Taupō District Council continuing to work with IRONMAN on new date
Following today’s announcement by IRONMAN to postpone the Taupō edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships, Mayor David Trewavas said he is confident the district would take the news in its stride.
While originally set down for 2020, the continued global impact of COVID-19 has had significant effects on international events. With the move of this year’s world championships in St George, USA to next year, it has meant the Taupō event will also need be postponed, with a date yet to be confirmed.
“I think it’s important to look at it from how big an impact COVID-19 is having across the globe - particularly with the new Delta variant - and understand that having a longer lead-in time will actually allow us to host more athletes.
“As the world opens up in the next few years, athletes will have more events across the world to qualify for the world championships,” he said.
The event is expected to bring in $27 million for the district, with a significant amount of that contribution due to the number of international athletes and spectators expected to attend.
“This is a huge event for us – and we are really looking forward to finally being able to showcase our district to the world and reap the rewards that this international event will have for us here.
“We are working closely with our stakeholders and IRONMAN to come up with a new date as quickly as possible,” he said.