The future of Triathlon
Author - Lizzie Rayner Read Time - 4 minutes Follow Lizzie on Instagram
Amongst many other topics, it’s a discussion that 2020 has brought about within the triathlon community - where does the future of our sport lie? Racing went online, Zwift gripped the world, the Olympics were postponed and Ironman refused to give anyone a refund…
When restrictions allowed, some organisers took the initiative and produced some exciting and innovative racing such as the Super League Triathlon event in Rotterdam which was based around a pool swim, turbo riding and treadmill running within the same arena which was covid safe and spectator friendly. Furthermore, the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) really took advantage of the cancellation of Kona and produced an incredible event at Daytona - The PTO Championships - with a very attractive prize purse and a stellar line up to match.
Daytona was brilliant in so many ways - a closed circuit race around a NASCAR track meant increased coverage; incredibly generous prize money attracting the best in the world and meaning that even if you finished between 20th and 40th place you won enough to cover flights and accommodation; and the best of all? The distances - a 2km swim, an 80km bike and an 18km run. Close to a middle distance race but short enough to attract some of the best athletes competing on the ITU circuit which made for a very exciting race as no-one could predict which calibre of athlete would come out on top.
The downside - most of us are not professional athletes so as much as these events are great to watch, we want to get involved and race in a similar way - obviously there is more money in professional sport but surely this can happen to age group racing somehow? We pay enough for race entry and if more sponsors get on board then there is plenty of scope for change and growth to keep racing fun and exciting for everyone involved.
So maybe it’s about time triathlon races in the U.K. saw some change? Not completely because we don’t want to lose what triathlon is really about and we’re blessed to be able to race in some really iconic locations but I think there are some missed opportunities. I guess the issue with the U.K. is the lack of facilities - you’d be hard pressed to find somewhere where swim, bike and run could happen within the same arena, as we’ve seen in the states.
Over the last couple of years track and field racing in the U.K. has slowly started to take form of track meets you see in the U.S. - late nights, big crowds, stadium music, social media coverage and exciting line ups. Having been to a few of these events myself I can honestly say the atmosphere is fantastic and fast times have always been run. I understand that it’s a lot more practical to apply these things to track and field racing as it’s only one sport and all enclosed within a track stadium but surely some of these things can start to be implemented in triathlon too?
So this is what could happen - take initiative from Super League, from the Challenge Family - put on evening races, increase prize money for age groupers, let the age groupers race alongside the pros, encourage crowds (post covid), play music, utilise facilities such as racing tracks for duathlons (Castle Coombe in Wiltshire has been used for this for years), mix up the format, the distances, host more relay events and have more team competitions rather than just competing solo the entire season.
Since 2012 and the London Olympics, triathlon has seen a 300% increase in race participation and the market value of the sport has grown by 57% - big numbers. Maybe now is the time, after a very difficult year, to continue this extraordinary growth and inspire the next generation by mixing things up and making racing more exciting for everyone, not just the professionals.
