The 2012 Cairns Airport Adventure Festival will now include the Urban Hotel Group Ironman 70.3 Cairns, which will replace the existing 2.80.20 Cairns.

The event will serve as a qualifier for the Ironman World Championship 70.3, taking place at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada on September 9, 2012. The Urban Hotel Group Ironman 70.3 Cairns will offer a 15,000 USD professional prize purse and 25 age group qualifying slots.

This follows last month’s announcement of the addition of Cairns to the global Ironman Series. Cairns Airport Ironman Cairns serves as a qualifier for the toughest event in endurance sport, the Ironman World Championship.

Queensland Tourism and Major Events Minister, Jann Stuckey, said the Ironman 70.3 was a fantastic addition to the 2012 Cairns Airport Adventure Festival and the State’s major event calendar as a whole.

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“We’re delighted to add Ironman 70.3 to this year’s line up and establish Cairns Airport Ironman Cairns as a qualifying event for the Ironman World Championship. It’s great news for Queensland, this event is set to attracting a strong international field of competitors and showcase Cairns to the world.”

Ironman introduced the 5150 Triathlon Series in 2010.  The first non-drafting race series of its kind, the 5150 Triathlon Series offers a competitive platform for professional and age group athletes across a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run.

Event organisers have also added IronKids to the 2012 program. The mission of IronKids is to inspire and motivate youth through the sport to lead an active, positive and healthy lifestyle.
 
"Showcasing four of our brands during one weekend is a first for us," said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman.

"This is an important step as we move toward offering dynamic multisport festivals around the world, creating more opportunity for family, supporters and other athletes to participate in the festival experience."

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