NANNING, China, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Liuzhou city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has announced that it will hold the 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon on April 14.

Liuzhou will hold the opening race of the 2019 IRONMAN China Tour, the organizers said on Friday. The event is a half-triathlon, which consists of a 1.9-kilometer swim, a 90-kilometer cycle and a 21.1-kilometer run.

More than 1000 competitors from 48 countries and regions will join the tournament, including 59 from Japan, 30 from America and 27 from Australia.

Iron Trio legend Craig Alexander will appear again in this year's men's race. As for women's race, Agnieszka Jerzyk, champion of last year's Liuzhou race, Imogen Simmonds, champion of last year's Xiamen race, as well as famous Chinese athletes Dang Qi and Li Pengcheng will join.

As part of the 2019 IRONMAN China Tour, 25 competitors in the event can qualify for the 2019 IRONMAN World Championship. In addition, 50 competitors can get tickets to the 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.