To help celebrate 40 years of IRONMAN racing across the globe, IRONMAN is excited to make available 40 commemorative slots to the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i.

Eligible athletes who register for any of the open 2018 IRONMAN events globally by January 14th, 2018 will be automatically entered for a chance to purchase one of these 40 commemorative slots.

Each year approximately 95,000 athletes compete globally in IRONMAN® triathlons that provide age-group triathletes the opportunity to qualify to compete in the premier event in global triathlon: the IRONMAN® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP triathlon (referred to herein as “Kona”) held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Of those athletes, only a small number of top-finishing competitors (approximately 2% of the total) actually qualify for Kona.

Although the vast majority of Kona participants reach Kona by qualifying, IRONMAN has a longstanding mission to make the Kona experience available to at least a limited group of triathletes each year who are not necessarily the fastest in their age groups, but are otherwise passionate about the sport and have the “Dream of Kona.”

As part of that mission, this year—in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Kona—40 eligible applicants will be randomly selected to receive the opportunity to purchase a race entry to the 2018 IRONMAN® World Championship triathlon.

Find out more info on how to apply for the commemorative Kona slots here.

Read more on Ironman.com