IRONMAN Archives

February 23, 2018

ironman

Elephant House and Keells Krest will support the upcoming Sri Lanka Wonder of Asia IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo, the first time this demanding competition will be held anywhere in South Asia.

Kicking off on Sunday, February 25, 2018 at the Galle Face Green, the first-ever IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo covers a harrowing 70.3 miles (122 km) course spread out among sections that encompass swimming, cycling and running.

Importantly, Elephant House and Keells Krest will serve as the “Official Food, Beverage and Ice Cream Partners” for this thrilling race, which is all set to welcome over 800 triathletes from Sri Lanka and abroad. To date, close to 400 international triathletes have already registered for the race, and will represent India, UK, France, Australia, USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, etc.

A home-grown local brand that is backed by 150 years of tradition, Elephant House has always supported, and will continue to encourage, national initiatives that uplift the people of Sri Lanka. Well-respected for its high quality and emphasis on enjoying the goodness of life, Elephant House has also become increasingly known for its refreshing isotonic sports drink F5, as well as its FitO fruit drink range, the go-to beverages for fit and active consumers.

Further, Elephant House is the market leader in Sri Lanka’s frozen confectionary arena, with its dedicated ice cream range for youth Wonderbar and wondercones beloved by customers, as are the delicious & trusted Keells Krest range of processed meat products & snacks that have been trusted by the Sri Lankans for bringing taste, convenience & wholesome goodness to the table with an emphasis on quality over three decades.

“As proud partners of the first-ever IRONMAN 70.30 Colombo, Elephant House and Keells Krest will play pivotal roles in sustaining performance and quick recovery for the more than 800 athletes attending this race, by providing the food, drinks and ice cream that will refresh them and the spectators that turn up at Galle Face Green on February 25 to cheer them on,” commented Belindra Weerasinghe, Category Head – Elephant House Beverages, Vice President, John Keells Holdings (JKH).

January 16, 2018

An oversubscription for Sri Lanka “Wonder of Asia” IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo, with over 850 registrations two months prior to the main event

IRONMAN is an iconic high profile international triathlon event, which has been chosen to be staged in Sri Lanka on the 25^th of February 2018. There are over 850 athletes representing 63 nations have signed up for the Sri Lanka “Wonder of Asia” IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo organised by Pro-Am Serendib, the official licensee of the IRONMAN global triathlon brand in Sri Lanka.

This challenging race will start with a 1.9-km open water swim in the salty, sensual seawaters of the Indian Ocean near Galle Face green. This will be followed by a 3-lap, flat, fast 90-km bike leg that takes the competitors through the Colombo Port and Marine Drive. The final leg will be a 21.1-km run before finishing at Galle Face. Registrations have officially been closed now, with an oversubscription from both local and international athletes two months prior to the event. This is a significant achievement for an inaugural event demonstrating the confidence in Sri Lanka as a destination for multi-sports and endurance events.

The event organiser, Pro-Am Serendib, is all geared up to hold this prestigious international sporting event in Sri Lanka, which will be the only IRONMAN event in the South Asian region, thereby putting Sri Lanka on the global map as a sporting destination. With a goal of attracting a global audience of over 3,000 people to the country for this event, Pro-Am Serendib is ready to make Sri Lanka the destination of choice to compete and travel while also giving participants and their families a uniquely Sri Lankan experience.

The Sri Lanka “Wonder of Asia” IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo, International Triathlon will form a qualifying round for the triathletes to participate at the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships to be held in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa in September 2018. There are 30 world championship qualifying slots available for grab and the event organisers expect high quality competition amongst the athletes to win one of those slots to secure their place at the world championship start-line.

IRONMAN triathlon is a global phenomenon with a 40-year history. The birth of it can be traced back to Hawaii. During an awards banquet, a few athletes began debating which athletes were the fittest: swimmers, bikers, or runners. Later, US Naval Commander John Collins and his wife Judy decided to combine three toughest endurance races in Hawaii—the 2.4-mile (3.8 km) Waikiki Rough water Swim, 112 miles (180 km) of the Around-O’ahu Bike Race and the 26.2-mile (42.2 km) Honolulu Marathon—into one event. On February 18, 1978, 15 competitors, including Collins, came to the shores of Waikiki to take on the first-ever IRONMAN challenge. Since the first ever race, the IRONMAN World Championship race is held in Hawaii in October each year. It is the number one user-based sports brand in the world with 15 Billion media impressions for the IRONMAN World Championship, a global audience of over 6,000,000 spectators, over 250,000 athletes representing 200 countries participating at over 250 IRONMAN branded events globally, which include IRONMAN and the IRONMAN 70.3 series.

Elephant House and Keells Krest power IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo

IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo International Triathlon sold out!