take into account the 5 ironmans that have 75 seats, by 40 of the vast majority of tests.

Does the number of triathletes of an Ironman influence the time to get slot?

Possibly the most important factor when it comes to cataloging a test as "easy" or difficult to get slot for Kona. For example in ironmans with more than 2000 finishers such as Barcelona (2346 finishers in 2016) or Lousville, USA (2428) there is approximately one slot for each 60 triathlete who finishes the competition.

On the other hand, in other less crowded races such as Malaysia (825) there is one slot for each 20 triathletes and in Fortaleza, Brazil (509) one slot for each 13 triathlete. Of all the Ironmans who qualify for Kona 2017, surely the one with the lowest triathletes / slot ratio is the one held in Los Cabos (Mexico) a few weeks ago, where there were only 267 finishers, that is, one slot for each 7 people who finished the proof.

And by sex? Are there competitions where there are more slots for men and women?

The answer is a resounding YES. Let's see the example of women and their percentage of participation with respect to men. In the ironmans of North America (Canada, USA and Mexico) the percentage of women is higher than the 25%, in the competitions of Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) round the 20% and in Europe is barely 11%.

In the fourth block would be "rest of the world" (South America, Africa and Asia) and here the percentage is about 13%. So we see that in the Ironmans of North America and Oceania the percentage of women's participation is double that in the rest of the world, so in these races there will be more slots for them.

As far as men are concerned, on the contrary, Europe, South America, Africa and Asia are the areas in which the number of slots for them is greater.

Hopefully this article has served a bit to resolve the doubts of some readers and learn a little more about the classification system for the Ironman World Cup.

Bibliography: tritraining.com

Photo: Ironman.com

There are no previous results.

Related publications

Button back to top