What life in Penticton looks like without Ironman Canada remains unclear, as the city gears up for its 2025 events season.
The iconic triathlon 鈥� first held in the South Okanagan city in 1983 鈥� announced earlier this year it is moving to Ottawa in 2025, ending what event organizers called a "magical" era in Penticton.
Ironman Canada commemorated its final edition in the city on Aug. 25, 2024.
Whether a new sports endurance competition or an existing branded event replaces it has yet to be determined, said Jeff Plant, the city's sport and event supervisor.
"The departure of Ironman from Penticton has sparked a lively discussion about what to do next," Plant said. "Do we seek to host one signature event or are we better investing in multiple smaller events?"
Not replacing the event at all is also on the table, he added.
Plant says timing and return on investment are among the factors that could decide what, if at all, replaces Ironman.
His comments came on Dec. 3, while presenting a 2024 events report to Penticton City Council. A report with potential replacement options is expected to come before municipal politicians in the new year.
Ironman was one of 180 events the city issued contracts to in 2024, with 64 per cent of them returning from 2023, the yearly review reads.
The triathlon typically welcomed hundreds of athletes and thousands of tourists to Penticton every year.
Penticton was the first city in Canada to host the event, doing so in 1983. It was an annual summertime tradition in the Peach City until 2012.
Then, after a six-year hiatus, Penticton and Ironman reached a new agreement in 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic and raging wildfires across the region, however, limited the race to only proceed twice since (2022 and 2024).
鈥淚t has been an incredible run and we are so grateful for the amazing community of athletes and volunteers who have played such an important role in this piece of Ironman's history," event organizers said ahead of its final race in Penticton.
Although Ironman Canada isn't coming back to B.C. in 2025, Penticton is gearing up to host another global endurance competition.
The World Adventure Race 鈥� a 10-day, 800-kilometre event 鈥� is coming to the South Okanagan from Sept. 22 to Oct. 6, 2025.
Hosted over the last two years by Ecuador and South Africa, the event is expected to bring close to 500 athletes to Penticton next fall.
