The Taupō District is proving to be the place to be in IRONMAN circles following the release of the 2018 Athletes Choice Awards.
The Taupō event, which is the only one of its kind in New Zealand, topped the world in a number of categories and had a series of top 10 results from the survey of 55,000 athletes who competed in one of the 41 full IRONMAN or 105 IRONMAN70.3 races that took place in 2018.
While Australian races IRONMAN Cairns and IRONMAN70.3 Geelong took the global top honours for overall satisfaction, no host city performed better than Taupo across all categories with one athlete commenting on Taupō - "the support from the crowds was amazing - best I've ever experienced. The swim course was so beautiful and the volunteers were unbelievable".
Mayor David Trewavas said the results were no great surprise and they further cemented the district’s reputation as the home of IRONMAN New Zealand.
“These events are always a great chance to showcase our district, and it is second nature for our community to step up each time our IRONMAN family come," said Mr Trewavas.
“As acknowledged in the feedback, it is the community and the way they embrace these events that make it really special. The community must be acknowledged for the way they they open their arms and share their piece of the world with the thousands of athletes we welcome each year.”
Mr Trewavas paid special tribute to Taupō-based IRONMAN race director Wayne Reardon, the IRONMAN New Zealand team and Taupō District Council’s events team. “The really do pull together a great event that everyone can be proud of.”
IRONMAN Oceania Managing Director (and proud Kiwi) Dave Beeche spoke with great pride on behalf of both events, and in particular the Taupo region.
“Like many of our athletes, we are a little competitive under the surface and we love doing well in our annual global athlete surveys. But the real satisfaction is knowing that this is us being judged by our customers. This is ultimately why we put events on, to deliver an incredible experience to our participants in what for many is a once in a life time experience.
“So much of that experience comes down to the host city and region, in this case Taupō. The support we enjoy from the local community, volunteers, council, stakeholders and sponsors is just unbelievable. Again, just over a week ago the commitment from the region to ensuring the success of the event and the comfort and welcome for our athletes just blew me away.”
Taupo won the following full IRONMAN and IRONMAN70.3 categories:
- Overall Swim full IRONMAN - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand
- Overall Run IRONMAN70.3 - IRONMAN70.3 Taupo
- Overall Venue Experience full IRONMAN - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand
- Overall Venue Experience IRONMAN70.3 - IRONMAN70.3 Taupo
- Overall Host City Experience IRONMAN70.3 - IRONMAN70.3 Taupo (first equal)
Taupo Overall Top 10 results globally:
- 2nd Overall Satisfaction - IRONMAN70.3 Taupo
- 4th Overall Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand
- 2nd Overall Swim Experience - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN70.3 New Zealand
- 3rd best post-race celebration - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand
- 4th Will attend next year - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand
- 4th Will recommend to a friend - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand
-6th Overall bike experience - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand
- 6th Overall run experience - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN70.3 New Zealand
- 6th Overall run experience - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN
- 6th Best venue experience - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand
- 8th Overall Best Venue Experience - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN70.3 New Zealand
- 9th Overall Bike Experience - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain IRONMAN70.3 New Zealand