Is pro triathlon becoming the Wild West?
As the sport drives towards professionalism, innovation should be encouraged. But so too should standardising and implementing the rules. Tim Heming explains…
2022 is the year professional triathlon became more, well, professional: bigger prize purses, better broadcasts and higher profiles for those who take centre stage. But it’s also become the wild west of endurance sport and the saloon doors won’t stop swinging. I’ll explain.
Triathlon is known for innovation, the ability to push the technical boundaries of swim, bike and run while experimenting with new distances and concepts. From the first neoprene wetsuits to the first tri-bars it has always been thus, and, largely, this is to be saluted.
But without proper governance it also takes us to the O.K. Corral with most shooting from the hip while a select few have rocket launchers.
The edge of legality
So far this year we’ve had Daniela Ryf swimming in a wetsuit banned nine years ago for having forearm panels; Gustav Iden running to an Ironman world title in 50mm+ thick soles; triathletes cycling with fairings shoved down their tri-suits or 3D-printed fake plastic bottles (as fairings) behind the saddle; riding 180mm-deep wheels when disc wheels are banned; and prototypes left, right and centre that’ll probably never be available to the public.
All this stuff is on the edge of legality and sometimes – certainly in the case of Ryf’s wetsuit – tips over. But it could also actually be argued as a dereliction of their professional duty if the athletes didn’t push for this competitive advantage.
Where it is going wrong is with World Triathlon, Ironman and the Professional Triathlete Organisation’s inability to establish clear rules and then enforce them properly.
Ryf’s wetsuit was illegal but no punishment was forthcoming. Iden’s shoes breached World Athletics’ rules, but World Triathlon, and subsequently Ironman, aren’t implementing them (they used to), meaning that right now – as bizarre as it seems – you could run in anything you like with impunity, including actual springs.
Lack of consistency
Perhaps more troubling still is the lack of consistency and erratic implementation of rules that it’s hard to decipher are in place anyway.
Contrast the Ironman 70.3 Worlds – where race-defining 5min penalties were handed out to Sam Long and India Lee for the most dubious of infractions – with the PTO Canadian Open in Edmonton, where drafting was visibly rife yet marshals absent.
Or Hayden Wilde being penalised in the Commonwealth Games for touching his helmet strap, while Magnus Ditlev runs from T1 in St George without his helmet on at all.
Trying to discern right from wrong is no easy task. Ironman is no longer sanctioned by World Triathlon so can do pretty much what it likes. The PTO seems to try to align to the federation, but looks a soft touch when it comes to making hard decisions.
As the money and media rises so too does the need to focus clear boundaries and making judicious calls. Otherwise, the gunslinging continues and those trying to play fair get caught in the crossfire.
Illustration: Daniel Seex
Tim Heming
Freelance triathlon journalist 
