STATE OF PLAY
A billionaire philanthropist’s investment in long-course racing promises a prosperous future for Ironman athletes, but how long will it last?
‘A race of superhumans’. That’s how the Professional Triathletes Organisation plans to market its rebirth, hoping that the outside world will finally sit up and take notice of its enduring superstars in a combative, live arena. Haven’t we heard this before? Fiftyeight 220 Triathlon issues previously to be precise, when this column addressed the launch of the PTO and its ambitious proposal for a team competition, the Collins Cup, playing on cross-Atlantic rivalries as triathlon’s answer to golf’s Ryder Cup,
It was underpinned by a desire to give pro long-course athletes more control of their own sport, to force a sea-change in governance so they’d enjoy a larger share of the spoils and not continue feeding from the scraps off Ironman’s table. Since then? An aborted plan to run the Cup alongside Challenge Roth, as its initial softlysoftly approach was supplanted by public snipes at Ironman’s debt-led model, citing tennis, golf and even darts, as the athlete-centric pro sports models to follow. More recently there was even a rejected bid to buy Ironman after the M-Dot brand launched a failed floatation that saw shares hemorrhage from $8 to $5.16 on the opening day. While it was met with short shrift by Ironman it hinted at the PTO having some real financial bargaining might.
And that’s what has come to pass, because the PTO is back, this time promising the revival of the Collins Cup, and offering more collective prize money than the sport has ever seen. The financial heavyweight of a backer is Mike Moritz, a 65-year-old billionaire businessman born in Cardiff to German Jewish refugees, who resides in San Francisco, and has recently become the new sponsor of the Booker prize.
Moritz’s initial stake, thought to be around $12.5million, including a total of $2million for the Collins Cup, means Jan Frodeno, as the highest ranked male, would take away $125,000 just for turning up, compared to the $120,000 he collected on winning the 2019 Ironman Worlds. Should Frodeno also compete in the PTO’s proposed new Pro Half Distance Championship, and still top the rankings come year end, he’d ensure a minimum payment of $325,000. Moritz’s sole condition was the top 20 pro’s on the PTO rankings sign up, but given athletes benefit from 50% share of any profits it wasn’t a hard sell.
While it changes the immediate landscape, to survive beyond being a short-term flourish it depends not just on the calibre of the events but on reaching new audiences.
The PTO expects to turn a profit by year three, but endemic sponsorship and amateur racers signing up won’t achieve this – live broadcasting rights are the holy grail and it’s something triathlon has never been able to crack. From Kona webcasts to Chris McCormack’s made-for-TV Super League format, no-one is putting their hands in their pocket to pay for coverage. The PTO hopes to change this by better coverage and making superstars of their superhumans. But to do so, they need a lot more people to watch this space.
“To survive beyond being a short-term flourish it needs to reach new audiences”