The World Triathlon Championship Series Grand Final in Pontevedra is set to host a festival of triathlon including two head-to-head individual battles to crown new world champions.
The 2023 season started back in March in Abu Dhabi and following six events, Beth Potter and Cassandre Beaugrand and Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde look set to duel it out in Spain on September 23-24, all with the goal of landing a first world title.
It’s set to be a bumper payday for those at the sharp end because it isn’t just increased prize money for the individual races on offer, but payouts for the overall series rankings as the world champions are crowned.
How much can athletes win in Pontevedra?
The WTCS is the top tier of World Triathlon racing and regular season events such as Abu Dhabi, Yokohama, Cagliari, Montreal, Hamburg and Sunderland have a top prize of $19,000 for the winners.
This jumps to $30,000 for taking the tape in the Pontevedra Championship Final, with second place picking up $20,000 and the final podium position $15,000. The prize pot will also pay 40-deep in Pontevedra compared to the top 30 at regular WTCS races.
In addition, the final World Triathlon Championship Series rankings will be determined with bonus pool payments dished out.
The series winners will collect $70,000 each, with $40,000 for second and then $26,000 for third place. The bonus pool pays down to 35th place and $1,500.
For athletes competing to win the world title, such as GB’s Potter and Yee, this means that a potential $100k is on the line in Spain – $30k for the race victory plus $70k for being crowned world champion.
How does the World Triathlon prize purse compare to Super League?
Given the WTCS is short-course racing and held over a multi-event series format, its nearest comparison is probably Super League Triathlon whose own mini-series started in London on 27 August and finishes in Saudi Arabia on 21 October.
A total of $3.6 million is to be awarded across the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series and Finals, the Mixed Relay and World Cup races, Multisport and the Paris Test Event, compared to the $2.96million distributed in 2022.
Super League’s overall payout is $1.24m over its shorter four-event series. There is $50,000 on offer for the individual Championship Series winners, with an additional $20,000 up for grabs for individual event wins.
But there were other ways to top up the coffers including a share of the $300,000 available from the teams prize pool and $45,000 split between triathletes topping the individual discipline leaderboards.
How does the World Triathlon prize purse compare to the PTO?
Elsewhere, the Professional Triathletes Organisation is injecting some serious prize money into the sport too.
As well as $2m shared between the top 50 men and women for the end-of-year rankings ($100,000 for first place), the winners of its PTO Tour events, the European, US and Asian Opens, also paid a top prize of $100,000, with $50,000 and $35,000 given to the remaining podium places. This gives a total PTO payout in 2023 or $3,800,000.
How does the World Triathlon prize purse compare to the Ironman World Champs?
The 2022 Ironman World Championship winners Gustav Iden and Chelsea Sodaro were paid $125,000 each for winning in Kona. Sam Laidlow and Lucy Charles-Barclay earned $65,000 for finishing runners-up and Kristian Blummenfelt and Anne Haug scooped $45,000 for third place.
Last weekend, Germany's Rico Bogen became the youngest ever Ironman 70.3 world champion with victory in Lahti, Finland and won $50,000 for his efforts.
What is the pro prize purse in Pontevedra?
The total pro prize purse for the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series is shared among the top 35 in the bonus pool.
This is in addition to the prize money for the race in Spain, where the first 40 men and women to finish will be eligible for a payday. You can see the breakdown in full below:
Pontevedra World Triathlon Championship Finals prize purse
1st place $30,000
2nd place $20,000
3rd place $15,000
4th place $12,000
5th place $9,800
6th place $8,000
7th place $6,400
8th place $5,200
9th place $4,200
10th place $3,300
Down to $1,000 for 40th place
World Triathlon Championship Series Rankings: Bonus Pool
1st place $70,000
2nd place $40,000
3rd place $26,000
4th place $20,000
5th place $15,000
6th place $13,000
7th place $11,000
8th place $10,000
9th place $9,000
10th place $8,000
Down to $1,500 for 35th place
Top image credit: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
