Ironman takes on the PTO with new Pro Series

It’s no secret that since the inception of the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), many of the sport’s top pros have been focussed on the big PTO Open paydays and not as keen to hit Ironman events that don’t offer as much prize money. Ironman is looking to change that next year with the announcement of a new Pro Series that will include six Ironman and nine Ironman 70.3 races as well as the Ironman World Championship races in Nice and Kona along with the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupo New Zealand. The new series will offer a US$1.7 million bonus pool that will be paid out to the top 50 men and women in the standings.

The new Ironman Pro Series bonus pool runs in parallel to and on top of the already established individual event prize purses at Ironman and Ironman 70.3 pro events, bringing the total 2024 professional prize money and bonus pool on offer to nearly $6 million,” Ironman announced in a release today. “Prize money for individual pro races on the circuit will remain consistent with past years, with a few adjustments, including an increase of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship prize purse to $500,000.”

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The series is open to all registered Ironman professional athletes – this year there are approximately 1,000. A points-based system similar to that used in Ironman’s age-group ranking system will be used.

“A first placed finish earns maximum points – 5,000 points for Ironman and 2,500 points for Ironman 70.3, while winning the Ironman World Championship will earn 6,000 points and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship will earn 3,000 points,” Ironman’s release continued. “Points are then cascaded based on the time deficit to first place. Fast racing will pay off with one point per second deducted based on deficit to the winning time, with no points floor.”

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Pros can race as many events as they’d like, but only the top five race performances will count towards the final ranking. The top 10 athletes in the standings will share US$1.3 million, with the top man and woman earning $200,000. Athletes between 11 and 50 in the standings will each be paid US$5,000.

“We wanted to find a way of recognizing the exceptional talent of our top professional triathletes while also giving up-and-coming professionals an opportunity to thrive and make their mark”, said Andrew Messick, President and CEO for the Ironman Group. “The events have been carefully selected to ensure that they are accessible for our professional athletes, but also offer diverse courses so athletes can select races that are best suited to their strengths.  We look forward to the inaugural race of the Pro Series at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, that will undoubtedly set the tone for an incredible year of racing.”