
World Triathlon embrace need for change with ambitious Olympic dream
Their hope comes in the form of the Professional Triathlon Organisation's (PTO) 100km distance.
During its first season, the T100 World Triathlon Tour - which consists of a 2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run - was watched by more than 50 million viewers and has made significant steps forward in professionalising the sport.
It is the latest format in a wave of long-distance triathlon events that are sweeping the globe, with 70.3 and full distance IRONMAN finishers also growing in numbers.
In a bid to keep up with mass participation figures, Arimany feels that now is the time to think big.
"We are in a unique moment and time for long distance triathlon," he said.
"The growth of the T100 event has been special and it has the potential to grow in mass participation and for elite athletes.
The early morning rise!
Athletes took a ride of the bike course this morning ahead of a late afternoon of racing ⚡️
Tune in for #WTCSHamburg on https://t.co/YFY80R4UW2 from 16:45 CEST.#Triathlon pic.twitter.com/ecKSaLf42A — World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) July 12, 2025
"We need to motivate the PTO to keep investing in their T100 Series so we get to a point where we can hopefully bring it to an Olympic Games.
"The broadcasting of the event needs to be attractive from a TV and spectator point of view to keep them entertained and I think we can succeed on that.
"If we can create a great commercial product, then we can convince the International Olympic Committee and bring an event that offers value to the Olympic programme."
Triathlon made its Olympic debut at Sydney 2000 and the mixed relay event was added at Tokyo 2020, with ambitions for a new long-distance event to run alongside those already on the programme.
Despite the popularity of 70.3 and full distance IRONMAN events, it is in the 100km format that World Triathlon have put their faith in as the future of the sport.
PTO CEO Sam Renouf helped launch the T100 just 18 months ago and is dreaming big with regard to its future.
"We're really happy with the progress and particularly the data around mass participation, social media engagement and TV viewership which are all really important to the Olympic movement,' he said.
"The T100 distance has become the most popular because it is still long and an endurance event, which is has to be as the definition of a triathlon, but it is short enough to be accessible and sustainable.
🚨 NEWS JUST IN - this is going to be WILD!
Wollongong just got even more epic – World Triathlon & T100 are teaming up Down Under!
The World Triathlon Championship Finals AND the T100 World Tour (Pro race only) will now take place on the same week (15-19 October) 🤝
Two… pic.twitter.com/4rXpsQvnoI — World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) June 27, 2025
"Triathlon is still quite a niche sport and it should be difficult as that is a part of the sport. But as individual sports, nearly a billion people do them, so that market is there.
"It's about how we drive that growth and the Olympics is the best possible thing because it will always be the biggest platform for the sport."
The T100 Tour also saw over 21,000 amateur athletes take part last year, as well as several celebrity endorsements, including McFly's Harry Judd, who raced the T100 London in 2024.
Three-time Olympic swimming champion Adam Peaty and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, meanwhile, will both be taking on the standard distance event in London this summer.
At the Paris 2024 Olympics last summer, the organising committee introduced a mass participation marathon event 'Marathon Pour Tous', with over 20,000 people running the marathon route the night before the pros took to the stage.
It's an opportunity that Arimany believes the IOC could replicate for triathlon at Brisbane 2032 - should the distance be introduced.
"We want to do something new because we are in a different moment and time," he added.
"The LA Games will bring a new way to watch the sport and participate and so our new era can create a new platform again.
"We want to evolve the sport in the 21st century and keep up with social media to engage spectators."
The next T100 Triathlon World Tour race is in London on 9-10 August. Visit www.t100triathlon.com
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


North Wales Live
2 hours ago
- North Wales Live
Dame Laura Kenny opens up about post-pregnancy body image after Wimbledon dilemma
Olympic legend Dame Laura Kenny is speaking out on the highs and lows of post-pregnancy body image after a difficult first public appearance at Wimbledon. The 33-year-old gave birth to her third child and first daughter, Lily, in early May and has since returned to work and public events, including an appearance alongside husband Jason at the Wimbledon Championships earlier this month. Kenny admitted that it wasn't all sunshine and roses in the lead-up to the event, struggling to find a dress that she felt comfortable in so soon after giving birth, which would also allow her to feed her daughter during the day. Posting to her 221k followers on Instagram, the five-time Olympic champion opened up about the mental and emotional toll being a mother to a newborn can have - and was overwhelmed to see such an incredible response from others in a similar position. "I find it hugely important to post about this stuff, especially from a women's point of view," she said. "We actually looked at the digital response and there were 1.5 million views and 86% were female on that post alone. "That's why it's so important, and that's why I posted it, because I want every other mum that's sitting at home to know how I was feeling. "You see a nice happy photo of us at Wimbledon, but that wasn't the backstory. The backstory was me actually quite upset, trying to find an outfit because I felt like I didn't look like me, and I'm having to put myself in the limelight, and find a dress that will let me feed my child. "Yes, going to Wimbledon is a choice, but it is also something that I wanted to do, and I shouldn't have to give that up." Kenny retired from her career in the velodrome in March 2024 and has since stepped into a new role as President of Commonwealth Games England. It is a role she took on at seven months pregnant and one that she has taken in her stride, having already attended her first board meeting less than 12 weeks after giving birth. And even though Lily might admittedly be the easiest of her three children when it comes to sleeping, Kenny knows that returning to work so quickly is hardly the norm for most mothers. She also noted that it is something she enjoys, having always embraced chaos in the workplace. "Some people think it's a bit mental coming back so soon," she said. "I mean, I filmed a podcast when she was just two days old, and it didn't even occur to me that it was kind of mental. Our line of work is a bit random, and it is a bit all over the place, and so it's always been like that. "I trained with Albie, and he just travelled the world with us so for me, I've actually never known any different and so I'm just enjoying it again. I'm not going to say it's not difficult, but I like the mayhem and absolute carnage." Kenny's new role is quickly heating up, with today marking one year to go until the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. It is a milestone that the former track cyclist knows well from her time as an athlete, believing that it was a key moment for athletes to nail down their targets. "From an athlete's point of view, you can think that the Games are coming around really fast, and it can almost seem a little bit scary," she said. "But I think it feels scary, and it feels daunting because it means so much to you. I think it brings a whole host of emotion. "I always felt like a year to go was really achievable. I could set a target by that point." But from her new stead as president, Kenny admitted that she is relishing the new behind-the-scenes aspect that she has access to. From board meetings about accommodation to talking through athlete selection processes, Kenny has a whole new world of insight into what happens to make a Commonwealth Games come to life. And with the clock ticking down until the opening day of competition on 23 July 2026 in Glasgow, she is more than ready to get stuck in. "I'm so excited," she said. "The reason I took the role in the first place was because I felt like I wanted to give back to the athletes and because Team England have played a huge part in my career. "So, the bit that I'm obviously most excited about is actually talking to the athletes and getting involved and that will only ramp up from now."


BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Man from Scotland who died competing in Swansea Ironman is named
An athlete who died after competing in the Ironman 70.3 Swansea triathlon event has been Buchan, from Scotland, received immediate medical care halfway into the swim section of the race on 13 July after officials noticed he was in 31-year-old was taken to hospital where he received further treatment but he died four days was the UK's first ever Ironman Pro Series featuring a swim at the Prince of Wales Dock before cycling along roads that hug the Gower's coastal clifftops as part of a 56-mile (90km) bike course. Ironman Wales said: "Our deepest condolences are with the family and friends of the athlete.""We will continue to offer them our support and keep them in our thoughts as they go through this challenging time."


Belfast Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Ballymena Olympian and ‘pioneer of women's sport in Ireland' dies aged 96
An acknowledgement of her role came from long standing contemporary and friend, 1972 Munich Olympic pentathlon gold medallist, Lady Mary Peters, who said: 'I have known Meave for 70 years and she was a pioneer of women's sport in both athletics and hockey for Ireland. She encouraged a lot of young people like me to get involved in sport. Now having made it to her 96th year may she rest in peace.' Indomitable Maeve also rose above the politics of the time to compete at three Olympic Games and win 58 Ireland hockey caps. A legendary figure in Irish sport, Maeve was born in Kilkenny in 1928 but lived most of her life in Ballymena where her legacy is most tangible, having founded the hugely successful talent producing Ballymena and Antrim Athletics Club with late husband Sean in 1955 and where she continued to coach well into her 80s. On a wider sphere, Maeve paved the way for female athletes in a time where it was considered unseemly and almost dangerous for a woman to run, making her mark on the history books as the first Irish female athlete to compete at an Olympic Games and later as Ireland's first triple Olympian at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964. She was the only woman on an 18-strong Irish team at the Melbourne Games in 1956 and the first to represent Ireland in Olympic track and field when, as a young mother, she faced considerable disapproval from conservative and clerical commentators of the time. Maeve competed at three different Olympics – Melbourne, Rome and Tokyo. In Melbourne and Rome, she competed in the 100m and 200m, the only events open to women at the time as they didn't think that women would be able to run much further. In Tokyo, she ran in the 400m and 800m, reaching the semi-finals of both. In the 400m at the 1966 European Indoor Athletics Championships in Dortmund, she won a bronze medal with a time of 57.3 seconds. She also won 58 Irish caps in hockey (including a Triple Crown at Wembley in 1950) and, when iconic Dutch sprint superstar Fanny Blankers-Koen ran in Lansdowne Road two weeks after her four London Olympic golds in 1948, Kyle and her hockey colleague Joan O'Reilly provided the opposition. At 42, Kyle qualified for the 400m final of the 1970 Commonwealth Games and went on to set many age-group world records in Masters sprints and long jump. Despite her achievements in the Irish vest, in 1968 Maeve, and other Northern Ireland based athletes, were controversially prevented from competing in an international athletics meeting at Santry Stadium in Dublin. Tensions between north and south athletic governing bodies led to Maeve actually being removed from the track while on the starting line. On being told that even if you were born in the Republic of Ireland (as she was) but find yourself living in Northern Ireland (as she did), you were no longer eligible to take part as a member of the Irish team, Maeve spoke out strongly against the decision, saying it was a sad day when someone who had always been happy to represent her country is refused competition in her own country. In hockey, she gained 58 Irish caps as well as representing three of the four Irish provinces (Leinster, Munster and Ulster) at different stages of her career. She was named in the World All Star team in 1953 and 1959. She was also a strong competitor in tennis, swimming, sailing and cricket. In 2006 she was awarded and Honorary Doctorate by the University of Ulster. Maeve was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2006 Coaching Awards in London in recognition of her work with athletes at the Ballymena and Antrim Athletics Club. Earlier in 2006 she was one of 10 players who were installed into an inaugural Irish Hockey Hall of Fame. With her passing, generations of Irish sportswomen who followed in her slipstream owe a debt of gratitude to Maeve Kyle's role in breaking down barriers and changing attitudes to female participation across the board.