The Professional Triathletes Organization (PTO) and the World Triathlon governing body have expanded their relationship by announcing a 12-year strategic partnership to grow the sport.
Following their initial tie-up in August 2023 to recognize the PTO Tour as the official World Championship tour for long-distance running, and then the launch of the T100 Triathlon World Tour in January 2024, the two parties have now taken their work together a step further by expanding their commercial relationship.
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 the PTO and World Triathlon to explore new opportunities to grow the sport together, including hosting shorter-distance events alongside the T100 Tour.
World Triathlon president Marisol Casado has said: “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.”
Sam Renouf, PTO chief executive, added: “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, 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.”
This announcement follows the two organizations introducing new anti-doping measures earlier this year.
Five T100 rounds have taken place so far this year, in Miami, Singapore, San Francisco, London, and Ibiza. The next race is the Lake Las Vegas T100 on 19-20 October.
The PTO was originally formed in 2014, with the agreement of a funding deal with venture capitalist Michael Moritz in 2020 one of the main factors behind its expansion and growth in recent years.
In April, PTO chief executive Sam Renouf spoke to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) around why rebranding its main property as the T100 Triathlon World Tour was necessary.
