PTO World Rankings: Langridge moves up – but not due to first IRONMAN win

Fenella Langridge ticked off an ambition for the season when winning her first IRONMAN race at the weekend as she took the tape in Western Australia.

The Brit, who had three full-distance runner-up spots to her name, was too strong for Sweden’s Lisa Norden in Busselton as she signed off her campaign in style.

But the relatively low strength-of-field rating (click here for more details) for the race meant her actual ranking points didn’t change.

However the fact that Sara Perez Sala fell seven places from #18 to #25 after her second place at CLASH Daytona dropped off the calculations as it moved outside the 12-month window, meant both Langridge and Norden each moved up a place to #18 and #19 respectively.

And it underlines how important races with stacked fields are in terms of the rankings, with Langridge’s 15th place at the PTO European Open in Ibiza in May earning her more points (78.82) than her cherished first IRONMAN win in Western Australia (77.64) – the best three counting to the final tally.

Virtually no change to top 20s

Not surprisingly then there were few changes to the top 20 of either the women’s or men’s standings.

And unless something remarkable happens in this week’s final two races of the season – 70.3 events in Bahrain and Taupo – the rankings below will bear a very close resemblance to the final 2023 ones.

Current PTO Rankings – Women

The leading women – as of December 4 2023 – are as follows:

• 1. Anne Haug (GER) 97.83
• 2. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) 97.67
• 3. Taylor Knibb (USA) 96.39
• 4. Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) 95.18
• 5. Laura Philipp (GER) 92.28
• 6. Kat Matthews (GBR) 91.26
• 7. Paula Findlay (CAN) 90.99
• 8. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 90.90
• 9. Imogen Simmonds (SUI) 90.55
• 10. Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) 89.31
• 11. Chelsea Sodaro (USA) 88.99
• 12. Marjolaine Pierre (FRA) 87.85
• 13. Skye Moench (USA) 87.54
• 14. Tamara Jewett (CAN) 87.12
• 15. India Lee (GBR) 86.77
• 16. Sarah True (USA) 86.50
• 17. Amelia Watkinson (NZL) 84.69
• 18. Fenella Langridge (GBR) 83.49
• 19. Lisa Norden (SWE) 83.35
• 20. Gurutze Frades (ESP) 83.28

Current PTO Rankings – Men

The leading men – as of December 4, 2023 – are as follows:

• 1. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) 96.93
• 2. Magnus Ditlev (DEN) 95.03
• 3. Jason West (USA) 94.42
• 4. Jan Frodeno (GER) 92.14
• 5. Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) 91.19
• 6. Mathis Margirier (FRA) 91.19
• 7. Rudy von Berg (USA) 90.48
• 8. Leon Chevalier (FRA) 90.19
• 9. Sam Long (USA) 90.14
• 10. Patrick Lange (GER) 89.45
• 11. Daniel Bækkegård (DEN) 89.07
• 12. Bradley Weiss (RSA) 88.54
• 13. Sam Laidlow (FRA) 88.13
• 14. Frederic Funk (GER) 86.99
• 15. Clement Mignon (FRA) 86.88
• 16. Aaron Royle (AUS) 85.62
• 17. David McNamee (GBR) – 85.07
• 18. Youri Keulen (NED) – 84.86
• 19. Menno Koolhaas (NED) – 84.32
• 20. Matthew Marquardt (USA) – 84.27

How do the PTO Rankings work?

This is not just about kudos – the top 50 athletes are fighting it out for a bonus pool worth a cool $2million in the ‘Race For The Rankings’. This will be dished out based on rankings at the end of 2023.

Each athlete has a points total which is an average of their three best races during the ranking period and all aspects of the process are covered here.

Final PTO Rankings for 2020

2020 was the first year that PTO implemented their Year End Annual Bonus Programme, to be based upon the PTO Rankings, eligible for the top-100 ranked athletes. Initially set at $2million, the impact of the COVID pandemic saw that paid out early – and with the total topped up to $2.5million.

That first year saw Jan Frodeno and Daniela Ryf top the pandemic-impacted rankings – Men | Women.

Final PTO Rankings for 2021

The final rankings for 2021 saw Lucy Charles-Barclay and Gustav Iden top their respective lists, both claiming a bumper $100k bonus in the process.

You can check out the final 2021 PTO Rankings by clicking here.

Final PTO Rankings for 2022

While Gustav Iden (second) and Lucy Charles-Barclays (fifth) still featured strongly in the 2022 points roundup – winning $90k and 60k, respectively – it was Kristian Blummenfelt and Anne Haug that took the tops spots and $100k bonuses.

You can check out the final 2022 PTO Rankings by clicking here.