Currie's Countdown To The Ironman World Champs

Press Release / 06.10.2017

With the hard work already done, Braden Currie tapers his training in preparation for Ironman, Kona.

In 1977 the concept of IRONMAN was born, a Honolulu-based husband and wife came up with an event concept to test athletes' endurance in swimming, cycling, and running. The couple proposed combining the three toughest endurance races in Hawaii; the 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater Swim, 112 miles of the Around-O’ahu Bike Race and the 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon into one event. On February 18, 1978, IRONMAN was born.

Back then only 15 competitors hit the start-line, unaware they were competing in what would become one of the most famous races in the world. Almost forty years on, the race now sees thousands lining up to start in various categories and variations of the original race format.

One thing remains, IRONMAN is still one of the toughest races out there and Kona sees the world's best triathletes battling-it-out in humid, hot temperatures that push competitors to their absolute limits.

For Braden Currie, IRONMAN Kona has been his focus for the last eight months. Grueling training regimes and wins at IRONMAN New Zealand and Taupo 70.3 gave him a chance to qualify for Kona.

Braden brought his dream to fruition with a final 3rd place at the Ironman Asia Pacific championship in Cairns in June, just 19 days before the end of the qualifying period. This gives him one chance, to race the race of a lifetime. For a win, he will need to do exactly that. The competition is fierce in Kona, only the best endurance athletes in the world make it to the start-line and course conditions make racing super tough.

Watch IRONMAN Kona LIVE on Red Bull TV from 5:15am (NZST) on Sunday, October 15. A highlight package will be available on demand. Head here to set your reminder so you don't miss out on any of the action. 

Follow Red Bull NZ and Braden Currie on Instagram for more behind-the-scenes content in the lead-up to IRONMAN Kona.

#ironman  #inspiring

You can see the original article by Jon Forder with addition photos & videos on the Red Bull website here.