[4] The Ironman World Championship has become known for its grueling length, harsh race conditions, and television coverage.

[8] The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oʻahu Perimeter Relay.

With a nod to a local runner who was notorious for his demanding workouts, Collins said, "Whoever finishes first, we'll call him the Iron Man."

Gordon Haller, a U.S. Navy Communications Specialist, was the first to earn the title Ironman by completing the course with a time of 11 hours, 46 minutes, 58 seconds.

The runner-up John Dunbar, a U.S. Navy SEAL, led after the second transition and had a chance to win but ran out of water on the marathon course; his support crew resorted to giving him beer instead.

Some of the ways include being a Hawaii Resident who won an event drawing, attaining a win in your age group at a previous Ironman, or even having a "Human Interest Story."

Such human interest stories include participants who are cancer survivors and war heroes injured in battle.

Julie Moss, a college student competing to gather research for her exercise physiology thesis, moved toward the finish line in first place.

[18] In 1990, with the help of Lew Friedland, Dr. James P. Gills acquired and purchased the Hawaii Triathlon Corporation, owner of the Ironman brand for $3 million from Silk.

These changes included new rules regarding swim course formats, water temperature regulations, pre-swim warm-ups, wave starts, and additional rescue boats/watercraft (paddle boards, kayaks, etc.).

[26] Over time, the popularity of the triathlon grew, and the annual race on the Big Island became The Ironman World Championship.

The most recent Ironman World Championship took place on October 6, 2022, and was won by Gustav Iden of Norway in 7:40:24 and Chelsea Sodaro of the United States in 8:33:46.

[27][28] The current Ironman Hawaii course record was set in 2022 by Gustav Iden (Norway), whose winning time was 7 hours 40 minutes 24 seconds.

Daniela Ryf (Switzerland) set the women's course record in 2018 with a winning time of 8 hours 26 minutes 18 seconds.

Entry into the race can also be obtained through various contests and promotions or through the Ironman Foundation's charitable eBay auction.

Stewart Mounts Jr., "men who are 65 years old are 44% slower than one who is 35...and women is 48%"[29] Triathletes train year-round, and no matter how cautious, injuries are always possible.

[30] The most common injuries in the running event, are to the ankle and foot which result in a sprain, fracture, and muscle strain.

For amateur athletes, some 70.3 events acted as qualifiers for the full Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

The change was made to accommodate for the increased number of qualifying slots created from the full Ironman events which had been recently added.

[54] As part of the licensing agreement both Marvel and the former owner Wanda agreed to not use the "Iron Man" and "Ironman" trademarks in ways that would suggest an association with the other or cause brand confusion.

World Triathlon Corporation CEO Andrew Messick has stated that the agreement has been in place for decades and the royalties paid are "not material to the business.