It’s no secret that triathlon racing is expensive and, for pro athletes who race as a profession, it can be difficult to find that balance between how much money elite triathletes earn and the probability of claiming some of that all-important prize purse.
Pros must choose their racing calendar wisely, with some events dolling out significantly more royalties than others.
With the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship having just taken place in Lahti, Finland, we were keen to find out just how much athletes won in both the top slots and further down the ranks…
How much can athletes win at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship?
The Ironman 70.3 World Championship has overall prize purse of $350,000, which is distributed between the top 15 finishers.
The day’s strongest competitor who manages to take the winning tape will be awarded a substantial $50,000. While a prize drop to the runner-up will see them taking home $25,000, with the final podium finisher claiming $18,000.
All male and female prize purses across Ironman are equal, so it’ll be the top athlete of each gender who’ll bag the biggest digits.
How does the 70.3 prize purse compare to the Ironman world champs?
A prize purse of several hundred thousand may sound a lot, but how does it compare to the prize money up for grabs on the Big Island?
Athletes competing in Kona share a huge $750,000 total prize purse, that’s over double what they can expect to win at the half distance.
While the 2022 champions Norway’s Gustav Iden and USA’s Chelsea Sodaro took home a whopping $125,000, hopefuls in the 70.3 race battle it out for less than half that amount.
Kona second-place winners Lucy Charles-Barclay and Sam Laidlow took home more than what the 70.3 winners will gain, with the Brit and young Frenchman claiming $65,000.
Meanwhile, third-place winners at the 70.3 Worlds can expect to win the equivalent of the sixth-place cheque claimed in Kona by Fenella Langridge and Sebastian Kienle.
Why the discrepancy? While both races are world championships, the purse at the Ironman World Champs is larger due to it being double the distance.
What is the pro prize purse at the 70.3 world champs?
The first 15 men and women to finish are eligible for a cash prize. You can see the breakdown in full below:
- 1st place $50,000
- 2nd place $25,000
- 3rd place $18,000
- 4th place $12,000
- 5th place $10,000
- 6th place $8,500
- 7th place $8,000
- 8th place $7,500
- 9th place $7,000
- 10th place $6,500
- 11th place $6,000
- 12th place $5,500
- 13th place $4,500
- 14th place $3,500
- 15th place $3,000
Top image credit: Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for Ironman
