Juan Monzón, Sports Councilor of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, was this Wednesday on the program Good morning, Lanzarote of Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero to discuss, among other issues, the news that broke this Tuesday about the Club La Santa will stop organizing the IronMan and giving its name to the event from 2027 onwards.
The counselor has assured that this announcement "has not caught him by surprise" and that it has been a decision of Club La Santa itself. "Nor should the statement we have seen be surprising, they simply decide not to renew the contract and that Iron Man would directly manage and organize the event. I don't see what the problem is, I don't see what the uncertainty is, and I don't see any major concern," he pointed out. Thus, he has attributed this decision to the "brand policies" to "remove the franchises and keep the brand itself directly."
Furthermore, regarding the organization's argument in which they point to the "loss of money" each year for carrying it out, Monzón has revealed that he disagrees with this opinion. "I hear that every year we are asked for more and more money as if there were a bottomless pit... it is one of the events that many people would like to have in their power to be able to carry it out and organize it because I am convinced that it is a very powerful and very profitable event," he said.
In this regard, the councilor has recalled that each participant pays almost 800 euros upon registration, with an average of more than 900 athletes. Now, the objective they are setting is to increase this figure, which has declined in recent years, so they aim to reach 1,500 registered participants. "I think perhaps there has been a lack of greater recruitment of athletes from abroad when it comes to bringing an increase in participants," he pointed out.
During the radio program, Juan Monzón has revealed that meetings have been held in recent months with Thomas Veje Olsen, general director of Ironman Europe, Middle East and Africa, and with AgustÃn Pérez, director of Ironman for Italy, Portugal, Spain and Andorra, and "negotiations are very advanced." "We are going to be present in the different Ironman events held in Europe to make the brand Lanzarote Sport Destination visible and attract potential athletes," he announced.
"We send a message of tranquility to the citizens of Lanzarote, the Ironman is not going to be lost and very soon we will announce the agreement between the Cabildo de Lanzarote with Ironman," he continued.
Furthermore, he has pointed out that the organization corresponds to Ironman itself as a brand and the city councils, the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the Government of the Canary Islands are collaborators in the sporting event.
The counselor has also highlighted the role of the hotel complex Club La Santa for being a "benchmark on our island and in Europe linked to sports tourism and that promoted the arrival of the Ironman in Lanzarote".
