Wheaties FUEL Announced as the Official Cereal of the Ironman Triathlon

The World’s Most Challenging Endurance Event Powered by Wheaties FUEL

MINNEAPOLIS--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Wheaties^® today announced Wheaties FUEL^™ as the official cereal of the Ironman^® Triathlon. With more than 50 qualifying events worldwide, “The Ironman” is regarded as the world’s most challenging endurance event, consisting of a 140.6-mile journey, including a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile full-marathon distance run. Preparation is key to success for all Ironman competitors, making Wheaties FUEL™ the optimal breakfast choice to deliver long-lasting energy to help athletes prepare to win.

“There is no other cereal brand that offers the state-of-the-art nutrition to help today’s world-class athletes train for success like Wheaties FUEL.”

Wheaties FUEL was chosen as the official cereal of the Ironman Triathlon for its ability to provide professional and aspiring Ironman athletes with the energy-delivering nutrients needed to reach the highest levels of athletic performance.

“Like the Ironman Triathlon, Wheaties FUEL was conceived to help athletes achieve their highest level of performance,” said Wheaties Marketing Manager Dan Stangler. “Ironman athletes reinforce the Ironman inspirational mantra that states ‘anything is possible.’”

Wheaties FUEL will be supporting its role as the official cereal of the Ironman Triathlon with national television, print and online advertising. The brand will also have onsite activation at upcoming Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events in the form of signage, sampling stations and a presence at the finish line to help loved ones encourage their winners through the finish.

“Wheaties is known for being the ‘Breakfast of Champions,’ which makes it the only choice for Ironman competitors,” said Ben Fertic, chief executive officer, Ironman. “There is no other cereal brand that offers the state-of-the-art nutrition to help today’s world-class athletes train for success like Wheaties FUEL.”

Wheaties FUEL was developed in 2009 with the help of Peyton Manning, triathlete Hunter Kemper, Kevin Garnett, gold medal-winning decathlete Bryan Clay, Albert Pujols and sports nutritionist Dr. John Ivy. After a year-long development process, the result is a delicious honey cinnamon crunch that meets nutritional needs of today’s champion athletes and delivers long-lasting energy from complex carbohydrates, b-vitamins to help your body release energy provided by food, and provides an excellent source of fiber to help keep you feeling full.

About Ironman

World Triathlon Corporation, owner and organizer of Ironman and Ironman 70.3 branded-events, is a Florida-based company recognized for athletic excellence, performance and quality products. With the addition of the Ironman 70.3 Series, Ironman now has more than 50 qualifying events worldwide. Supported by partners that include Ford Motor Company, PowerBar, Timex and Gatorade, Ironman is the No.1 user-based sports brand in the world. Ironman has been a respected name in triathlon since its inception more than 31 years ago and is regarded as the world’s most challenging endurance event. Millions may remember moments in Ironman history such as Julie Moss’ crawl to the finish line in 1982, which was showcased on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Each year, more than 90,000 athletes compete for slots in the Ford Ironman World Championship held every October in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 held every November in Clearwater, FL. The Ironman brand has been featured in a range of media outlets to include NBC, CNN Headline News, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, People, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times and USA Today.

About Wheaties

Born out of a fortunate mistake in 1924, original Wheaties was created when a health clinician accidentally spilled a wheat bran mixture onto a hot stove. The result was tasty, crispy wheat flakes that became known as Washburn’s Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes. A year later, the cumbersome name was shortened to Wheaties. Baseball legend Lou Gehrig was the first athlete featured on a Wheaties Box, when he appeared on the back cover in 1934. In 1958, American champion pole-vaulter Bob Richards was the first person to appear on the front of the package, jumpstarting the phenomenon of “being on the Wheaties box,” which has since been graced by some of the greatest athletes of all time, including Bruce Jenner, Walter Payton, Mary Lou Retton, and many others. To view a complete timeline of Wheaties Champions, visit www.wheaties.com.

For more information on Wheaties and the Wheaties FUEL evolution visit www.Wheaties.com. And, become a Breakfast of Champions fan on www.Facebook.com/Wheaties to receive exclusive content and more.

The Breakfast of Champions® and Wheaties® are registered trademarks of General Mills