Ironman CEO to compete in Busan

Andrew Messick / Courtesy of Emerson K Partners

Andrew Messick, CEO of the World Triathlon Corporation, organizer of Ironman, will participate in the Ironman competition in Busan on June 19.

The Korea Ironman Organizing Committee announced on Wednesday that Messick, who has overseen the event since 2011, will participate as an athlete in the upcoming Ironman triathlon competition in Busan.

“Messick will participate in Iroman 70.3 Busan to show that the leader is in pursuit of the goal exemplified by the event’s slogan, Start Your Ironman Journey Now.” Park Byung-hoon, chairman of the Korea Ironman Organizing Committee, said.

“It is a great honor to have Messick at this event and I hope this will help Busan develop into a global sports city,” he said.

The Ironman competition is a long distance race that requires athletes to finish 3.86 kilometers of swimming, 180.25 kilometers of cycling and 42.2 kilometers of running in 17 hours.

The Busan race will cover only half of the full course. The race, also known as half an Ironman, requires participants to finish 1.9 kilometers of swimming, 90 kilometers of cycling and 21.1 kilometers of running in eight hours.

Messick had taken part in full course Ironman races three times before, including the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.