In calendar 2017, there were 102 Ironman 70.3 series events including the Maytag Ironman 70.3 Steelhead at Jean Klock Park in Benton Harbor. From those races more than 55,000 individual athletes cast ballots in the 2017 Athlete’s Choice Awards to determine their favorite venues. They clearly love the community of Michigan’s Great Southwest scoring the Maytag Steelhead event as 10th best event on the entire global circuit. There is only one other American event site on that entire top ten, with Coeur d’Alene, Idaho checking in at a 6th place tie with Ironman Italy and Ironman Vichy.
Ironman is a Wanda Sports Holdings company, and they announced this week the results of the Athlete’s Choice Awards with scoring exclusively coming from athlete surveys from every 70.3 race in the world.
Out of the 102 Ironman 70.3 series events that took place in 2017, the Maytag Ironman 70.3 Steelhead was selected 10th in Overall Satisfaction marking a major accomplishment for both the event and the host community of Benton Harbor-St Joseph.
For every Ironman 70.3 event, surveys were sent following the event to all athletes who competed. Based on the cumulative results, the Top 10 global events were ranked. All surveys were conducted on a 5-point satisfaction scale, and more than 55,000 total respondents shared their favorites for the survey.
Here are the Top 10 with each sharing an anecdotal comment from one of the surveys tabulated:
- T1. IRONMAN 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship, Western Sydney: “The volunteers were the highlight of the day. The friendly, smiling faces and words of encouragement were simply sensational. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
- T1. SiS IRONMAN 70.3 Otepāā presented by Ferroline: “Hands-down one of the best events in Europe, and maybe even the world.”
- 3. IRONMAN 70.3 Taupo: “A simply unbelievable event in a historical triathlon town.”
- 4. Strandräuber IRONMAN 70.3 Ruegen: “The support of the crowds and the organization were unmatched.”
- 5. IRONMAN 70.3 Pays d’Aix: “It was a great experience. Even at the very end of the celebration village hours I was able to get an excellent massage and lots of really good advice on recovery.”
- T6. IRONMAN 70.3 Italy: “The only thing better than the race itself was carb-loading in a country of pasta!”
- T6. IRONMAN 70.3 Coeur d’Alene: “The course and organization was amazing and so enjoyable. The venue was beautiful and fun and the town was fantastic. Pretty sure this is my favorite IRONMAN 70.3 experience of the 11 I’ve done.”
- T6. IRONMAN 70.3 Vichy: “I truly enjoyed the race from start to finish. Everything was perfect for the athletes: The courses were very well picked out with beautiful sights along the way. The volunteers were legends. I would recommend this race to my entourage for sure.”
- 9. Sparkasse IRONMAN 70.3 Kraichgau powered by KraichgauEnergie: “The Athlete’s Garden was well-equipped and was the perfect place to celebrate our accomplishments.”
- 10. Maytag IRONMAN 70.3 Steelhead: “I loved being in Benton Harbor. It’s really beautiful there. Very clean and well organized event. Great job!”
You can start making plans now to witness, or participate in the 2018 edition of the Maytag Ironman 70.3 Steelhead for yourself. It will take place on August 12, 2018, and additional information can be found at the link below:
http://www.ironman.com/steelhead70.3
A Wanda Sports Holdings company, IRONMAN operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon Series, 5150 Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, Iron Girl, IRONKIDS, International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series races, road cycling events including the UCI Velothon Series, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic, premier marathons including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, and other multisport races.
IRONMAN’s events, together with all other Wanda Sports Holdings events, provide more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. The iconic IRONMAN Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Beginning as a single race, IRONMAN has grown to become a global sensation with more than 200 events across 50 countries. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.
