Race organisers Challenge Family have revealed that Tim Don is Britain’s highest-earning triathlete in 2015 to date, sitting fourth in the men’s rankings just behind Spain’s Javier Gomez. Jodie Swallow is top GB woman in fifth place in the women’s listings topped by Daniela Ryf (SUI).
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Challenge has been tracking the earnings of every pro triathlete for the past 28 weeks across Challenge, WTC and ITU events, together with key independent races, after the idea was suggested at the Pro Athlete Forum it ran at Challenge Bahrain last December.
Daniela Ryf wins Ironman Frankfurt
Most impressively, Ryf is easily the highest-paid triathlete of all, with Challenge estimating she has earned $109k to date from five races – well above the men’s leader, Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) who’s earned $84k from six races. Gwen Jorgensen also fares very well after her incredible run of six consecutive WTS wins this year. Don is believed to have won $58k from four races, while Jodie Swallow is just behind with $57k from five races.
Don’s wins this year to date include Ironman 70.3 Monterrey, Ironman 70.3 Latin American Champs Brasilia and the Ironman 70.3 North American Champs St. George. He also came second at Ironman 70.3 Boulder. Many believe he could be a serious contender at the Ironman World Champs in Kona this October, and he told us in the April issue of 220 Triathlon magazine that he plans to swing his focus from 70.3 to Hawaii in mid-July.
Jodie Swallow on her way to winning Ironman South Africa
For her part, Swallow has already won the Ironman African Champs and 70.3 South Africa, and came third in St. George. Always a supremely strong swimmer and biker, Swallow only just missed out on a medal at Kona last year, coming fourth with a time of 9:10:19.
“Triathlon needs to move into line with premier sports like golf and tennis with a world ranking system,” said Challenge CEO, Zibi Szlufcik. “It not only rewards the best performed athletes, but provides a simple explanation to non-traditional media and the general public.”
By way of comparison, the top earner in tennis is Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, who’s earned $10m so far this year, including $2.8m from Wimbledon alone. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is golf’s highest earner right now, having earned an estimated $4m this year to date.
Alistair Brownlee celebrates winning WTS Cape Town
Elsewhere in the Challenge rankings, Alistair Brownlee sits fifth behind Tim Don with $48k to date, while younger brother Jonathan is thought to have earned $40k. Among the women, Liz Blatchford is second-highest British earner with $32k from five races, while Lucy Gossage and Vicky Holland have both earned $23k.
– To download the top 20 men, click here
– To download the top 20 women, click here
(Images: Ironman / Getty)
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