THIS year’s Ironman event in Tenby has proved popular with athletes, becoming the second race in the UK to sell out this season.

Ironman Wales, which will be held on Sunday, September 3, has joined the Ironman 70.3 Swansea event as selling out before the season has even begun.

This should come as no surprise, after the Tenby event was the only race to have scored in the top 10 globally in eight of the nine categories in the Ironman Athletes’ Choice Awards – voted for by the men and women who tackle triathlons all over the globe.

Ironman Wales’ spectacular swim start at Tenby’s North Beach, beautiful bike ride past beaches and castles and finish line on streets packed with cheering crowds is now world famous.

Sam Brawn, regional director for UK & Ireland at The ironman Group, said: “Ironman Wales continues to prove immensely popular with our athletes year after year – whether that’s old faces returning to race with us again, or new athletes hoping to tick the iconic course off their bucket list.

“We are very proud that the race was recognised as one of the best events in the global Ironman Series after being voted in Top-10 in multiple categories in the Global Ironman Athletes’ Choice Awards, including second in the ‘Will Recommend To A Friend’ and ‘Overall Host City’ categories.”

For those who missed out on a place in Tenby, Mr Brawn highlighted Ironman Cork – which hosted its inaugural event last year – on Sunday, July 2.

“It’s also really exciting to see new races, such as the festival weekend in Cork, Ireland, growing in popularity after just one year,” he said.

“The UK and Ireland race season officially kicks off in just over a week with Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire on June 11, and we can’t wait for an amazing few months of racing, in whatever weather the British summer decides to throw at us.”

Athletes looking to fill out their race calendar for 2023 can check out the full schedule of events at ironman.com/races.