By Liz Hichens Published Jul 30, 2012
The first 69 professional triathletes will be offered the opportunity to register for the 2012 Ironman World Championship, which will take place on Sturday, Oct. 13 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
On the men’s side, 40 athletes will be offered slots based on their current placement in the Kona Pro Rankings and three athletes, Craig Alexander, Chris McCormack and Greg Bennett, will be given Kona starts thanks to past victories that have earned them automatic qualification. The two biggest names left out of the men’s group are Germans Michael Raelert and Andi Boecherer. Raelert, who plans on making his Ironman World Championship debut in October, was knocked out on the final day of qualification when Great Britain’s Tom Lowe finished fifth at yesterday’s Ironman 70.3 Calgary. If one of the other athletes declines his spot, Raelert will be offered a start. Boecherer finished eighth at the 2011 Ironman World Championship, but has struggled with injury in 2012 and sits outside of qualification and without an Ironman finish. Raelert, Boecherer and others have one more month to secure their Kona spots. Ten more men will be offered Ironman World Championship slots on Aug. 27. Read more...
