<\/p>
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\u2019s also become the wild west of endurance sport and the saloon doors won\u2019t stop swinging. I\u2019ll explain.<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n So far this year we\u2019ve had Daniela Ryf<\/strong><\/a> swimming in a wetsuit banned nine years ago for having forearm panels; Gustav Iden<\/strong><\/a> 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\u2019ll probably never be available \u2028to the public.<\/p>\n All this stuff is on the edge of legality and sometimes \u2013 certainly in the case of Ryf\u2019s wetsuit \u2013 tips over. But it could also actually be argued as a dereliction of their professional duty if the athletes didn\u2019t push for this competitive advantage.<\/p>\n Where it is going wrong is with World Triathlon, Ironman and the Professional Triathlete Organisation\u2019s inability to establish clear rules and then enforce them properly.<\/p>\n Ryf\u2019s wetsuit was illegal but no punishment was forthcoming. Iden\u2019s shoes breached World Athletics\u2019 rules, but World Triathlon, and subsequently Ironman, aren\u2019t implementing them (they used to), meaning that right now \u2013 as bizarre as it seems \u2013 you could run in anything you like with impunity, including actual springs.<\/p>\n Perhaps more troubling still is the lack of consistency and erratic implementation of rules that it\u2019s hard to decipher are in place anyway.<\/p>\n Contrast the Ironman 70.3 Worlds \u2013 where race-defining 5min penalties were handed out to Sam Long<\/strong><\/a> and India Lee for the most dubious of infractions \u2013 with the PTO Canadian Open in Edmonton, where drafting was visibly rife yet marshals absent.<\/p>\n Or Hayden Wilde<\/strong><\/a> being penalised in the Commonwealth Games<\/strong><\/a> for touching his helmet strap, while Magnus Ditlev<\/strong><\/a> runs from T1 in St George without his helmet on at all.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Illustration: Daniel Seex<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By Tim Heming Published: Tuesday, 29 November 2022 at 12:00 am 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\u2019s also become the wild west of endurance sport and the saloon doors won\u2019t stop swinging. I\u2019ll explain. Triathlon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":19575,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/11\/is-pro-triathlon-becoming-the-wild-west-scaled.jpg",2560,1780,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/11\/is-pro-triathlon-becoming-the-wild-west-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/11\/is-pro-triathlon-becoming-the-wild-west-300x209.jpg",300,209,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/11\/is-pro-triathlon-becoming-the-wild-west-768x534.jpg",768,534,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/11\/is-pro-triathlon-becoming-the-wild-west-1024x712.jpg",800,556,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/11\/is-pro-triathlon-becoming-the-wild-west-1536x1068.jpg",1536,1068,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/11\/is-pro-triathlon-becoming-the-wild-west-2048x1424.jpg",2048,1424,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Tim Heming Published: Tuesday, 29 November 2022 at 12:00 am 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\u2019s also become the wild west of endurance sport and the saloon doors won\u2019t stop swinging. I\u2019ll explain. Triathlon…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/19574"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The edge of legality<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lack of consistency\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"