We Noticed: Retirement Season Is Here, New IRONMAN 70.3 in China, Luis Alvarez Crushes 215th IRONMAN and More

Simone Dailey retired on top – she called it a career after winning IRONMAN Arizona last weekend. (Photo: Eric Wynn)

As the 2025 season nears a close we’re seeing a number of pros announce their retirement from the sport. Among that group is Great Britain’s Simone Dailey, who bowed out in style after her win in Arizona last weekend. She adds the Arizona title to her IRONMAN Wales win in 2019.

Dailey wasn’t the only big name to call it a pro career in Tempe, and there’s been a few other athletes who have bid pro racing farewell, too.

Meredith Kessler with son M.A.K. at the finish line of Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

Amongst the Arizona-racing crew were Meredith Kessler, who won the Arizona race three years in a row (2014 to 2016), just three of her 11 IRONMAN titles. She also won IRONMAN New Zealand five years in a row from 2012 to 2016. In addition, the American won 23 70.3 titles during her storied career. In 2018, during a 40th anniversary “Best Of” poll done by IRONMAN, Kessler was voted the “greatest American female triathlete” ahead of Heather Jackson. Kessler competed in 30 full-distance races as an age-grouper before she turned pro.

The seemingly ageless Dede Griesbauer was also in Arizona and announced it would be her last pro race, too. I was on hand at Sherborne Castle in the UK for Griesbauer’s first IRONMAN win – the former national team swimmer retired from swimming in 1994, then got her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She wasn’t in the age group ranks for nearly as long at Kessler – she turned pro in 2005, just two years after taking up the sport. Griesbauer would eventually turn her sights to even longer endurance racing, winning the 12-hour Time Trial World Championship in 2016, competing in the Race Across America as part of the Goodlife Racing Team, and also taking the Ultraman World Championship in 2022 at the age of 52.

IRONMAN announcing legend Mike Reilly was on hand to bring Griesbauer and Kessler across the line in Tempe.

Great Britain’s Jodie Stimpson finished 13th in Arizona, her first and only full-distance race as a pro. The two-time Commonwealth Games champion had announced she would be retiring after the race. “Around 12 hours ago I became an Ironman,” she wrote on Instagram. “For me, it wasn’t about the result, it was asking my body and mind to finish, what was my last ever professional race.”

Last week Haley Chura announced her retirement as well – the American raced just twice this year, finishing seventh in Texas and 20th in Kona. A former NCAA Division I swimmer from Georgia, Chura also competed as an age-group athlete before turning pro in 2013. She would go on to win a couple of IRONMAN races – Fortaleza in 2014 and Mont-Tremblant in 2022. She also won six 70.3 titles during her career.

A few other short-course specialists have also announced their retirement – American Olympian Summer Rappaport and her countryman Matt McElroy. Rappaport swam and ran at Villanova University and was part of the USA Triathlon Collegiate Recruitment program in 2014. She finished 14th at the Tokyo Games. McElroy was an NCAA runner who would eventually compete at the WTCS level. He turned to longer distance racing in 2022 and earned a few runner-up finishes at 70.3 races including Maine and Indian Wells last year, and another at 70.3 Chattanooga this year. He ended up pulling out of IRONMAN Arizona last weekend, and announced his retirement on a podcast this week.

Luis Alvarez Finishes 215th IRONMAN in Arizona

Mexico’s Luis Alvarez was in Arizona on the weekend and finished his 215th IRONMAN race. (Reilly also announced his finish.) In addition to all those IRONMAN finishes, Alvarez is a member of “the Club,” a select group who have finished every IRONMAN in the world. (Other members of the group include Canadians John Wragg and Elizabeth Model, American Jeffrey Jonas and Germany’s Holger Muller.)

Alvarez has also climbed the prestigious Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent. When he climbed Everest Alvarez actually suffered from snow blindness and had to be guided down the mountain.

Believe it or not, Alvarez is still a distant second on the total IRONMAN finish list – Wragg has finished 272 IRONMAN races.

IRONMAN Announces New Event in China

Photo: IRONMAN

Slated for March 15, 2026, IRONMAN 70.3 Hengqin marks another addition to the IRONMAN portfolio in China. In May IRONMAN racing was back on mainland China with the return of the event in Shanghai Chongming. Now Hengqin joins the 70.3 Series. The new event is in the Guangdong/ Hong Kong/ Macao Greater Bay Area, which means it will be very close to a number of major centres.

“We’re excited to be introducing a brand-new IRONMAN 70.3 race to China and look forward to welcoming athletes from China and abroad to Hengqin in March next year,” said Jeff Edwards, Managing Director of Asia for the IRONMAN Group. “The new event is located close to major centers with connections across the world, making it an ideal location for those wanting to make their race debut in the region, while also providing an exciting new race for our loyal local athletes. The course is set to take in the incredible scenery of the region, mixing the city skyline, mountains and the sea, with a new vista around every corner.”

You can find out more about the new race and register here.

Triathlon Will Award First Medal At LA Olympics

Organizers for the LA Games have announced the event schedule and the women’s individual triathlon, slated for Saturday, July 15, 2028 (Day 1 of the Games) will be the first medal awarded. The race will start at 7:30 AM local time. The men’s individual race will take place on Sunday, July 16 and start at the same time, with the mixed relay slated for Thursday, July 20 with a start time of 8 AM.

In 2000, at the Sydney Olympics, the women’s triathlon was also the first medal awarded.

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