Two new Ironman 70.3 races have been announced for the Middle East: Bahrain will host the 70.3 Middle East Championship this December, and Dubai will host a middle-distance triathlon in early 2016.
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Bahrain will offer 40 age-group qualification slots for the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Sunshine Coast, Australia, while Dubai will offer 30 spots.
“We are delighted to be able to establish Ironman 70.3 races in the Gulf region that is an emerging hotbed for triathlon,” said Andrew Messick, CEO of Ironman. “Besides having passionate triathletes, Bahrain and Dubai have demonstrated an extraordinary ability to host great events. We are looking forward to working with our partners to create some of the greatest races in the world — with the hope of expanding in this region.”
The race in Bahrain will be a point-to-point triathlon which passes some of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s most significant attractions, including Al Fateh Grand Mosque, the Bahrain Bay and F1 Bahrain International Circuit.
Challenge Family did launch their own middle-distance races in Bahrain and Dubai last year as part of the Nasser bin Hamad Triple Crown. Ironman spokesperson tells 220 however that the races announced today are “entirely new events created and run by Ironman”.
More details as soon as we have them…
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