Triathlon’s top earners: Who earned the most prize money in 2022?

Good morning everyone!

On Sunday I was able to compete in my first race of the season, the 44th annual Pancake 5k here in Phoenix, Arizona. I really had no expectations for this one, but luckily I had Nick Holmes, a Tempo reader, and up-and-coming triathlete to help push me the entire way. It was a fun/painful way to kick off the season, and the IHOP pancakes at the finish helped get me over the line. Hope you had a great weekend, racing or otherwise.

In this edition we've got,

• A breakdown on the top earners and trends in triathlon prize money 💰

• Strength training for a breakthrough Ironman 🏋️

• Your guide to becoming a morning exerciser 🌄

Thank you for being here.

-Matt Sharpe, Canadian Olympic triathlete, current long course racer, and now, a newsletter writer.

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ONE BIG THING

Record Profits Reported in Triathlon's 2022 Earning Season

What is it: Trirating.com's Thorsten Radde recently completed his annual deep dive into the top prize money earners in triathlon for the 2022 season. All figures cited are in USD.

• According to the article, Kristian Blummenfelt took the top spot for earnings by racing his way to over $490,000.

• Ashleigh Gentle was the highest-earning female athlete finishing the 2022 season having earned over $351,000.

Why it matters: After a massive drop in earnings in 2020, 2022 brought about a return to normalcy for professional triathletes. It was also an interesting season having two seperate Ironman World Championships which come with strong payouts for the top finishers. Plus, the continuous rise of the PTO has been a boon to long-course athletes.

• In an encouraging sign of the gender parity in triathlon, 16 of the 33 athletes that made over $100,000 in prize money were women.

Tempo's take: Big picture, we're super happy to see pro triathletes have the opportunity to make a living from the sport. And it's encouraging to see the diverse racing opportunities for the athletes, including PTO, World Triathlon, Ironman, Challenge, Super League, and independents. 

• Like in any industry, competition leads to progress and innovation, while a monopoly only results in stagnation and worsening outcomes for stakeholders.

The prize money list also tells the tale of the range of certain athletes. Blummenfelt, Iden, Knibb, and Duffy were all able to make significant incomes by being successful at short course AND long-course. In 2023 we would love to see which athletes can be the most successful from Super League all the way to Ironman distances!

NEWS

😈 Tassie triumph: Local boy and Australian Olympian Jake Birtwhistle took the win in the men's race at the Ironman 70.3 Tasmania in Hobart. Australia's Ellie Salthouse smashed the competition to take the overall win in the female event. Locals' concerns of event-related traffic disruptions were allayed after a successful inaugural event. [ABC News]

🛷 Indoor Iditarod: "Anyone and everyone," are invited to participate in the Petersburg, Alaska indoor triathlon. It's a twist on the classic triathlon with participants racing over time instead of distances. The event will kick off February 11th at 1 PM at the Parks and recreation center. [KFSK]

🕹️ Sanders x SLT: In a huge announcement, it appears as though Canadian long-course star Lionel Sanders, will be kicking off his season at the Montreal edition of the Super League Triathlon Arena Games on February 25th. Known to shred legs IRL, we're sure he'll be doing it virtually as well. [Super League Triathlon]

🥥 Phuket! Let's race: The six-race Blue Tree Phuket children's triathlon series saw its first event successfully held on January 23rd. The Phuket, Thailand-based event series aims to offer a safe and inclusive environment for kids to build swim, bike, and run sports skills. Next up, is a kid's mountain bike event on June 10th! [The Phuket News]

👟 Shoe sham: A sneaky rule entry by Ironman, as spotted by the crew at ProTriNews clearly shows that the era of the super super-shoe is over. Ironman races will now adhere to shoe guidelines set forth by World Athletics.

EXPERT ANALYSIS

Strength Training for Your Best Ironman Finish

Jaromir "Jarek" Szurlej has his masters in Physical Education, is certified in CSCS, is a Certified Personal Trainer, and an RRCA Long Distance Running Coach. In this article, he breaks down what he believes are the most important principles of strength training for an Ironman, and the exercises that helped him qualify for Kona in his first year of training.

There are many reasons why a triathlete’s form falls apart: fatigue, dehydration, and glycogen depletion. But the main reason is muscular imbalance. And the longer the race, the more obvious it becomes. Muscles that are not firing properly when participating in shorter events shut down completely during lM. And you end up hobbling to the finish line.

So what type of strength training should you be doing?

Let me state the obvious: The fitness world is oversaturated with fad training methods that are unnecessary and often can be counterproductive for endurance athletes. So instead, focus on fundamental movements.

1) Hip Hinge (examples: deadlift, kettlebell swing, Romanian deadlift, good morning)

My #1 pick, without a doubt, is the single-leg Romanian deadlift (RDL). RDL movement starts with eccentric contraction, which means that our glutes and hamstrings are lengthened under tension. The ascending portion of the exercise requires the muscles to contract yet again, this time during shortening. This pattern works our central nervous system and the elastic properties of the muscle. It's a huge gain for triathletes who are constantly overloading the quads (heavily dominant while cycling and running) which results in hamstring muscles being tight and weak - a combination that may lead to strains and tears.

2) Anti-rotation (examples: Pallof press, plank with shoulder tap, bird dogs)

My choice - plank pull through. This exercise directly benefits both running and freestyle swimming, since the objective is to keep your hips stable while allowing your limbs not only to move but also to work against the resistance.

Check out the rest of the article to learn more about why,

• Anti-rotation exercises benefit running and swimming,

• Why push AND pull exercises are critical, and

• Why compatibility is a key lens to view strength training.

Read the full article.

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FAVOURITES

🌞 Morning training, hacked: Exercising in the early morning hours can be hard! It's often dark, bitterly cold, and the warmth of a cozy bed is always excruciating to leave. But for those looking for a way to make the AM training more bearable, The New York Times put together a comprehensive list of how to become a morning workout person. The second one is actually a really simple but great trick! [New York Times]

🏃‍♀️ Steeple_Tri: Olympic Steeplechaser Colleen Quigley is the latest runner-turned-triathlete. After using swimming and biking to rehab from running injuries, she now has her sights set on her first event, the Tritonman Triathlon in San Diego on February 11th, with her goal being to earn her pro card. She says she still wants to compete as a professional runner, but we all know that's what all the runners say before their first Tri! [Women's Running]

🏘️ Racing against authorities: Russian sanctions, money laundering, and Ironman? Read the thrilling Politico account of the search for Vladimir Putin's ex-wife, and the uncovering of her Ironman-racing husband's real estate empire. [Politico]

Are you interested in reaching our triathlon and Ironman audience? Contact us today.

EXCLUSIVE TEMPO INTERVIEWS

• Scott Tindal on eating properly for Ironman training.

• Performance psychologist Alex Auerbach on why you should celebrate the small wins.

• the four most common nutrition mistakes according to registered dietician Meghan Stock.

• In 2023, what is the state of the sport? Good! According to race director, Mark Wilson.

COMMUNITY QUESTION

Do you have a burning question about triathlon or Ironman? Want to share a racing tip? Let us know and it could be featured in the newsletter.

Are you racing this weekend? Or any epic training sessions? We'd love to hear about them. Send us your photos or a race recap, and we will feature them in next Tuesday's edition!

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