Athletes across the globe have selected Penticton’s Ironman Canada as among the best places in North America to compete.
Results are in from the 2022 VinFast Ironman Athletes’ Choice Awards, with voters choosing Penticton as the third-best swimming course and fourth-best for biking across Canada and the United States.
Other athlete-choice categories include best overall race, run course, finish line, venue, and post-race experience.
Penticton’s lone representation in the top five for each category came in the form of swimming and biking.
“The swim was very well marked with many visible kayaks and boats which made it the most organized and safe swim I’ve done in a triathlon,” one athlete wrote about Okanagan Lake in Penticton.
Penticton and Ironman Mount Tremblant in Quebec were the only Canadian courses included in athletes’ top-three rankings.
The big winner from the 2022 athletes’ choice awards was Ironman Texas, located in the Houston area. The course was listed as among the best courses in five different categories, including as the No. 1 overall race in North America.
In 2022, Ironman Canada returned to Penticton after a 10-year hiatus.
Race director Susie Ernsting said this past September the event will be back in Penticton for another five years.
The Peach City hosted the first-ever edition of Ironman Canada in 1983.
READ MORE: Ironman commits to at least 5 more years in Penticton