Galway gears up for lucrative first Ironman event in Ireland

THE first Ironman event to be held in Ireland is expected to be worth €25m to Galway’s economy over five years, organisers claimed yesterday.

The city becomes the focal point for the shorter “70.3” version of the famed endurance test next September, and will host the annual event until 2015.

Ironman 70.3 is a triathlon containing a 1.9km swim, a 90km bike ride and a 21.1km run, and the route for the event was revealed yesterday.