"Registration is sold out. We have a 7% growth in participation compared to last year, 80% of whom are foreigners. This represents about €7 million of impact on the local economy,” said Jorge Pereira, director of Ironman Portugal, during the presentation of the event.

The event will be held next Sunday, between Cascais, Oeiras, Sintra and Lisbon, and will bring to Portugal some of the best athletes in the world, such as France’s Denis Chevrot, champion in the inaugural edition, and Spain’s Javier Noya, five-time world champion.

Among the lot of favourites are the Portuguese João Silva, who finished second a year ago, and Vanessa Pereira, five-time national long-distance champion.

Vanessa Pereira, in addition to being more ambitious, has an advantage over the competition.

"I feel good, I will do my best and I have the advantage of knowing the course very well because that is where I train,” she said.

Filipe Azevedo, after finishing third in 2018, returns from Dubai, where he currently lives, to try to do better than last year.

"The level is higher, but I'll do my best to try to at least equal last year's result,” he said.

While Agusti Perez, Ironman's international director for Spain, Portugal and Italy, highlighted the improvements at each edition of the race, which has already become a world reference, Carlos Carreiras, the mayor of Cascais, launched the bridge to greater challenges.

"Cascais is increasingly attractive, competitive and supportive, also with the help of the organisation of events of this magnitude,” Carreiras said, adding “I am sure that, on Sunday, we will celebrate the success of this event and with the ambition that the international organisation will consider that we have all the conditions to organise the Full Ironman, which is our goal.”