Playa Blanca is now ready to welcome a thousand triathletes from 57 countries who this year will measure their strength in the demanding Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote, a competition that adds 1.9 km of swimming, 90.1 km of cycling and 21.1 km of running with arrival and departure at the Marina Rubicón marina.
The mayor, Óscar Noda, and the Councilor for Sports, Ángel Lago, represented the Yaiza City Council, a collaborating entity, in the presentation of the event that took place this Thursday at the Club La Santa facilities. Óscar Noda highlighted that "apart from the international tourist promotion that the event entails, each athlete who visits us arrives with an average of three companions with an average stay of 10 nights and an average expenditure per participant of 80 euros per day. This is economy for Yaiza and Lanzarote.”
For his part, Ángel Lago maintained that “Yaiza is consolidating its commitment to sports tourism by celebrating this third Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote, an international sports benchmark that reinforces our positioning abroad and confirms us as the island capital of sports.”
The competition presentation was also attended by Michael Moller, Sports Director of Club La Santa, the organizing entity; Alfredo Mendoza, Councilor for Sports of the Cabildo de Lanzarote; and Héctor Hernández, CEO of the Lanzarote Foreign Promotion Society (SPEL).
In its tenth anniversary, which makes this edition special, the event already has the confirmed presence of renowned triathletes such as Anne Haug, David McNamee and Bart Aernouts. Beyond the many prominent names that will fight to reach the top of the podium and obtain a place for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, the base of the race is made up of hundreds of amateur triathletes.
From the perspective of the organization, Michael Moller was very grateful for the help and presence of all the institutions: “The support of public institutions is essential for Lanzarote to host international sporting events such as this one. Therefore, we appreciate the commitment of the Government of the Canary Islands, the Cabildo de Lanzarote, the Yaiza City Council and local entities.”
The Councilor for Sports of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Alfredo Mendoza, wanted to highlight that “the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote puts the Island in the focus of the trend of what quality tourism should be, we must bet on the binomial between tourism and sports.”
For his part, the CEO of SPEL, Héctor Hernández, who agreed with the words of the mayor of Yaiza about the importance of the event for the local economy, also valued Club La Santa as a hotel complex and benchmark in the sector. “Lanzarote has to bet on sports tourism and we are in the location that exemplifies this idea. Club La Santa is the best resort in this area in the European continent, having it in Lanzarote is a real pride and gives meaning to the European Sports Destination project.”
As a prelude to the adult event, the public will also be able to enjoy the Ironman Kids on Thursday the 17th, for young people between 7 and 17 years old, which will be held on the beach of Playa Blanca starting at 4:30 p.m.
