Young People Are Driving A Surge In Triathlon Sign-ups

Ironman Participation among athletes under 30 grew 35% this year, while the 30–34 age group remained the largest category for the second consecutive season

Ironman’s name hasn’t changed, but its athlete base sure has.

As the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 season wraps with more than 250,000 global race registrations, participation data reveals a sport in transition, offering new insight into who is now showing up at the starting line of its triathlon events.

First-time participation across Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events rose 10% year over year in 2025, spanning a calendar that included 148 races worldwide.

But the more telling story is who those first-timers are.

The Youth Movement

Participation among athletes under 30 grew 35% this year, while the 30–34 age group remained the largest category for the second consecutive season. First-time participants under 30 have more than doubled since 2019, and full-distance Ironman races alone saw a 46% year-over-year increase in athletes under 30.

At the elite level, 28-year-old Casper Stornes of Norway captured the men’s Ironman World Championship title, while 26-year-old Solveig Løvseth of Norway won on the women’s side.

Women Gain Ground

Women are accounting for a growing share of Ironman participation. Nearly 49,500 women registered for an Ironman or Ironman 70.3 race in 2025, representing 22.5% of the global athlete community and marking a 7% year-over-year increase. It was the second-highest year for female participation on record, following a strong showing in 2019.

Female participation now accounts for 17% of Ironman athletes, up 10% year over year and 25% of Ironman 70.3 participants, up 5.4%. Early registration data for 2026 suggests that more than a quarter of Ironman 70.3 athletes will be women.

Younger women are also leading the charge. Registrations among women under 30 grew 36% this year, with women ages 25–29 alone growing nearly 44% year over year. For the first time, the average age of female Ironman athletes dipped below 40.

Europe Leads the Surge

Geographically, the growth story is just as pronounced and playing out across key regions.

Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, participation reached record levels in 2025, led by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. France emerged as a standout, overtaking Germany as Europe’s second-largest triathlon market after a 25% increase in athlete registrations and a 31% rise in international participants.

Demand is already spilling into future seasons. Thirty-two Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races are already sold out for 2026, including 11 of the 14 early-season EMEA Ironman 70.3 events scheduled between February and June.

To meet growing demand, new races have been introduced in France, Spain and Italy, including the return of Ironman Vichy and the debut of Ironman 70.3 Alghero in Sardinia. The coming year will also see the debut of the first full-distance triathlon in the Middle East, with Experience Oman Ironman Oman set to take place in December.

North America is seeing a similar pattern. New races debuted in 2025 in Rockford, Illinois, Boise, Idaho and Ottawa, Canada, with additional events planned for 2026 in Ruidoso, New Mexico, Omaha, Nebraska, Dallas, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida.

Growth is accelerating across Latin America and Asia as well. Mexico remains the region’s most represented country, accounting for nearly a quarter of Latin American athletes, while new events drove year-over-year increases of 24% in Colombia and 50% in Costa Rica.

Asia expanded its footprint with races across Malaysia, India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and Korea, with Vietnam set to host its first full-distance Ironman next year.

Participation, Explained

The brand, of course, has long had its devotees, some of whom mark the achievement permanently with Ironman tattoos. But the participation rates are also being shaped by other shifts beyond Ironman’s challenging courses.

Part of the draw may be that participatory events like Ironman offer structure and purpose, giving athletes a clear goal to train toward and a shared experience with a greater community, rather than solitary workouts in the gym.

In an interview last fall with ATN, Ironman CEO Scott DeRue pointed to several macro trends that he says are boosting overall participation in endurance events, including the desire for experiences over products and sports-related travel. 

“That’s true for spectator sports, but it’s also true for participation,” he said. “The third trend is from a health and fitness perspective – the degree to which people are investing in their own health, fitness and wellness, broadly defined, is growing exponentially. … So it’s no surprise that we’re seeing demand for participation sports grow globally.”

Looking to the year ahead, Ironman says it is prioritizing partnerships with younger athletes, emerging markets and global federations to strengthen participation pipelines and support long-term growth.

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