Thousands of athletes will descend on Nelson Mandela Bay to compete in the Spec-Savers IRONKIDS South Africa, the ISUZU Corporate Challenge powered by AlgoaFM, ISUZU 5150® Nelson Mandela Bay and the 20th edition of ISUZU IRONMAN® South Africa African Championship from 28 March 2025.
It’s set to be Nelson Mandela Bay’s biggest celebration of 2025
First IRONMAN® Pro Series™ in Africa
Professional triathletes from all over the world will compete as the prestigious IRONMAN® Pro Series™ heads to Africa for the first time.
Athletes to watch include Danish powerhouse Magnus Ditlev and local debutant Jamie Riddle, who will race alongside strong cohort of female professional athletes, who have yet to announce their participation.
Athletes will race for a share of the $175,000 event prize purse, one of five slots per gender to the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship, and the title of IRONMAN African Champion.
The full male and female professional start-list for ISUZU IRONMAN African Championship will be announced in due course.
The ISUZU IRONMAN African Championship will be showcased to a global audience as it will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms, including proseries.ironman.com, DAZN and l’Équipe in France among others, putting Nelson Mandela Bay in the global triathlon spotlight.
This early season event offers men’s and women’s Age Group Qualifying slots to the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France for men and Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i for women. Athletes will be flying in from as far as the UK, Germany and USA.
The race is also expected to attract a strong local crowd as most of the field is South African.
Action-packed weekend
Spec-Savers IRONKIDS South Africa returns to the stacked program and kicks off the weekend on Friday, 28 March, with hundreds of local kids set to take on a run that finishes on the iconic red carpet under the IRONMAN arch.
On Saturday, 29 March, both the ISUZU Corporate Triathlon Challenge powered by AlgoaFM and ISUZU 5150 Nelson Mandela Bay take centre stage.
The Corporate Triathlon Challenge consists of a 400m swim, 20km bike and 5km run, and the 5150 tackles the Olympic distance triathlon.
The action-packed Sunday features the main event of the weekend, the 20th anniversary edition of ISUZU IRONMAN South Africa African Championship with professional athletes toeing the start line at Hobie Beach.
Celebrating 20 years
In celebration of the 20th anniversary edition of ISUZU IRONMAN South Africa African Championship, there’s multiple side events and activities to excite athletes and spectators alike.
Athletes will experience a welcome banquet, awards ceremony and after party only rivalled by the World Championship races as the African Champions are crowned and celebrated, as well as enhanced added extra gifts for taking on this epic challenge.
In addition to the race, spectators can expect to experience the electric atmosphere of the 20th anniversary edition of the race as a lot of hype will be being built in the city in the days leading up to it.
The IRONMAN Expo and merchandise area will open from the Thursday. Numerous food and drink vendors will serve visitors in the IRONMAN village, which includes a public bar so the party can continue into the night, a selfie booth and the IRONFAN tent featuring braid bar and temporary tattoos.
Around 1,350 local volunteers will work all over Nelson Mandela Bay in areas including registration, media, road closure, finish line and transition.
ISUZU IRONMAN South Africa African Championship is currently open for age-group registrations, with age-group athletes able to race on the same course as the professionals vying for the IRONMAN Pro Series honours and the title of IRONMAN African Champion.
Click here for more information on ISUZU IRONMAN South Africa African Championship.
