As the qualification window for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games effectively opens this weekend at WTCS Alghero, triathlon finds itself entering one of the most transformative periods in its history.

We sat down recently with World Triathlon President Antonio Fernández Arimany who outlined the governing body’s ambitious vision for the sport built around the new ‘Triathlon World Tour’ – a unified global structure being developed in partnership with the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO).

The plan aims to bring together four of the sport’s leading competitions under a single umbrella – the current T100 series, the World Triathlon Championship Series, World Cups and Challenge Family’s calendar.

The standout exception is obviously IRONMAN but Arimany told us talks are ongoing and he recently travelled to Tampa to meet up with Scott DeRue, CEO of the IRONMAN Group, of which he said: “It was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas about the present and future of our sport, as well as to explore avenues for collaboration to further promote the global growth of triathlon and foster new projects that benefit athletes, organisers, and fans around the world.”

Unified approach

Clearly it’s a good thing that there is dialogue and co-operation between the sport’s key organisations – and it’s an important step forward compared to the recent past.

The big driver in the ongoing partnership between World Triathlon and the PTO was the Deloitte report which was commissioned soon after Arimany became President and highlighted a major obstacle for the sport.

“It underlined that the sport was really fragmented from a commercial point of view,” he told TRI247.

“When we approached sponsors or investors, they were thinking, why should I invest in an event of World Triathlon, Challenge, IRONMAN or PTO?

“The main change that we’re introducing is to create the Triathlon World Tour, trying to unify as many events as possible and create a win-win situation for all of us.”

PTO partnership central to new vision

At the centre of that strategy is an increasingly close relationship between World Triathlon and the PTO, with both organisations taking on distinct responsibilities within the sport’s future structure.

“They will do the commercialisation of the sport,” Arimany said of the PTO.

“That’s sponsoring, TV, broadcasting rights – everything for the long term will be done by them.

“We are strong on officiating, on the technical part, on anti-doping. Once you understand where you are strong, it’s easier to reach an agreement.”

While World Triathlon remains the governing body, Arimany stressed that the sport’s future direction will be developed collaboratively: “We are working as partners. The decision is together and in the common interest.”

As mentioned earlier, the notable absence from the proposed structure is IRONMAN, though Arimany confirmed discussions had been well underway with DeRue long before his trip to Tampa.

“We have opened the door for them to be part of this and we are discussing how we can interact together,” he said. “There are many topics in which we can reach agreement like the rules and the officiating.”

‘Transition period’

All of which means that as the LA2028 qualification cycle begins, the sport is simultaneously undergoing a major structural evolution.

Arimany repeatedly emphasised that the Olympic Games remain “the pinnacle” of triathlon, but admitted the sport must do more to maintain momentum between Games cycles.
“We have to make our World Championship Series bigger and more known,” he said. “This is exactly the goal of creating this Triathlon World Tour.”

This year will see World Triathlon and the PTO continue integrating operations and event structures ahead of the official launch in 2027: “This year is important because we now start the Olympic qualification,” Arimany added. “The transition period is working well and the common interest is much higher.”

With the road to Los Angeles now officially beginning, triathlon’s athletes are not only chasing Olympic qualification – they are doing so at a moment when the sport itself is being reshaped around them.

In the next couple of weeks, we’ll focus on three key areas from our interview with the World Triathlon President – whether the sport can ever go mainstream if it’s behind a paywall, what it all means for the athletes, and why endurance sports like HYROX are part of World Triathlon’s broader vision of being a “multi-sport federation”.