Organizers say they hope to be able host the World Championships there within a few years, though the site's current status as a quarrying area poses obstructions.

If the required changes are made, organizers say the zone can be enjoyed as a recreation area at all times and not only at triathlons.

For several years, Tallinn Ironman organizers have been looking for a location in the Tallinn area to hold the swimming stage. Previous venues, Harku Lake and Stroomi Beach, both in Tallinn, have seen recurring water quality issues.

"If we go back about a month before the competition and conduct water quality tests, both Harku and Stroomi Beach had a purple flag — meaning swimming was not recommended there. However, the water sample from Raku Lake came back at ideal cleanness," said Ain-Alar Juhanson, head organizer of Ironman Tallinn.

Raku Lake is an artificial lake on the southern edge of Tallinn, the result of quarrying activity in the area. It is large enough to accommodate the 3.8-kilometer distance the event requires. However, since the area is officially designated a quarrying site, the swimming stage can only be held with the special permission of the operator, Silikaat Grupp. The company will halt operations during the competition, to enable a transition area for 5,000 athletes can be set up on the quarry road.

As for the area's world championships prospects, this will likely require a change of ownership among other things.

"This particular solution we have implemented this year is still a temporary one — a one-off for this competition. In the future, we hope — and we have been trying for two years now with the City of Tallinn and the Ministry of Culture — that a pleasant recreational area might be created by Raku Lake," Juhanson said.

To enable this, the state, as current landowner, would need to transfer the area to the city. According to the state Land Board (Maa-amet), opening the lakeshore would require lengthy preparatory work, with several agencies needing to give approval, while the quarry tenant would be responsible for restoring the shoreline.

The City of Tallinn in any case would like to create a public recreational area by Raku Lake; at present, only dog owners are officially permitted to let their pets swim there.

Juhanson said organizers had already wanted to host the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Estonia this year, and Tallinn was shortlisted alongside Marbella, but ultimately lost out to the latter precisely due to the lack of a suitable swimming area.

"In order to host a World Championship-level event and to bring 10,000 international participants along with their companions and the associated economic impact, this area — the water and everything else — is suitable. The infrastructure next to it just needs to be in place. We cannot hold this competition on just a service road," Juhanson noted.

Juhanson expressed hope the world competition can still be brought to Tallinn in 2028, pending the lakeside area improvements.

The Land Board says it is open to issuing temporary permits, but the full opening up of the shoreline hinges primarily on the tenant's plans. The outcome will determine whether Raku Lake gets to be a lasting public asset or remains a temporary fix.

An Ironman 70.3 consists of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run, giving a total distance of 70.3 miles (113 km), hence the name. This is half the distance of a full Ironman triathlon.

Race weekend for this year's Tallinn Ironman is August 22-23.

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