World Triathlon and the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) have announced a 12-year strategic partnership in a bid to grow the sport.

Following the announcement in August 2023 to collaborate on a new Official World Championship Tour of Long Distance Triathlon and then the launch of the T100 Triathlon World Tour in January 2024, World Triathlon and the PTO have taken their work together a step further by expanding their commercial relationship to grow the sport longer term.

The initial partnership term is for 12 years, running through to 2036, and will include: the sole and exclusive Official World Championship Tour of Long Distance Triathlon, Anti-doping, Safeguarding and collaboration on rights management, including sponsorship and broadcast. It also includes a framework

for both parties to explore new opportunities to grow the sport together, including hosting shorter-distance events alongside the T100 Tour.

Time to double down says Casado

Speaking about the partnership, World Triathlon president and IOC member Marisol Casado said: “Having seen three amazing Olympic Triathlon races in Paris, and just before the Championship Finals in Torremolinos and the T100 Finals in Dubai, we believe that it is both ours and PTO’s responsibility to double down on the good work that we’ve already started and use the great exposure our sport enjoys at the moment as a catalyst to grow deeper engagement with the sport’s committed fan. We also want to find a way to promote our sport to the broader sports fan.

“We believe we’re already starting to answer part of that question through our partnership with the PTO around the new T100 Triathlon World Tour and want to ensure we provide it with the right support and solid foundation to go from strength to strength.“We will see in the near future athletes moving from the World Triathlon Championship Series to the T100 Tour, and we see more and more fans engaging with both worlds and enjoying the shorter or longer distances events alike. This brings excellent opportunities to all of us. And we want to continue embracing this cooperation and take it to further levels.”

Renouf talks up T100 tour

PTO CEO Sam Renouf said: “We have had a very productive relationship with World Triathlon since our first event, including hosting the World Long Distance Championships alongside the Collins Cup in 2021. In working closely through the formation and then launch of the new T100 Triathlon World Tour – quickly becoming the pinnacle of long-distance racing – one of the by-products has been the discussion and identification of other opportunities where we can grow the sport. By forming a 12-year partnership, both sides have the opportunity to invest together in the longer-term development of the sport.”

PTO Athlete Board member David McNamee added: “From an athlete perspective, the introduction of the new T100 Triathlon World Tour has been a significant step forward in giving longer distance triathlon the global platform and profile we think it deserves. But along that journey, it has also highlighted other things we could explore, in order to continue taking our sport forward and to grow and engage more fans and audiences around the world. It’s an exciting time to be a professional triathlete.”