IS THE T100 THE ANSWER TO TRIATHLON'S PRAYERS?
AS THE PROFESSIONAL TRIATHLETE’S ORGANISATION’S NEWLY-FORMED T100 EIGHT-RACE SERIES GETS UNDERWAY WE SPEAK TO ITS KEY PLAYERS – INCLUDING ONE ALISTAIR BROWNLEE – ABOUT WHY THEY BELIEVE THIS IS FINALLY THE PRO RACE SERIES THAT WILL MAKE TRI A GLOBAL MAINSTREAM SPORT…
WORDS TIM HEMING IMAGE DARREN WHEELER/PTO
It’s with great pride and conviction that I stand here today and say in two-to-three years the PTO T100 will be in the top 10 greatest sports entertainment products on this planet,” exclaimed Chris Kermode at the launch of the Professional Triathletes Organisation’s T100 series from London’s City Hall.
The name of the series had already sparked a few wisecracks for its resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T1000 shapeshifting android nemesis in the Terminator blockbusters of the 90s, but PTO chairman Kermode was out to prove his comments were more than science fiction.
The detail was impressive. Eight global locations, 40 of the world’s best long-course triathletes, $7million up for grabs through a mixture of prize money and lucrative contracts, a new international federation-sanctioned world title on the line, plus a new 100km series for age-groupers as well.
Where better to announce it than the capital, just yards from the Victoria Docks, the venue for the London Triathlon, that just days earlier, the PTO revealed it had acquired as the fourth stop on its global tour? And who better to bring along as ambassadors than Britain’s double-Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee and reigning Ironman world champion Lucy Charles-Barclay, both of whom have committed to T100 racing for 2024?
“The PTO wants to be a global sports property and to do that you want to be in some of the most interesting locations around the world,” Brownlee said. “With the likes of London, Singapore and Las Vegas, it’s appealing for everyone to watch whether they are at home or live close to the location and can watch it live.”
CAPTIVATING CONTENT?
By the time you read this, racing will have already begun with the first event in Florida at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. A partnership with Clash Endurance, it’s one of only two events that the PTO don’t own outright, the salience being that it allows them to put in place three-to-five-year contracts for the other six races to avoid a repeat of the agonising delays launching the 2024 series. (PTO chief executive
