CoachCox

Ironman has removed Kona slots from all but a handful of its Ironman 70.3 races. There are exceptions, most notably every Ironman 70.3 race held in China comes with a number of qualifying slots. To complete my analysis of qualifying half distance races I’m going to review 2018 results from Ironman 70.3 Xiamen, Ironman 70.3 Qujing and Ironman 70.3 Liuzhou.

All the Chinese races are relatively new, between 1 and 3 years old. A fourth 2018 race, Ironman 70.3 Chongqing was also cancelled, but may return in 2019 although a date has yet to be set. Next year will also see a new addition in the form of Ironman 70.3 Shanghai so there are a number of qualifying options in China.

This post will be heavy on tables and charts and light on review.

Age Group Results Distributions

I’m not going to go into detailed comparison between the racers given the relatively shortage of results data and history to work with. There’s nothing immediately notable about the 2018 distributions. These races are clearly not the fastest courses, but equally they aren’t particularly slow.

DNF Rates

The DNF data from the Chinese races are a little unclear as splits only appear to be provided for those that finished. This means that the figures above may well simply represent the base DNS level for the race.

Age Group Median Splits

Xiamen appears to be the fastest of the three events, particularly in terms of its bike course. It’s harder to read anything more from the median data with this mix of races all at relatively low competitor numbers.

Ironman 70.3 Xiamen Qualification (30 Slots)

A limited pool of slots means only a few male age groups get more than 1 slot. That makes qualification odds relatively short. Athletes must choose between a Kona slot or a 70.3 Championship slot, but I imagine the former is the more popular of the two. As such and with roll down the final qualifying times may vary.

Ironman 70.3 Qujing Qualification (30 Slots)

Like Xiamen there were 30 slots on offer at Qujing. The distribution of those slots among the age groups was the same. Lower competitor numbers possibly improve the odds of achieving qualification here.

Ironman 70.3 Liuzhou Qualification (25 Slots)

There were only 25 slots available at Liuzhou which means no more than two slots for any age group. Again this tightens the odds on qualifying, winning you age group being almost a necessity to qualify.