IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon series will be held in two Chinese cities for the first time this year. [photo provided to China Daily]

IRONMAN has announced that the entry limit has been reached for the 2016 Hefei Wanda City IRONMAN 70.3 Hefei triathlon, which will be held in Hefei, Anhui province on Oct 16, and registration is now closed.

Preparations for the event are proceeding smoothly and it is the first time that the world-famous IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon series has stopped in China after the brand was sold to Dalian Wanda Group last year.

Hefei is determined to use the event as a springboard to develop itself into a 'city of sports'.

There will be more than 90 races in the IRONMAN 70.3 series, and the Hefei edition has attracted more than 1,600 athletes from 58 nations and regions.

One of the biggest names on the start list for Hefei is three-time IRONMAN World Champion and two-time IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, Craig Alexander of Australia.

On Oct 16, athletes will begin with a one-loop 1.2-mile counter-clockwise swim in beautiful Swan Lake before embarking on a 56-mile bike ride that heads south through the city of Hefei to Chaohu Lake and back to the Wanda Cultural and Tourism City.

Participants will conclude the three discipline race with a 13.1-mile run along Chaohu Lake and through the Wanda Cultural and Tourism City before finishing in front of cheering crowds in the city center.

Athletes will be competing for 50 qualifying slots for the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, for which less than one percent of the world's IRONMAN athletes qualify.

In addition, IRONMAN 70.3 Hefei will offer 50 qualifying slots for the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship which will be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the United States.

IRONMAN, which is widely viewed as the pinnacle of endurance sports, has taken the next step in expanding its brand with the IRONMAN 70.3 event in Hefei and the later edition which will take place on Nov 13 in Xiamen, Fujian province.

The IRONMAN 70.3 Xiamen triathlon will offer 40 qualifying slots for the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship.

About IRONMAN

A Wanda Sports Holdings company, IRONMAN operates a global portfolio of events that include the IRONMAN Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon Series, 5150 Triathlon Series, IronGirl, IRONKIDS, six of the nine International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series races, road cycling events including the UCI Velothon Majors Series, mountain bike races, premier marathons and other multisport races. IRONMAN's events, together with Wanda Sports Holdings other events, give more than 680,000 participants annually the chance to compete in a wide range of endurance events.

The iconic IRONMAN Series is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN brand in 1978, athletes have redefined the limits of human endurance by completing the world's most challenging endurance races. Beginning as a single race, IRONMAN has grown to become a global sensation with more than 260 events across 42 countries.

chenxiangfeng@chinadaily.com.cn