Saturday marks the return to Kona for the men’s championship race, which last year was held in Nice, France, due to the new alternating sites format for men and women.

The changes aim to ensure the safety and smooth flow of the event while accommodating local community needs.

The 16 men from Hawai‘i Island who will take to the 140.6-mile course on Saturday will push their minds and bodies to the limit alongside 2,400 triathletes from around the world.

In the first-ever all-male race in Kona, there are approximately 2,500 athletes that will swim, bike and run on Saturday, starting at the Kailua Pier.

Starting this week, the Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel will be operating at max capacity with its 455 rooms sold out as it hosts the 2024 VinFast Ironman World Championship.

Here’s everything you need to know about race day Oct. 26, from road closures to solid waste facility closures, where to watch the action and even how to become an Ironman VIP spectator.

Defending Ironman World Champion Sam Laidlow of France leads an elite men’s field of 56 triathletes in the grueling 140.6-mile swim, bike and run race.

While Kailua-Kona’s Brenda Avery was the first to cross the finish line Saturday at the VinFast Ironman World Championship, her overall ranking among Hawai‘i Island’s competitors was third.

Around 100 medical volunteers helped racers in the 2023 VinFast Ironman World Championship in Kona Saturday night.

The 58-year-old Brenda Avery exited Kailua Bay after the 2.4-mile swim in just 1 hour and 55 seconds, 97th overall and second in her age group of 55-59.

The 2023 VinFast Women’s Ironman World Championship in Kona in photos.

After finishing second four times, Lucy Charles-Barclay of Great Britain wins the 2023 VinFast Ironman World Championship in Kona in a record time of 8:24:31.

Funds directly benefit those communities where Ironman events are hosted by providing charitable support to a variety of local nonprofit organizations.

Starting at 6:25 a.m. HST, women will begin the grueling 140.6-mile race at Kailua Bay. Following the 2.4-mile swim, athletes will transition to the bike for 112 miles and finish the race with a 26.2-mile run.

The race will take place Saturday where triathletes with swim, bike and run for a grueling 140.6 miles from Kailua Bay in downtown Kona to the top of Hawai‘i Island in Hawī and finish where they started.

Here’s everything you need to know about race day.

Triathletes must eat the right kinds of foods to fuel their bodies to maximize their results and minimize injuries. The host of the annual world championship race has several restaurant options for hungry Ironman competitors to keep them on the right track in their bid to cross the finish line.

Eleven Big Island women will share the world stage with more than 2,000 triathletes as they descend on Kailua-Kona for the VinFast Ironman World Championship this Saturday.

For the first time in the history of the world championship triathlon on the Big Island, the more than 2,100 women competing will get a location and single day dedicated to them.

For the first time in the 40-plus year history of triathlon’s pinnacle event, professional and age-group women will have their own edition of the VinFast Ironman World Championship triathlon in Kailua-Kona on Oct. 14.