Fury at Fury for triathlon lies

Tommy Fury clattered down the blue carpet and proudly announced to his 5.2million followers: “Go ahead and roast my form… but could you sprint finish after a 100km triathlon?”

Some achievement, particularly for undefeated professional boxer Fury, half-brother of former world champion Tyson Fury, who looks in shape to be a threat in the cruiserweight division more than the tri course.

Within a couple of days, Tommy’s sprint finish at the French Riviera T100 wasn’t the main focus as it came to light he’d only completed part of the course. Internet sleuth Derek Murphy, who runs the website Marathon Investigation, outed the reality TV star for completing just 48km of the 80km bike course.

While it could charitably be argued that Fury just got a bit carried away with his post-race socials, a supplementary post from him read: “I left it all out in the French Riviera. 100KM triathlon on 10 days training… completed.”

Even as a novice, it doesn’t pass the sniff test as an honest mistake, more a wilful bending of the truth. As for the race organisers, the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), it’s hard to fathom how they weren’t more savvy. They knew Fury didn’t finish the cycle leg and doubled down on the complicity by initially endorsing his statement.

Having been called out on it, they explained that permits for road closures meant a strict bike cut-off had to be imposed, but given the philosophy to grow the sport, they wanted the affected athletes to have the chance to complete the run. They initially removed Fury from the results completely and have now added it as a DNF, with all splits removed. 

They added that they’ve asked Fury to acknowledge not completing the course. It hasn’t happened yet. Whether it will in his BBC documentary remains to be seen. 

A celebrity embellishment might not seem like the world’s greatest sporting crime, but it’s a shame that the PTO missed a trick as well as the truth. 

The organisation was initially formed to promote the astronomical feats of superhuman professionals – showing that what they’re doing is beyond the grasp of mere mortals, but should be more appreciated.

That has now extended to age-group participants too, and in Fury’s case could have showcased just how tough a challenge it is.

Triathletes miss cut-offs all the time and there is no shame in a failed attempt, particularly for someone new to the sport, who appears to have done little specific training. 

A 2km swim, 48km bike ride and 18km run is still an achievement, and a chance to land all the lessons learnt about perseverance, facing adversity and fighting back. Hell, it could also make for a much-anticipated sequel, which as boxers know, can often be an attention-grabber. 

The value of celebrity is high to the PTO. In the London T100 the month before, an appearance from Gordon Ramsay, the Ramsay family, and Adam Peaty on the Sunday grabbed more coverage than home hero Lucy Charles-Barclay achieved the day before with one of the most sensational 100km victories to date. 

So, Fury’s appearance presents wonderful marketing fodder. Perhaps too much to risk annoying him with a DNF when his own reality becomes a little too augmented.

Tim Heming Freelance triathlon journalist

About

Experienced sportswriter and journalist, Tim is a specialist in endurance sport and has been filing features for 220 for a decade. Since 2014 he has also written a monthly column tackling the divisive issues in swim, bike and run from doping to governance, Olympic selection to pro prize money and more. Over this time he has interviewed hundreds of paratriathletes and triathletes from those starting out in the sport with inspiring tales to share to multiple Olympic gold medal winners explaining how they achieved their success. As well as contributing to 220, Tim has written on triathlon for publications throughout the world, including The Times, The Telegraph and the tabloid press in the UK.