Switzerland
IRONMAN in Switzerland: which race to choose
2 IRONMAN races in Switzerland: the full distance in Thun in July and the 70.3 in Rapperswil-Jona in June. Thun and Rapperswil-Jona showed sold out for 2027 on 30 October 2026, so the page also covers the 4 independent half distances.
Where the figures come from
Counts, climbing, altitude and cut-offs are read from the catalogue and recalculated whenever a race is updated. For the IRONMAN races, dates and cut-offs come from the ironman.com race pages; climbing and altitude are not published there and come from each race record in the catalogue, with its source. For the other races, the figures come from each organiser's site. The water readings quoted come from the "Historical weather" table of the ironman.com course pages, for 2024 to 2026. Registration statuses, prices and licence rules were read on 30 October 2026.
The ironman.com pages of Thun and Rapperswil-Jona show an average water temperature of 17 °C at the top. The Rapperswil-Jona table ranges from 14 to 18 °C; the Thun table has a single reading. The Switzerland page lists every race in the country, 9 in total.
Every triathlon in Switzerland
Add a month or a distance to narrow the list.
- IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland
Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland
- Date
- 6 Jun 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 17 °C
- Bike
- Hilly
- Run
- Rolling
- Entries
- Sold out
- SWISSMAN Xtreme Triathlon
Ascona, Switzerland
- Date
- 26 Jun 2027
- Distance
- Full, extreme
- Circuit
- XTRI
- Water
- n/a
- Bike
- Hilly
- Run
- Hilly
- Entries
- Open
- Zurich City Triathlon
Zürich, Switzerland
- Date
- 27 Jun 2027
- Distance
- Olympic
- Circuit
- Independent
- Water
- n/a
- Bike
- Flat
- Run
- n/a
- Entries
- Sold out
- Genève Triathlon Half
Genève, Switzerland
- Date
- 4 Jul 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- Independent
- Water
- n/a
- Bike
- n/a
- Run
- n/a
- Entries
- Open
- IRONMAN Switzerland Thun
Thun, Switzerland
- Date
- 4 Jul 2027
- Distance
- Full
- Circuit
- IRONMAN
- Water
- 17 °C
- Bike
- Hilly
- Run
- Flat
- Entries
- Sold out
- Inferno Triathlon
Thun, Switzerland
- Date
- 21 Aug 2027
- Distance
- Custom format, extreme
- Circuit
- Independent
- Water
- n/a
- Bike
- Hilly
- Run
- Hilly
- Entries
- Opening soon
- Triathlon Basel Mitteldistanz
Basel, Switzerland
- Date
- 29 Aug 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- Independent
- Water
- n/a
- Bike
- n/a
- Run
- n/a
- Entries
- Open
- Uster Triathlon
Uster, Switzerland
- Date
- 29 Aug 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- Independent
- Water
- n/a
- Bike
- n/a
- Run
- n/a
- Entries
- Open
- Triathlon Locarno – Medium Distance
Locarno, Switzerland
- Date
- 5 Sept 2027
- Distance
- Middle
- Circuit
- Independent
- Water
- n/a
- Bike
- n/a
- Run
- n/a
- Entries
- Opening soon
Thun: the full distance, in July
IRONMAN Switzerland Thun is held on Sunday 4 July 2027. The swim is in Lake Thun. ironman.com rates the bike hilly, on roads towards the Alps; the catalogue gives 1906 m of climbing over 180 km. The run is rated flat, with 79 m of climbing, and crosses the bridges of Thun.
The overall cut-off is 17 h, with 2 h 20 min for the swim. In the 2025 Athlete Choice Awards, athletes placed the course third among IRONMAN bike courses worldwide, according to ironman.com.
The course page gives one water reading: 17 °C in 2024. Air highs reached 25 °C in 2024, 28 °C in 2025 and 29 °C in 2026. The race starts at 560 m.
IRONMAN in Europe sets Thun against the other full distances of the continent.
Rapperswil-Jona: the 70.3, in early June
IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland is held on Sunday 6 June 2027 in Rapperswil-Jona, which has hosted it since 2007 according to ironman.com. The swim is in the Obersee, the eastern basin of Lake Zurich. The bike is rated hilly, with 1100 m of climbing over 90 km. The run, rated rolling, goes through the medieval town and along the lake, and includes a stair climb the organiser calls the "Stairway to Heaven".
The cut-off is 7 h 30 min, with 1 h 10 min for the swim.
ironman.com measured the lake at 14 °C in 2024, 18 °C in 2025 and 17 °C in 2026. Air highs ranged from 23 to 26 °C over those three years. With an early June date, the swim is the leg to prepare for cold water.
The independent half distances, July to September
Genève Triathlon Half is held on 4 July 2027, the same Sunday as IRONMAN Thun. The swim starts from the Eaux-Vives beach, the bike covers four loops of 22.5 km with the steep Cologny ramp early on, and the run is four laps of the lake quays. The total cut-off is 8 h. The entry tier in force was CHF 255.
Uster Triathlon and Triathlon Basel Mitteldistanz share Sunday 29 August 2027. Uster swims in the lake from its lido, for CHF 269 until 31 May 2027 plus a 5 % administration fee. Basel swims 3 km downstream in the river, a longer swim than the usual 1.9 km, with a cut-off of 7 h 50 min; entry costs CHF 289 until 31 December 2026, then CHF 329.
Triathlon Locarno – Medium Distance follows on 5 September 2027, with 530 m of climbing over 90 km and separate group starts for men and women.
Choosing between them
The date decides first. Rapperswil-Jona opens the season in June. Thun and Geneva fall on the same Sunday in July. Uster and Basel share the last Sunday of August, and Locarno comes a week later.
Then the bike. Thun climbs 1906 m over 180 km. Among the Swiss half distances with a published figure, Rapperswil-Jona has the most climbing, 1100 m, and Locarno gives 530 m. Geneva, Uster and Basel have no climbing figure in the catalogue yet; the Geneva page itself shows two different totals for the bike.
ironman.com lists Thun and Rapperswil-Jona as World Championship qualifiers. For a half distance that can still be entered today, Geneva, Uster and Basel were open on 30 October 2026. The half-distance races in Europe page compares them with the rest of the continent.
Thun, Rapperswil-Jona and Geneva on the same rows
Month, water, climbing and cut-off, side by side.
IRONMAN Switzerland Thun
IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland
Genève Triathlon Half
- Race 1 IRONMAN Switzerland Thun
- Race 2 IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland
- Race 3 Genève Triathlon Half
- Circuit
- IRONMANIRONMANIndependent
- Distance
- Full distanceMiddle distanceMiddle distance
- Terrain
- RoadRoadRoad
- Swim
- 3.8 km1.9 km1.9 km
- Bike
- 180 km90 km90 km
- Run
- 42.2 km21.1 km21.1 km
- Date
- 4 Jul 20276 Jun 20274 Jul 2027
- Country
- SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland
- Registration
- Sold outSold outOpen
- Swim venue
- LakeLakeLake
- Average water temperature
- 17 °C17 °Cn/a
- High air temperature
- 27 °C24 °Cn/a
- Low air temperature
- 12 °C12 °Cn/a
- Bike profile
- HillyHillyn/a
- Bike elevation gain
- 1,906 m1,100 mn/a
- Run profile
- FlatRollingn/a
- Run elevation gain
- 79 m71 mn/a
- Overall cut-off
- 17 h7 h 30 min8 h
- Altitude
- 560 m409 m368 m
- First edition
- 19972007n/a
- Swim start
- Rolling startRolling startRolling start
- Entry fee, from
- CHF 850n/aCHF 255
Sold out: what is left in Switzerland
On 30 October 2026, ironman.com showed IRONMAN Switzerland Thun and IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland sold out for 2027, with a button to be notified. The registration pages still list the IRONMAN Experiences packages sold by Nirvana. Registration is done on the organiser's site.
Switzerland also hosts extreme races: SWISSMAN Xtreme Triathlon, Inferno Triathlon. SWISSMAN, a full distance from Ascona with m of bike climbing, allocates places by lottery; the 2027 lottery opened on 31 October 2026 and takes entries until midnight on 15 November 2026, according to suixtri.com. Inferno starts in Thun and finishes on the Schilthorn, with road and mountain bike legs; entries open on 11 November 2026 at 11:11 and are capped at 333 athletes. The extreme triathlon guide explains what sets these races apart.
Licence, wetsuit and water
Basel, Locarno and Inferno ask for a licence. Basel requires one for its half distance and sells it with the entry. Locarno accepts the Swiss Triathlon StartPass or a recognised foreign licence, and sells a day licence on race day. Inferno sells day licences online or at check-in. Add it to the entry price when comparing.
Under the 2026 IRONMAN Competition Rules, age-group athletes may wear a wetsuit up to 24.5 °C and must wear one below 16 °C. At Rapperswil-Jona, the 14 °C reading of 2024 falls in the mandatory range; the 18 °C of 2025 and the 17 °C of 2026 fall in the allowed range. The decision is made on race morning. The wetsuit rules guide sets out every threshold.
Questions
How many IRONMAN races are there in Switzerland?
There are 2: the full distance IRONMAN Switzerland Thun on 4 July 2027 and IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland on 6 June 2027. The catalogue lists 9 triathlons in Switzerland in total.
Where is IRONMAN Switzerland held?
In Thun, in the canton of Bern. The swim is in Lake Thun, the bike heads towards the Alps and the run crosses the town's bridges. The 70.3 is held separately, in Rapperswil-Jona on Lake Zurich.
Is IRONMAN Switzerland sold out?
On 30 October 2026, ironman.com showed the 4 July 2027 race in Thun as sold out, with a button to be notified. IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland was sold out too. Registration is done on ironman.com, whose registration pages also list the IRONMAN Experiences packages powered by Nirvana.
How cold is the water at IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland?
ironman.com measured the Obersee at 14 °C in 2024, 18 °C in 2025 and 17 °C in 2026. Below 16 °C the wetsuit is mandatory for age-group athletes under the IRONMAN rules.
Which Swiss half distance can I still enter?
On 30 October 2026, registration was open for Genève Triathlon Half (4 July 2027), Uster Triathlon and Triathlon Basel Mitteldistanz (29 August 2027).
Pick the month, then the race
Open the finder on races in Switzerland, or answer a few questions to get a shortlist.
