Kona by the Numbers: More Than 1,600 Women Set to Race 2025 IRONMAN World Championship

The women of the IRONMAN World Championship are ready to make their return to Kona this weekend. The men were in Hawaii last year for the worlds and the women were in Nice, France, but they swapped places once again in 2025 — and for the last time, as the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship will return to a dual event, with both men and women racing in Kona as they did for decades.

IRONMAN has released data on the event, including the total number of athletes, geographical spreads, age group tallies and more. The race isn’t until Saturday, but you can familiarize yourself with all the stats ahead of the big day.

There are more than 1,600 women registered to race in Kona on Saturday. Fifty-eight of these women are pros (the original start list featured 60, but Switzerland’s Julie Derron and Els Visser of the Netherlands have withdrawn from the race).

This list of 1,600 consists of athletes from 78 different countries and territories, as well as all six inhabited continents. Forty percent of the women in the lineup are European, making it the most-represented continent on the list.

Next up is North America with 35 percent of the athletes. Asia and Latin America are next, both of which have more than eight percent, and Oceania brings seven percent to the table. Finally, Africa and the Middle East combine for the final two percent.

When it comes to individual countries, the U.S. has the most athletes registered to race, with 482 on the start list. Germany is next with 207, then Canada at 114 and Australia with 102. The United Kingdom is just under the 100-athlete mark, sitting at 99.

When it comes to the ages of the athletes, the average of all 1,600 women is 43 years old. The oldest is Natalie Grabow, an 80-year-old American athlete, and 61 years her junior is 19-year-old Leah Hoole, the youngest in the field. Finally, there are seven returning age group champions this year, all of whom will be looking to retain their titles on the Big Island.

Slowtwitch is on the ground in Kona and keeping tabs on all that’s going on leading up to the event, so be sure to follow along for daily updates as race day approaches.

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