One last hurrah for the historic Ironman race in Penticton, B.C. - Action News
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British Columbia

One last hurrah for the historic Ironman race in Penticton, B.C.

Sunday's Ironman race in Penticton, B.C. marks the end of an era for the international competition that was first held in the city in the 1980s - making it one of the first races under that name in North America.

The triathlon is moving to Ottawa in 2025 after more than 30 years in Okanagan city

Bunch of bikers riding through a highway with hills and mountain in the background.
Athletes compete in the bike portion during the Ironman Canada on August 28, 2022 in Penticton, British Columbia. Penticton has been hosting the global triathlon event for more than 30 years and athletes say it's a great spot for endurance sports. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images for Ironman)

Sunday's Ironman race in Penticton, B.C., marks the end of an era for the international competition that was first held in the city in the 1980s making it one of the first races under that name in North America.

Ironman Canada-Pentictonishostingthe triathlon for the last time, concluding a tradition that has been a cornerstone of the city for decades.

"There's a huge sadness about it leaving and what that sort of means to the community," said Jeff Symonds, the 2022 Penticton Ironman champion, who won with a time of eight hours, 38 minutes and three seconds. "Even for the people coming up that might not have seen too many Ironmans in their days, it's unfortunate."

Symondswill beamong the more than 2,000 participants this weekend in what is expected to be the last Ironman race in Pentictonand in B.C. for the foreseeable future.

The race usually consists of a 3.8 kilometre swim, a hilly 180kilometre bike ride and a 42.2kilometre run, although this year the swim portion was cancelled last minutedue to cool water temperatures, according to Ironman's athlete tracker app.

An athlete celebrates has he reaches the finish line with onlookers cheering.
Jeff Symonds wins Ironman Canada 2022. The Penticton local will be defending his title on Sunday. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images for Ironman)

Last month, Ironman Canada announcedthe race will move to Ottawa in 2025, expressing gratitude to Penticton for hosting the triathlon for more than three decades.

Penticton, located in B.C.'s Okanagan, was the first Canadian city to host an Ironman triathlon, becoming home to the endurance race from the 1980s until 2012.

"It has been a part of our identity, it has been a part of who we are," Symonds said.

In 2013, Ironman relocated to Whistler in the Coast Mountains, before returning to Penticton in 2019 under a new five-year agreement with event organizers.

LISTEN| JeffSymonds speaks about Penticton'sIronman:
Jeff Symonds says this is his favourite time of the year because it's Ironman weekend in his hometown of Penticton but it's bittersweet because it's the final edition of the race as it's not returning to the Okanagan next year

However, in recent years, Ironman has faced challenges in the South Okanagan.

Susie Ernsting, Ironman Canada's race director, noted the race was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and again in 2023 because of the wildfires.

"It's pretty sad to be leaving this town," she told CBC News. "Penticton has always been so welcoming. Itwas hereI did my first Ironman in 2010, so it means a lot to me to be able to put on the last race."

PentictonMayor Julius Bloomfield saysbidding farewell to the race is difficult but it's something the city has to accept.

Swimmers in a river with a hill looming large in the background.
Athletes compete get ready for the swim at Ironman Canada in August 2022. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images for Ironman)

"They gave it a good try here, just didn't work out," he said.

"The economics are very, very tough and [with] the draw they get from the larger population centres like Ontario, they got more chance of making it viable in those centres."

A brief history of Ironman

According to its official website, the Ironmantriathlon was bornin 1978 when Judy and John Collins organized the first race in Hawaii, blendingswimming, biking, and running. The event gained worldwide fame in 1982 with American triathlete Julie Moss's dramatic crawl to the finish, becoming an iconic moment in sports history.

Among the people who saw Moss's finish wasLynn Van Dove, a key figure in bringingtheIronman race toPenticton.

A woman in red camps with two individuals wearing headgears at an event.
Lynn Van Dove with First Nation performers at an early edition of Ironman Canada. (Submitted by Lynn Van Dove)

Van Dove, originally from Dallas, quickly became involved in Penticton's community after moving to the city, joining a tourism association and the well-known Penticton Peach Festival.

Thefestival, dating back to the late 1940s, drew crowds with its rodeos, parades, and industrial shows, but Dove noticed that the city was quiet the rest of the year. To boost tourism, she suggested hosting a triathlon.

And in 1983, Van Dove and her friends organized the first triathlon with Ironman distances in Penticton. By 1986, Penticton hosted the first officialIronmanevent in continental North America outside Hawaii.

"It created a base for sports tourism, which is what Ironman became all over the world," she said. "The allure of Ironmanwas its exotic locations."

A painting advertising a triathlon, showing depictions of a swimmer, runner and biker.
A poster created for the 1990 Ironman Canada, which was held in Penticton. (Submitted by Lynn Van Dove)

Dove managed the race annually until 1991 and witnessed its growth, noting how ideal Penticton was as a venue.

Ironman defending champion Symonds agrees.

"[Penticton] is just a great place for swimming, biking and running. We've got some amazing lakes here."

Despite this being the final edition of the race in Penticton, Symonds remains optimistic.

"One thing as an Ironman athlete, you're trying to train or reframe everything as a positive," Symonds said.

More than 2,000 athletes from Canada and around the world, including Australia, the United Kingdomand Germany, are participating in Sunday'sIronman race.

Corrections

  • A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed a reference to registration numbers to Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield.
    Aug 26, 2024 6:40 PM PT

With files from Daybreak South, Tom Popyk and Alex Nguyen