There has been a discussion about the format for the Ironman World Championships lately and a few people are suggesting that it would be better to revert back to a co-ed race, where women and men raced together on the same day. They argue it was harder to qualify for the race back in the good ole days and thus a qualifying slot now (formerly known as a "KQ") isn't as prestigious as it should be.
At Coeur, we are firmly in the camp that a larger, more inclusive women's race is the better answer.
It's no secret that Coeur has always been a strong advocate for inclusivity and equality and that we have always thought the Ironman World Championships should host an equal number of women as men. Including professionals.
To that point, years ago, we supported a formal effort called 50 Women to Kona that fought to get an equal number of slots for women pros in the World Championships as the men received. The effort succeeded, but only after the creation of a separate women's event. We are happy about that. And we are happy that more age group women have a chance to qualify for the IM World Champs.
A recent opinion piece submitted to Slowtwitch argued that it should be "hard to qualify" for the Ironman World Championship and it seemed to suggest that reducing the number of entries for women would somehow make the race more prestigious.
We reject that idea. And to be clear, it's not because our elite team didn't flourish in the old, more restrictive format.
We’d like to share three key reasons why we feel the move to have separate race days—and increased participation for women—is a positive evolution, not a compromise on prestige. Yes it can be more logistically hard and expensive if you are the rare couple that qualifies to both race at IM World Champs, you speedy lovebirds you! But please hear us out....
1. Inclusion Should be the Standard, Not Exclusion.
At Coeur, our mission has always been to champion inclusivity, and to build a supportive community where everyone feels welcome to pursue their athletic adventure. We believe that the Ironman World Championships, the pinnacle event in triathlon, should set the highest possible bar for inclusion. Returning to a format that limits opportunities for women would be a real step backward. Triathlon, and particularly events as challenging as Ironman should be accessible to as many qualified participants as possible, fostering growth and engagement across all levels.
We have heard the argument that adding hundreds of new spots for women "waters down the field" but if that's the argument, then we have to ask, how do you decide where to draw the line? Should we cut the number of entries by a quarter? In half? Or shall we just pick a round number like 100? Anything less than equal is just arbitrary.
2. More Opportunities for Women is a Positive Shift
The new race-day format has opened doors for more women to experience and compete at the Ironman World Championships, allowing the event to welcome greater numbers of female athletes and create more visibility for women in triathlon.
When more women have the chance to race at the World Championships more amazing stories are created. Then the stories are shared, the word spreads further, more people are inspired, the sport becomes richer, and the community grows. This is something we see as a fundamental win, encouraging more female representation and showing the world what women are capable of in endurance sports.
3. Separate Race Days Honor the Fastest Women
One of the greatest advantages of holding separate race days is that it prevents the interference that previously affected the fastest women as they moved through slower men on the course. The integrity of a fair and clean race day for women deserves to be preserved, and reverting to the previous format would bring back congestion that hinders the performance of the top female athletes. The Ironman World Championships should provide a platform where elite women can showcase their full potential without any unnecessary obstacles.
Amy Farrell racing to yet another AG podium.
Finally, we have to say that we understand the desire for a degree of exclusivity. The good news is that that place still exists, and it is arguably even more prestigious than ever. It's called...The Podium. Placing in the top of your age group at the championships is still as challenging as it ever was. In fact, it may be harder. In year's past, we saw blazing fast women finish second in qualifying races and miss getting a spot due to the bad luck that their age group only had one slot allocated. Now those women will almost assuredly be lining up in Kona or Nice.
In our opinion, the bar remains high, and now, more women have the chance to pursue it. We believe this is a change worth celebrating and keeping. However, if it does go back to the original format, we hope it isn't at the expense of an equal number of women's slots to men's.
Happy Training and Racing!
Sincerely,
Kebby
Coeur Founder and Designer