IRONMAN Pro Series shakes up elite racing with US$1.7m bonus pool | Sports Destination Management

IRONMAN Pro Series shakes up elite racing with US$1.7m bonus pool

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Apr 02, 2024

IRONMAN has confirmed the creation of the IRONMAN Pro Series. Billed as a performance-based world series it will see professional triathletes vie for the title of IRONMAN Pro Series champion and a share of a US$1.7 million in year-end bonus pool payouts after 12 months of racing action.

The IRONMAN Pro Series will be contested over 18 designated events in the 2024 pro circuit, including a combination of six full-distance IRONMAN and nine IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons from around the globe as well as the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship Women’s and Men’s races and VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlons.

The 2024 IRONMAN Pro Series series will kick off at the 2024 Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside triathlon on April 6 and will run through the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, New Zealand, on December 14 and 15, 2024.

Designed to showcase and reward the talent of the world’s top professional triathletes the series will also seek to provide broader year-round interest through deeper pro fields, storylines, and live broadcasting.

The new IRONMAN Pro Series bonus pool runs in parallel to and on top of the already established individual event prize purses at IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 pro events bringing the total 2024 professional prize money and bonus pool on offer to nearly US$6 million.

Prize money for individual pro races on the circuit will remain consistent with past years, with a few adjustments, including an increase of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship prize purse to US$500K.

All professional athletes, of which there are approximately 1,000, are eligible and will start on a level playing field to begin the season. At each of the 18 designated IRONMAN Pro Series events, professional athletes will earn points based on their finish times to count towards a final series ranking.

A first placed finish earns maximum points – 5,000 points for IRONMAN and 2,500 points for IRONMAN 70.3 – while winning the IRONMAN World Championship will earn 6,000 points and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship will earn 3,000 points.

Points are then cascaded based on the time deficit to first place. Fast racing will pay off with one point per second deducted based on deficit to the winning time, with no points floor.

While professional athletes can choose any combination of designated races in the series, only the top five race performances of the year will count towards an athlete’s final ranking, of which a maximum of three IRONMAN event results can be counted.

The top 10 ranked athletes in each gender at the end of the IRONMAN Pro Series will share US$1.3 million in bonus pool, with the top placed male and female taking home US$200,000 each. A further US$400,000 in financial assistance will be paid out equally to athletes ranked 11th – 50th in each gender.

The professional athlete’s qualification policy for IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship remains the same rolling into 2024, and validation rules for IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 champions and podium finishers will be reinstated for 2024 after being suspended during COVID years and the changing World Championship schedule.

2024 IRONMAN Pro Series Schedule
DateEventLocation
Apr 6Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 OceansideOceanside, CA, USA
Apr 27Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship TexasThe Woodlands, TX, USA
May 4Intermountain Health IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship St. GeorgeSt. George, UT, USA
May 11Zafiro IRONMAN 70.3 Alcúdia, MallorcaAlcúdia, Mallorca, Spain
May 19IRONMAN 70.3 ChattanoogaChattanooga, TN, USA
Jun 2IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg (WPro)Hamburg, Germany
Jun 8IRONMAN 70.3 BoulderBoulder, CO, USA
Jun 16Cairns Airport IRONMAN CairnsCairns, QL, Australia
Jun 23IRONMAN 70.3 Mont-TremblantMont-Tremblant, QC, Canada
Jun 30IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’OlonneVendėe, France
Jul 16IRONMAN Vitoria-GasteizVitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Jul 21Athletic Brewing IRONMAN Lake PlacidLake Placid, NY, USA
Aug 18Mainova IRONMAN European Championship Frankfurt (MPro)Frankfurt, Germany
Aug 25IRONMAN 70.3 European Championship TallinnTallinn, Estonia
Sep 1IRONMAN 70.3 Zell am See-KaprunZell am See, Austria
Sep 22VinFast IRONMAN World Championship – Women’s RaceNice, France
Oct 24VinFast IRONMAN World Championship – Men’s RaceKona, HI, USA
Dec 1IRONMAN 70.3 Western AustraliaBusselton, Western Australia
Dec 14-15VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World ChampionshipTaupō, New Zealand

 

“We wanted to find a way of recognizing the exceptional talent of our top professional triathletes while also giving up-and-coming professionals an opportunity to thrive and make their mark”, said Andrew Messick, President and CEO for The IRONMAN Group.

“The events have been carefully selected to ensure that they are accessible for our professional athletes, but also offer diverse courses so athletes can select races that are best suited to their strengths. We look forward to the inaugural race of the Pro Series at Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside, that will undoubtedly set the tone for an incredible year of racing.”
 

2024 IRONMAN Pro Series Prize Money – US$ (based on year-end standings)
 MenWomen 
First$200,000$200,000 
Second$130,000$130,000 
Third$85,000$85,000 
Fourth$70,000$70,000 
Fifth$50,000$50,000 
Sixth$40,000$40,000 
Seventh$30,000$30,000 
Eighth$20,000$20,000 
Ninth$15,000$15,000 
Tenth$10,000$10,000 
TOTAL TOP 10$650,000$650,000$1,300,000
11-50 equal payments$200,000$200,000$    400,000
Grand Total Bonus Pool  $1,700,000

 
www.ironman.com

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