The Professional Triathletes Organisation’s T100 series has bet big on the lure of its star performer and unsettled Ironman… for now
state of play
A quick test. Can you name the reigning triathlon world champions? Hopefully you’ll be saying Lucy Charles-Barclay at Ironman and Beth Potter at standard distance. Maybe Taylor Knibb over 70.3? But the men? Do they trip off the tongue as easily as world champions of other sports?
Several years ago another journalist told me that triathlon would always be seen as something people did rather than watched. Nothing wrong with that, but if true and that prevailing attitude endured, the professional side was destined to remain a bit part in the multisport landscape.
It’s a sentiment shown by its actions Ironman has agreed with for years. The brand itself dominates its marketing to sell out races: Anything is Possible… for YOU. So, until recently, it had been able to treat professionals as a line item on the expense sheet, paid just enough to make sense for marketing purposes. In years past, totting up the pro licence fees just about covered prize money. Athletes often made more from sponsor bonuses for Ironman podiums than was on the cheque for standing on the actual rostrum. Not a bad business model… for Ironman.
Then the PTO got into gear and particularly with this year’s T100 series has stuck a stick in the spokes of how Ironman deals with its pros. Ironman admitted as much through a retaliatory response in October when then-CEO Andrew Messick added another $1.7m as a “bonus pool” to try and get “our top triathletes to race more with us.”
It looked a smart move at the time, a counter thrust to the delayed announcement of the T100 series. But the PTO’s January launch of $7m on the line plus almost every high-profile long-course triathlete contracted to the T100 turned the tables once more. It meant that despite the extra dollars
