Concerns are rippling through the Ironman world over the future of the world championship event in Hawaii.
From next year they'll be staged at two venues, with the men's and women's events separated.
It's a decision slammed by New Zealand's leading ironman, Braden Currie.
"I was pretty gutted," he told 1News.
"It felt like to me it had taken a lot away from the kind of top tier of the sport so yeah, it’s definitely a bit of a blow."
All roads have led to Kona throughout Currie's career but in a shock move, that path to Ironman's pinnacle event next year has been blocked.
It’s where all the heroes of the sport have been made, and the real champions of the sport have been created.
From next year the men's and women's world championships will be held at separate venues and different times.
The women return to Kona while the men's location has not yet been confirmed.
Fellow Kiwi Ironman athlete Rebecca Clarke was also confused by the announcement.
"I was a little in disbelief," she said.
"It's always been in Kona. It was a shock it's moving away."
It's particularly tough for Currie who finished on the podium in the re-scheduled 2021 event in May.
He went to October's event in career best form but succumbed to a virus and had to pull out. Any kind of redemption will now have to wait until 2024.
"To compete at a world champs and to compete at the level I want to compete at, you’ve got a pretty small window in your life to do it," said Currie.
"I’ve probably got one more really good crack at a world championship at Kona but I would’ve liked to have had two."
The lava fields of Hawaii have been the home of Ironman for more than 40 years but Covid has brought about change. There's been a greater demand and deeper fields, resulting in numbers that Kona just can't handle.
"It comes down to dollars and cents, to be honest. I think it’s all about selling entries, getting people to world championships and having as many people on the start line as they can," he said.
It's a start line Currie will continue to run towards. Destination though, unknown.
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