I'm still feeling the positive energy from this past weekend.
For the first time in the history, the biggest triathlon stage in Kailua-Kona hosted the first dedicated women’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship race (the men's race was on September 10th in Nice, France). In a world where women are much less represented in sports media than men, the spotlight exclusively shined on female age group and professional triathletes for the entire Ironman World Championship coverage. And not suprising (because I know how strong and powerful female athletes can be), every athlete who entered the water at the women’s 2023 Ironman World Championship exited before the swim cutoff time and 97% of age-group women who started the race finished it!
When I participated in my first Ironman World Championship in 2007 at the age of 25 years, the event had 1800 participants - and there were just under 500 women! In 2019, for my 5th Ironman World Championship, 663 females finished the race out of 2258 participants. The sport of long distance triathlon has really grown and it is great to see so many more women competing, however there is still work to be done to get more women in the sport. Interestingly, when I did Ironman Austria in 2014, there were 2621 competitors but only 375 women. When I did XTRI Icon, there were 120 participants and only 10 women (all of which finished). Like any sport, representation matters. Having the spotlight only on the women is the biggest way to grow the sport from a female participation perspective. But not just that, having female coaches, female experts, female commentators, female-owned companies also gives credibility to women. Interestingly, almost every professional female athlete has a male coach except Laura Siddal and Lauren Brandon, who are coached by the amazing Julie Dibens, so we still have some work to do in that area. We don't need female experts only at female athletes. They deserve to be at all events to show that women are just as capable as men.
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But I'm not surprised by the stats from the day. I love coaching all genders, but I really love coaching female athletes. Female athletes are primed for success because of a strong work ethic, they are creative, have good time-management skills, are determined and thrive on competition (sometimes with other athletes but often within themselves). Plus, female athletes tend to show better endurance, stamina, resiliency and decision making - which helps in long distance racing.
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But what I think brings out the best in female athletes is women supporting other women. I see our athletes motivating and encouraging one another to own their "athlete" status - even as an amateur who also balances family/career. I see our female athletes inspiring others to set goals, go after big dreams and to never give up. Being involved in a sport like triathlon has show so many female athletes that they are capable of so much more than they ever imagined. And that belief and confidence comes from having people around you that believe in you and that can show you that anything is possible. Female athletes have so much potential and a strong community creates an atmosphere for growth so that every athlete can be the best she/they can be.
No matter what sport you are in, you deserve to feel heard, supported and part of a community.
No matter what sport you are in, you deserve to feel heard, supported and part of a community.
Get to know the Trimarni athletes who recently raced in the Ironman World Championship.
