Officials with the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department (JFRD) gave an update Monday to the total amount of EMS calls from Saturday’s Ironman event across Jacksonville and St. Johns County.

JFRD personnel responded to a total of 58 EMS calls Saturday related to the race, mostly due to heat and exhaustion, officials said.

Of the 58 calls, 18 people were taken to local hospitals for treatment, 16 of which were Ironman competitors. Two Ironman competitors were taken to the hospital in St. Johns County after they crashed with cars on the course, a JFRD spokesperson said. Another was taken to the hospital when two bikes collided on the course.

None of the injuries were life-threatening.

Two more Ironman competitors were pulled from the water during the swimming portion of the triathlon, and did not need to be taken to the hospital, JFRD officials said.

The total amount of EMS calls was similar to other large warm weather events around the city, JFRD officials said, like early season Jaguars games and TPC Sawgrass.

Nearly 2,000 Ironman competitors from 39 countries took part in a 2.4-mile swim in the St. Johns River, a 112-mile bike course from Jacksonville to Ponte Vedra Beach and back, and a full 26.2-mile marathon run in Jacksonville’s Riverside neighborhood.

Saturday saw a high temperature of 88 degrees with a heat index of 91 degrees.

Traffic Impact Concerns

First Coast News received several phone calls from drivers upset about the long backups along the route. The major roadway affected was Phillips Highway.

First Coast News traffic anchor Crystal Moyer stopped by the intersection of Phillips Highway and University Boulevard and Phillips Highway and Baymeadows Road, and spoke with drivers waiting in traffic.

One driver described the traffic as “horrible.”

Another driver said she didn’t have anything against the event and commended the athletes, but felt there wasn’t enough effort put into notifying drivers about the traffic impact.

“We’re letting the bikers go through and traffic is backed up at least two hours,” said Shelia King.

Another driver, Mike Williams, had no idea Ironman was even going on at the time saying, “It’s been horrendous… I’ve been sitting here an hour and a half. It’s ridiculous.”

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office had hundreds of officers along the route directing traffic, but one of the issues was when the group of nearly 2,000 athletes started to spread out on the bike course. Officers would have to stop traffic to let a couple bike riders through, then could only allow a couple more vehicles through before another biker approached.

Ironman Jacksonville had dozens of intermittent road closures during the event from 8 a.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday.

First Coast News spoke with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan during Ironman for a response on the traffic complaints.

“We can always do better,” said Deegan. “We’ll have a debrief after this to try to figure out where we could have had better communication, but I will tell you, we’ve been trying to communicate this for a long time. I know it’s an inconvenience for one day, but just think about the benefit to the city.”

St. Johns County Commissioner Krista Keating-Joseph chimed in on the traffic impact of the Ironman, saying on Facebook that she sat in traffic for three hours watching the “close calls of car vs. golf cart vs bikers.” In a post on her page, she said the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners did not vote on this event. She added that even the county administrator was unaware of the event.

Keating-Joseph ends the post with, “I appreciate your patience and will make sure no future race will cause this degree of inconvenience.”

First Coast News reached out to the City of Jacksonville to see if there are any plans for a meeting on the traffic impact, as the city plans to host two additional Ironman events in 2027 and 2028.

City officials sent the following statement:

“Jacksonville made history this weekend, as nearly 2,000 athletes from 39 countries and across the United States descended on our city for the first-ever IRONMAN Jacksonville. Hosting one of the most prestigious endurance brands in the world is a major win for our city.

What these athletes showed us during the competition was nothing short of extraordinary. Every athlete who participated showed us their perseverance, grit and determination to excel on the world stage.

This successful event reflects exactly what Jacksonville is capable of. We are a world-class city, and IRONMAN chose us because of that. We benefit from the tremendous economic impact, the global exposure, the energy on our riverfront, and the pride on the faces of athletes crossing that finish line. We have a three-year commitment to this exciting event, and we intend to honor it by getting better every year IRONMAN Jacksonville comes to town. That means celebrating what worked and being honest about what could have been done better.

We are committed to a smoother experience for everyone next year, and are already in conversations with IRONMAN organizers, JSO, and city staff to conduct a full after-action review to make sure traffic and safety concerns are meaningfully addressed.

We are grateful to the IRONMAN organization, to Visit Jacksonville, to our Office of Sports and Entertainment, to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, and the countless city staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this event a success.”