Coach Cox

To qualify for the Ironman World Championship you will need to place highly in your age group at an Ironman race. Each race carries a number of qualifying slots for age group athletes which are allocated to the top performers at a roll down ceremony after the event.

The 2026 qualifying system introduces a performance based approach to qualification. Athlete finishing times are normalised (adjusted) based the relative performance of their Age Group in Kona. These normalised times are ranked and that rank is then used to determine the bulk of the qualifiers. This means a strong performance by a 60-64 year old could out rank an average performance from a 35-39 year old.

In full 1 slot is offered to the winner of each age group, if they decline the slot it will be offered to second and if needed third place. After these slots have been claimed (or not). Remaining slots are handed out to unqualified athletes according to their qualifying rank calculated above. If an athlete declines the slot will continue to move further down the rankings.

Outside of winning your age group your chance of qualifying very much depends on how the whole field has performed and how you place within that after adjustment.

The number of slots vary. For the upcoming season is appears 40 or 55 slots will be the normal amount, with 100 slots at championship races. These slots will be allocated across all age groups, male and female based on qualifying times.

Qualification is based upon your age group at the qualifying race. Your time will be adjusted by the factor for that age group.

As the qualification season overlaps calendar years it's possible to qualify in one age group and then race Kona in another. You always qualify in your current division. If you are M35-39 at your qualifier you compete for M35-39 slots even if you would be M40-44 at the Ironman World Championship.

Every age group with a finisher will receive one slot automatically. Beyond that the number of slots is determined by relative performance of competitors so it's impossible to know the number of slots an age group will receive before the race.

Slots are awarded by a roll down process. If a slot isn't claimed it will pass to the next eligible athlete in qualifying order. There is no restriction on how far back a slot can roll. There have been instances where a slot has carried back dozens of places within an age group as nobody was present to claim it.

The current allocation system first offers a slot to each age group winner and if turned down will pass it to second and then third place. After that remaining slots pass down the qualifying rankings calculated from adjusted finishing times. This will continue until there are no more slots to allocate or no more athletes to claim slots.

As roll down is unpredictable I don't factor it into the statistics and data I generate on this site. Slot allocations and times assume all slots are claimed.

For those Ironman 70.3 races that have Kona slots the qualification process is essentially the same: slots are awarded through a roll down in finishing order within each division. However, athletes cannot accept slots for both the Ironman 70.3 World championship and for Kona. So, if an athlete accepts a 70.3 slot their Kona slot will roll down in their age group.

How fast depends on a wide range of variables, including, but not limited to:

• The race course. Ironman Austria is a course that always produces fast qualifying times, while Ironman Lanzarote will always be a significantly slower course to qualify on.
• Race conditions. Ironman Frankfurt is usually a fast qualifier, but when there's a heatwave qualifying times slow.
• The competition. Ironman Frankfurt is known for drawing a competitive field. Ironman South Africa is more remote and doesn't draw the same competitive strength.
• The number of slots. Races with more slots will tend to see slightly slower qualifying times as more athletes are able to qualify at the races.

Aside from the many factors that determine how fast qualification is, there's also the matter of an athlete's strengths, weaknesses and preferences. If they've broadly achieved the level of fitness necessary to have a shot at qualifying there will be a number of suitable races.

Some races may be better than others for qualification, it's just that the differences are small.

Exploring race statistics and past qualification stats on this site can help build a picture of what's needed to qualify. Of course every would-be qualifier is considering the same data as you. A race that looks like a great qualifier in 2025 has the potential to become more competitive in 2026.

If you're still not sure I offer consultancy and bespoke results analysis for race selection. Find out more ⇨