This year’s IRONMAN Poland series starts this weekend. It begins in Warsaw. Never before has a race over this distance in Poland had so many participants. More than 2,500 athletes will be on the start line.
Registration for Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw has been closed for a long time. Race entries sold out several months ago. As Michał Drelich, Director of IRONMAN Poland, said during today’s press conference, this record attendance at the event in the capital is clear proof that Warsaw is a triathlon city.
Triathletes from more than 80 countries around the world will be on the course. We can say that almost half of the world is coming to us. Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw is clearly the most international race we organize in Poland.
Michał Drelich – Director of IRONMAN Poland
More than 60 percent of all participants in the Warsaw race are from abroad. International guests appreciate the hotel base, restaurants and attractions that the capital of Mazovia has to offer.
Warsaw is an open, friendly and modern city. We are happy that every year hundreds of triathletes from all over the world, together with their families, take this image of our city home with them. Warsaw is getting ready for a weekend full of sporting emotions, because in addition to Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw, we will also host the finals of the 3×3 basketball world championships. I invite residents to leave their homes and cheer on the athletes.
Marcin Kędzior – Deputy Director of the Sports and Recreation Office of the Capital City of Warsaw
During this year’s edition of the IRONMAN race in Warsaw, athletes will receive medals like never before. These medals will be decorated with… embroidery. The designs were inspired by real embroidery patterns typical for a given region of Poland.
Our finisher medals this year are small works of art, designed in line with local patterns. In this way, we want to promote Polish culture and traditions. At the finish line, ladies from the Rural Women’s Association will serve local food specialities.
Iza Lisiecka – IRONMAN Poland Coordinator
Before they can taste Mazovian specialities, athletes will have to face the course, which starts with a swim in Lake Zegrze. Then they will complete 90 kilometres on the bike. The bike course ends in Traugutt Park in Warsaw. This is also where the run loop begins, leading through the very centre of Warsaw’s Old Town. 1,900 metres in the water, 90 kilometres on the bike and a half marathon run. This is a challenge for people of iron.
There is some positive stress, but I have already done a test race and I feel a bit calmer after it. My strongest part is cycling. After the race in Warsaw, I will start preparing for a full-distance race, so my training load will grow even more. But I like this part of suffering that comes with training and taking part in races.
Mikołaj “Tyszka” Tyszkiewicz – sports influencer, participant of Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw
Another sports influencer, Maciek Duda, has a slightly different approach to racing in Warsaw. The 22-year-old said during the conference that the race in the capital is one of three IRONMAN triathlons he plans to take part in this year.
My main goal is to have fun on the course, but I also have a goal in my mind to finish this distance within 5 hours. Right now, I feel good. I had no injuries during my preparation, so I have a positive attitude. I also focus a lot on good recovery.
Maciej Duda – sports influencer, participant of Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw
Karolina Filipkowska, sports influencer and ambassador of Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw, said that taking part in Sunday’s race is a special event for her. Although she already knows what triathlon feels like, racing at an event with the “M dot” logo is a unique experience.
I have already taken part in smaller triathlon events and, to be honest, I was going to end this adventure, but IRONMAN is a legend. As a former athlete, I like to train a lot and I take training very seriously. When I start something, I go all in. We will see what result it brings on Sunday.
Karolina Filipkowska – sports influencer and ambassador of Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw
A total of 66 relay teams will start Sunday’s race, including eighteen made up of para athletes, Citi Handlowy employees and the bank’s clients. It has already become a tradition that during the whole IRONMAN Poland series, we cheer for this Extraordinary Team.
As Citi Handlowy, this year we continue the “Extraordinary Team” project. By taking part in sports events, we add our small part to the programme of the Polish Paralympic Committee, which aims to improve access to sport for children with disabilities. Sport is for everyone, and our relay teams are the best example of this. We want everyone, even despite a disability, to be able to enjoy sport and feel these great emotions.
Paulina Harembska, ambassador and coordinator of the Citi Handlowy Extraordinary Team
One of these relay teams will include Paralympian and para cyclist Zbyszek Maciejewski. This will not be his first start in this race. During the press conference, he said that there are not many differences between para athletes and able-bodied athletes.
Sport for people with disabilities is different in only one way: we simply have more work, because in addition to sports training, we also have rehabilitation. And anyone who wants to learn more about us is welcome to visit the Polish Paralympic Committee zone in the Multimedia Fountain Park. I think it can be a very interesting experience for many people.
Zbyszek Maciejewski – Paralympian, participant of IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw
The Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw weekend is not only about sports competition, but also many attractions for fans, tourists and Warsaw residents. Enea, the title sponsor of the event, invites everyone to its family zones in the Multimedia Fountain Park, where visitors will find, among others, a quiz with prizes, a mini triathlon for children, a large-format memory game, a 360 photo booth and many other attractions.
After several years away, we are returning to Warsaw, also as the title sponsor of Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Warsaw. Triathlon has been especially close to us for many years, because it fits well with the values that we, as Enea, want to promote: activity, perseverance and a healthy lifestyle. We are happy that the Enea IRONMAN Warsaw weekend is not only about sports emotions at the highest level, but also a space full of attractions for families, residents and fans. In our zones, we have prepared many activities that combine modern technology, fun and education. We believe that events like this inspire people to be active and spend time together, no matter their age.
Berenika Ratajczak – Enea Press Spokesperson
The triathlon weekend will begin on Friday with a 5-kilometre night run. Night Run Warsaw is a fantastic chance to race on a course in the very heart of Warsaw, in the atmosphere of the capital at night, full of lights and neon signs. The finish of this run is on the same red carpet where the triathletes will finish their race.
On Saturday, all eyes will be on the children’s races. The Pho3nix IRONKIDS Warsaw courses have been set in the Multimedia Fountain Park. The youngest children will run about 100 metres, while the longest course, 1,700 metres, is for 15-year-olds.
