Banner Sports Medicine to support Ironman athletes

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Nov. 6, 2024) – Representatives from Banner Sports Medicine, including its High Performance Center, will play a critical role in the elite IRONMAN Arizona triathlon this month.

Banner Sports Medicine and the High Performance Center, a comprehensive multidisciplinary training and development facility in Scottsdale, will staff the Ironman with some 100 health care professionals as the exclusive health care partner of the event on Nov. 17.

Banner Sports Medicine recruits volunteers from throughout the Banner Health system that includes doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, athletic trainers and other CPR-certified medical professionals will be stationed at key areas of the event – the swim station, transition areas and the finish line. Banner also will staff a dedicated medical tent. Appropriate personnel are assigned to each area in anticipation of conditions that might need attention.

IRONMAN Arizona includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run that begins in Tempe and goes northeast, along Arizona Highway 87, and returns to the run course around Tempe Town Lake. About 2,000 people will compete in the 20^th annual event in Arizona.

In the previous three years of sponsoring the event, Banner staff has seen bone fractures from collisions or falls, sprains and strains, other general medical conditions, including cardiac issues and even hypothermia because the temperature of Tempe Town Lake can drop and the physical demand of the competition.

The Banner staff is supplemented by other medical personnel, students and paid IRONMAN staff. The event is part of a North American series of triathlon competitions and is used as a qualifier for the world championship competition.

Opened in May 2023, Banner Sports Medicine Scottsdale is a three-story, 80,000 square-foot facility provides everything athletes need to reach peak athletic performance. Sports medicine services include orthopedic surgery, primary care sports medicine, concussion management, X-ray and imaging, injury prevention, physical therapy, and more. Located on the first floor, the high performance center features roughly 17,000 square feet of indoor space and a 29,000-square-foot outdoor training area suited for real-time, true-to-sport assessment and training. The center is Arizona’s most comprehensive collection for athletic training, human movement analysis, diagnostic and monitoring systems, including the latest in force plate technology and motion capture camera systems capable of serving athletes across all ages, skill level or sport.