Posted: November 18, 2004

Triathlon: 2004 Ironman Triathlon World Championship To Air On NBC This Saturday, November 20

Listing: NBC, Saturday, November 20th, 4:00 – 6:00 P.M. (EST); the 2004 Ironman Triathlon World Championship, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Commentator: Al Trautwig.

November 17, 2004 - For its 14th consecutive year, NBC will offer viewers a fascinating look into the world’s most famous endurance event, the Ironman Triathlon World Championship.

Taped on location in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 16, the Ironman Triathlon hosted 1,734 athletes from nearly 50 countries around the world, including the United States. The broadcast leads viewers on a 140.6-mile journey through the crystal blue waters of Kailua Bay, Kona’s scorching lava fields to the extraordinary finish line on Ali’i Drive. Follow competitors as they embark on the most challenging test of mind and body - a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run, in succession within the allotted 17-hour time frame.

In a race where Germany’s Normann Stadler, and past champion, Natascha Badmann, reeled in impressive victories, NBC also takes a look at several other talented athletes who’s courage and determination exemplify the true spirit of Ironman.

They include:

Sarah Reinertsen, 29, Brooklyn, NY, is the first female above-the-knee amputee to attempt the Ironman Triathlon World Championship. Heavy wind conditions forced her to miss the bike cutoff by 14 minutes, but Sarah vows she will return next year to take care of “unfinished business.”

Ryan Sutter, 29, star of the reality-TV series The Bachelorette, fulfills his lifelong goal to become an Ironman. A Colorado firefighter and national spokesman for the Firefighters National Trust, Ryan races to raise money for the families of fallen firefighters.

Tracey Richardson, 40, a mother of four from Napier, New Zealand races in honor of her two children who suffer from Cystic Fibrosis. While raising awareness for the disease, she races to show her children that “anything is possible” and achieves a personal best, crossing the finish line at 15 hours and 17 minutes.

Highlights of the Ironman Triathlon first aired on television in 1980 as part of ABC’s Wide World of Sports. In 1991, the broadcast was moved to NBC where it became a stand-alone program. Spanning more than a decade, the Ironman Triathlon production has won 12 Emmy awards and has received 30 Emmy nominations. The broadcast has also won five consecutive International Monitor Awards for global excellence.