Kenneth Gasque (November 1st, 1950 – ), the first Danish citizen to race at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, is the man behind IRONMAN Lanzarote
Kenneth Gasque arrived in Lanzarote in 1983, working at Club La Santa. He raced in Hawaii in 1985, 1987, 1989 and 2005
1992 saw the first edition IRONMAN Lanzarote – 3.8Km Swim – 180Km bike – 42.2Km run with finish on the seaside avenue of Puerto del Carmen.
But Kenneth Gasque gave much more to the island: he always dreamed of promoting sports as a healthy lifestyle and, through his work at Club La Santa, so he did.
He created the the following events, still running in 2025:
– 1984 Volcano Triathlon, when the Spanish Triathlon Federation did not exist yet.
– 1988, International Running Challenge, a running event over a period of 4 days
– 1989 International Marathon Lanzarote
– 2008 Music Marathon Festival, a Social street and running event with live music
– 2009 Lanzarote Wine, a running event in the wine district of Lanzarote
– 2010 Ocean Lava Triathlon – www.oceanlava.com
Today all these events are part of Lanzarote Tourism Office’s sports activities, through the brand European Sports Destination
Next to these events, Kenneth also launched – at Club La Santa – Aerobics Weeks, Cycling Weeks, Triathlon Weeks, Dance Weeks and many more
Some other races that he created were:
– Club La Santa Duathlon (January)
– Lanzarote PowerMan Duathlon (November)
– Off Road Marathon for MTB and Runners (June)
– Island of Fire MTB race (March)
– Club La Santa International Veteran Tennis Trophies (March/April)
– Ridge Run (March)
– 3 Stages Off Road Marathon (June)
– Club La Santa International Half .Triathlon (September)
– Club La Santa International Bike Tour (November)
For his huge contribution to the Island of Lanzarote and to the Sport, Kenneth Gasque was granted the following awards:
– 1995 Trofeo César Manrique
– 1998 Gobierno de Canarias. Silver Medal
– 2009 Cabildo de Lanzarote, Silver Medal «Excelente Turismo» for Ironman
– 2011 Rotary Club Lanzarote – Conejero del Año
– 2013 Gobierno de Canarias, Gold Medal «Excelente Turismo» for Ironman
– 2014 Cabildo de Lanzarote, Gold Medal «Excelente Turismo» for Ironman
– 2021 IRONMAN Hall of Fame, Hawaii
– 2022 Denmark’s Bronze Honour Medal, from Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
