Posted: June 15, 2005

Triathlon: CEO Ironman Challenge Update – Coeur D’Alene And Austria

BOULDER, CO – Entry is now officially closed to all three CEO Ironman Challenge events for 2005. The CEO Ironman Challenge is a competition designed specifically for CEOs that will compete in a full Ironman triathlon – 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile marathon run.

There are 10 CEOs registered for Ironman Coeur d’Alene on June 26. Sixteen CEOs from across Europe and the USA will compete on the beautiful Klagenfurt course at Ironman Austria on July 3. Finally, 19 CEOs are signed up for the CEO Challenge at Ironman USA Lake Placid on July 24.

A total of 12 slots to the Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii will be awarded to the fastest CEOs at the competitions. And, in Kona, one of these CEOs will earn this year’s title of ‘Fittest CEO in the World®”.

The kick off event is next week at Ironman Coeur d’Alene, and features CEOs from age 32 to age 52, and heads of companies that are just starting out, to ones that earn billions in revenue each year.

The program will begin with the traditional Welcome Dinner, where the CEO competitors finally get to meet each other, be entertained by their host, eight-time Ironman World Champion Paula Newby Fraser, and mingle with Ironman staff and top Pros.

We are thrilled to have three of best Ironman athletes in the world committed to attend the dinner - 2003 Ironman Coeur d’Alene champion Michael Lovato, multiple World Triathlon champ Simon Lessing (probably the early favorite to win the Ironman World Championship this year), and last year’s Coeur d’Alene champ Chris Legh.

Chris is the athlete that is featured on the new Gatorade commercial that has been getting so much play this year. Yards from the finish line in Hawaii, he collapsed and was so severely dehydrated he had to have part of his intestine removed to save his life. After a visit to the Gatorade Institute he was finally able to race up to his capability, and won in Coeur d’Alene in 2004.

Ironman Austria will feature CEOs that range in age from 30 to 64, with one female entrant. Again, the CEOs competing own companies that range from small, yet successful, partnerships, up to Sir Rocco Forte’s large European hotel chain.

There is a great deal of interest in the CEO Challenge at Ironman Austria this year, with a mini competition developing between the UK CEOs. Last year there was a total of five CEOs that took part in the program, this year there are six from the UK alone, and a total of 16!

To follow the live action at each of the CEO Ironman Challenge events log on to www.ironmanlive.com on race day. In mid-July we will post a press release with results from the first two events, along with a profile of the 5th annual CEO Challenge at Ironman USA Lake Placid.

For more information on the CEO Ironman Challenge (including a biography of each CEO competitor) please go to www.ceochallenges.com, or contact Ted Kennedy, President of CEO Challenge LLC, at 720-222-3043, or Ted@ceochallenges.com.