From New York to Augusta in 48 hours: IRONMAN organizes a PRO race after the cancellation
IRONMAN has added a men's professional race to the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta after canceling New York, giving some of the affected PROs the chance to compete this Sunday in Georgia.
The move has forced a last-minute change to an event that, in its original planning, only included a women's professional race . Jackson Laundry, Ari Klau, and Nicholas Chase are among the triathletes who have switched from New York to Augusta.
The solution comes after the IRONMAN 70.3 New York was cancelled due to a severe coastal storm that prevented the Jones Beach competition from taking place on Saturday, September 26, with the necessary safety guarantees.
Augusta adds a men's PRO race
The IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta takes place this Sunday, September 27th , and was initially planned as a women-only PRO competition. The professional calendar had New York as the men's race on Saturday and Augusta as the women's race the following day.
Following the cancellation, IRONMAN offered the affected male professionals the opportunity to travel to Georgia and compete in Augusta, thus creating a men's race that was not part of the original professional program.
The list released after the change includes Jackson Laundry, Ari Klau, and Nicholas Chase, along with other professionals who were scheduled to compete in New York. The information released about the new men's field itself warned that the start list could still change due to the limited time available to complete the relocation.
Lionel Sanders does not appear on the Augusta list
One of the most notable absences is that of Lionel Sanders . The Canadian had been assigned the number 1 bib for New York, but was not on the men's list transferred to Augusta.
Sanders led a New York contingent that also included Laundry, Klau, and other professionals who had prepared for the Jones Beach competition.
For those who have accepted the change, Augusta offers an opportunity to compete just one day after the originally scheduled date for IRONMAN 70.3 New York.
The new race also changes the schedules.
The addition of the men's course has forced a ten-minute delay to the professional program at Augusta.
The men's race is scheduled to start at 7:15 a.m. Georgia time (13:15 p.m. in mainland Spain) , while the women's race will start at 7:25 a.m. (13:25 p.m. in Spain).
Augusta thus goes from having only a women's PRO race to having two professional competitions in a modification made just hours before the start.
A last-minute solution after the cancellation of New York
The situation creates an unusual scenario within the IRONMAN calendar: a professional men's race added at another venue with barely two days' notice after weather conditions prevented the competition initially planned from taking place.
The situation for the New York age groups follows a different process. IRONMAN has announced that it will explore possible rescheduling and that participants will receive information about available registration alternatives.
While the future of the New York event is being resolved, part of its male professional field will finally have the opportunity to compete this Sunday in Augusta.
This content has been created with the support of AI tools and reviewed by the Triathlon News editorial team.
