The contest will have 2,200 athletes from 50 countries around the world, including a Vietnamese contingent of almost 1,000, which is 20 times the number in 2015 when the central city hosted its first Ironman 70.3 contest.
Among 40 professional athletes who have registered for the event in Da Nang is Patrick Lange, the 2017 and 2018 Ironman World Champion.
This year, the competition will have a total prize money of $75,000.
The triathlon event includes individual and team categories, with three sections for each category: a 1.9 kilometer swim, a 90 kilometer bike ride and a 21 kilometer run.
Part of this year’s competition will be a five-kilometer run for charity to help decrease infant mortality in Vietnam as well as an Ironkids contest, with the minimum age requirement of five.
Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 kilometers) covered in the race.
Each distance of the swim, bike, and run segments is half the distance of that segment in a World Ironman Championship. Ironman 70.3 championship competitions are held in the European, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America regions.
Last year the event attracted nearly 1,600 contestants from around the world. Tim Reed of Australia won the men's race, and Radka Vodickova-Kahledfeldt of the Czech Republic won the women's race.