Triathlon-Splintered sport embraces need for transformative change

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LONDON - A much-anticipated and wide-ranging report on the current state and future of triathlon was published on Friday, with World Triathlon President Antonio Fernandez Arimany describing it as a guide for transformation.

The swim-bike-run sport that emerged from the United States in the 1970s, gained worldwide attention via the iconic Ironman distance and joined the Olympics in 2000 with a standardised 1500 metres swim-40km bike-10km run format has always had something of a piecemeal feel.

Differing governing bodies, new and changing formats and struggles for commercial and TV backing have long dogged it as the professional side of the sport sought to thrive and be attractive to the elite while maintaining the appeal and availability of the grassroots aspect against declining participation numbers.

In the U.S. participation has dropped by an estimated 40% from its peak around 15 years ago, with the decline setting in long before COVID caused so much disruption to the sport.

All these issues and many more were covered by the report, developed in partnership with Deloitte, published on Friday.

World Triathlon issued a statement alongside it, listing some of the key elements to emerge:

* Creating a unified commercial ecosystem, with a new entity to drive partnerships, revenue and innovation.

* Elevating event experience with festival-style formats and immersive digital touchpoints.

* Expanding fan and athlete engagement beyond elite performance, leveraging content, data and storytelling.

* Investing in mass participation and emerging formats to build long-term sustainability.

CHALLENGING ROLE

The report also concluded that World Triathlons role had proved challenging. As a governing body, an international federation and an event organiser, its responsibilities are broad and sometimes conflicting, it said.

This makes it harder to act