Marking a new milestone for the Davao sports scene, the City Government of Davao, in partnership with Sunrise Events, announced on Tuesday, that Davao City is the newest host of a full-distance IRONMAN triathlon in the country, with IRONMAN Philippines Davao City set to make its debut on June 13, 2027.
The full-distance race will feature the complete 3.8 kilometer swim, 180 kilometer bike and 42.2 kilometer run that will traverse the Davao City Coastal Road and the Bago Aplaya Esplanade.
A signature feature of the course is the Bucana Bridge, the striking modern crossing over the Davao River and part of the Davao City Coastal Road network. The setting gives the race a distinct Davao identity where athletes race beside the waters of the Davao Gulf, while on clear days, Mt. Apo will frame the inland horizon.
The full-distance IRONMAN Philippines was held in Subic Bay for five years. Princess Galaura, President of Sunrise Events, said during the media conference that they are bringing the event to Davao City following several improvements in the city’s infrastructure, accommodations, and overall performance during the series of IRONMAN 70.3.
“After 5 years of being in Subic Bay, we said we want to explore other parts of the Philippines, and we are very thankful to the City Government of Davao for welcoming us,” she said.
“We have seen that Davao has progressed by leaps and bounds in all facets … It is [also] very safe, secure, and clean,” she added.
“We’ve seen in the last five staging that they [Davao City] have surpassed whatever they have to surpass year-in-year-out. Talagang gumagaling sa pagrespond, sa pag-ayos ng kalye, sa pag-ayos ng traffic, how to do the detours, what to do with the parking (Davao City really improved in hosting the events from the traffic plans, rerouting, parking, and overall road management),” Galaura further emphasized.
Atty. Jonah Margarette Presto, Acting Assistant City Administrator for Administration, also expressed the city’s enthusiasm and honor to host the full-distance IRONMAN triathlon.
“We are very excited about this. For the preparations, I know it might be double but we’ve been doing this for the past five years, and we welcome our local athletes, international athletes, and the athletes from the entire Philippines,” she said.
“This is in line with our vision of making Davao City a sporting hub in the Philippines. This is one way of putting Davao City on the map of the Philippines and the world. We are here in Davao and we welcome sports here in Davao,” she highlighted.
The IRONMAN Philippines Davao will be staged alongside IRONMAN 70.3 Davao, creating a major race weekend that will not only challenge athletes but also give them the opportunity to take on Davao City either with the established 70.3 distance or the full 224-kilometer IRONMAN journey.
Registration for the IRONMAN triathlon is currently on-going. For more details on the race, interested triathletes may visit https://www.ironman.com/races/im-philippines and https://www.ironman.com/races/im703-davao-philippines . CIO
Written by: J. Villaluz
Edited by: A. Nawal
Photo by: City Sports Development Division