AP/ELAINE THOMPSON
The mass start for the swim at the World Ironman Traithlon Championships in Hawaii.
Those triathletes who just can't quite meet the time requirements for the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii can still try to gain entry via lottery.
But you need to enter now, because the deadline is Feb. 28. To enter, click here.
Every year, the Ironman Lottery awards 150 domestic, 50 international and 5 physically challenged slots that are chosen randomly from more than 7,000 lottery entries.
Here are the details, courtesy of ironman.com
U.S. APPLICANTS
There will be 150 lottery slots available to the
INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES
There are 50 lottery slots available to International applicants. CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES WILL NOT BE ENTERED. 25 names will be drawn from the Passport Club. 25 names will be drawn from the International Applicants and any unselected Passport Club members. Lottery selections will be available on April 15, 2009 at 12:00pm EST on Ironman.com.
US/INTERNATIONAL SELECTED ATHLETES
Athletes who are SELECTED through the Ironman Lottery must have completed an Ironman 70.3 or other long-distance event (1.2 Mile, 56 Mile + 13.1 Mile) or longer within one year of the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championship to validate his/her lottery slot. Lottery winners must complete a validating race before August 31, 2009 and all validating information should be E-mailed to Lottery@ironman.com by August 31, 2009. Failure to comply will result in forfeiture of the lottery slot.
