JAKARTA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's Bintan Island will host the IronMan 70.3 triathlon series on August 18-19 with around 1,300 athletes taking part in the event.

Natalie Marquet, an executive of Metasport, the IronMan 70.3 Bintan organizing committee, said the event serves as the qualifying round for 2018 IronMan 70.3 World Championship slated for September 1-2 in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.

Athletes will compete in swimming, cycling and running around Bintan Island's Lagoi resort, the location that hosted the event last year.

The organizers have arranged a 1.9 km swimming lane in Lagoi Beach, 90 km of cycling track that passes through the island's green hills and sandy coastline and a 21.1 km scenic running track around the Lake Lagoi, she added.

"The international media coverage of the triathlon event in Bintan will strengthen the image of Bintan Island as a world-class sports event host," said Indonesia Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.