Mont Tremblant IRONMAN triathlon rescheduled for late August

Smoke filled skies A special air quality statement has been issued for the region prompting officials to raise the air quality index to a 7.

After smoke from Quebec's raging wildfires forced the cancellation of the 2023 70.3 IRONMAN in Mont-Tremblant, organizers announced a new date for the race on Tuesday.

IRONMAN and Tremblant Resort announced that the swim-bike-run race, which is part of the Vinfast IRONMAN North America series, will take place Aug. 20.

The event was scheduled for June 25 but was cancelled as the air quality in the region made it unsafe.

"' The decision to cancel an event is always heartbreaking, but the safety of our participants, spectators, volunteers, staff and everyone else involved in the event always remains our highest priority," said IRONMAN regional director Dave Christen. "From the moment we had to cancel the event, we went to work with our partners at Événements Sportifs Mont-Tremblant to quickly identify a solution and provide all of our athletes with a variety of race options."

The air quality index (AQI) was close to 300 or "very unhealthy" in certain areas the race was set to take place in June.

The two-kilometre swim to start the race will kick off in Lac Tremblant before competitors ride 90 kilometres through the countryside and finish with a 21-kilometre run, ending in Lac Tremblant's pedestrian village.

Athletes who were already checked in were sent an email with more information, a news release reads.