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Deep Dive Into 2018 Triathlon Money List

During the 2018 season, I’ve continued to process the results of all Ironman and 70.3 races, the Challenge racing series, the highest level of ITU racing (the “World Triathlon Series” WTS) and a couple of independent races. With this data, I’ve helped Challenge produce their regular Money List. Challenge updates the current Top 50 athletes on their website on a regular basis and will likely to continue to do so for the 2019 season. This post has a closer look at the different segments and some overall trends for the 2018 season.

Overview

First, here is an overview of the races that are included in the money lists and a comparison to the 2016 season. The total is shown in US$, for races that paid their prize purse in a different currency the amounts have been converted into US$.

Type Description Total Money Change to
2017
# Races
(2017)
# Athletes
(2017)
Ironman WTC Ironman-branded races $2.622.750 -2,0% 35 (33) 295 (284)
70.3 WTC 70.3-branded races $2.245.000 -5,0% 71 (73) 385 (397)
Challenge Challenge-branded full and half-distance
races (incl. Bonus Pool)
$1.116.042 3,0% 29 (34) 196 (240)
ITU ITU WTS races (incl. Bonus Pool) $2.185.000 -6,4% 9 (10) 102 (125)
Other Wildflower, Escape From Alcatraz, ITU Long Distance Worlds, Alpe D’Huez L,
Embrun, Gerardmer XL, SuperLeague Jersey, Malta and Mallorca,
XTerra World Championships, Noosa Triathlon, Laguna Phuket Triathlon
$1.225.802 n/a 12 (9) 183 (117)
Total $9.212.696 n/a 156 (159) 764 (784)

A couple of observations:

  • For Ironman and 70.3s we saw another decline of the prize money in 2018. The total number of WTC Pro races hasn’t changed but the purse for a lot of races has decreased in this year. The total prize money WTC has awarded in 2018 has declined by 3.4%, following a decrease of 5.7% in 2017. The WTC prize money has shrunk by almost $500.000 in the last two years!
  • Challenge has continued to expand their prize purse. The fewer number of Pro races has resulted in fewer athletes earning money but that was more than compensated by the increased purse in Roth and the new race in Daytona.
  • It looks as if the ITU has reduced their prize money as they have one less paying race as part of their WTS series, but that is almost completely offset by one more  Mixed Team Relay that is not included in the Prize Money List.
  • Since the races that I include in the “Other” category are changing from year to year, you can’t really compare the numbers for this category and the total numbers from year to year.

Overall Money List

The overall list is of course dominated by athletes that have raced well in the “Big Money Races” such as the Ironman or 70.3 World Championships  ($650.000 and $250.000) or Challenge Roth ($200.000) and those that placed well in a number of ITU WTS races and consequently also in the ITU Bonus Pool ($855.000).

This season’s top money earner is Daniela Ryf (who once again won both the Ironman and 70.3 Championships), even though she earned slightly less money than last year. (This is an indication of her lighter racing schedule this year.) She is followed by three ITU athletes – the WTS series winners Mario Mola and Vicky Holland and second place Katie Zaferes who also earned a lot of money by racing and winning SuperLeague.

The top earners have made less money in 2018 (last year Flora Duffy made $295.000), but the amount to make it into the Top20 is almost unchanged. Last year Yvonne Van Vlerken was 20th with $73.388, this year’s 20th Kirsten Kasper earned just $138 less.

Dani Kona

Photo: By the time she started the marathon, Dani was in control of the Kona race that helped her secure the top spot in the overall money list. Credit: Ingo Kutsche

# Name Nation Sex Total Ironman 70.3 Challenge WTS Other
1 Daniela Ryf SUI F $201.000 $150.000 $51.000
2 Mario Mola ESP M $199.500 $197.500 $2.000
3 Katie Zaferes USA F $177.400 $117.400 $60.000
4 Vicky Holland GBR F $166.100 $163.100 $3.000
5 Lucy Charles GBR F $165.000 $90.000 $20.000 $55.000
6 Vincent Luis FRA M $159.300 $109.300 $50.000
7 Patrick Lange GER M $134.485 $128.000 $4.750 $1.735
8 Sebastian Kienle GER M $103.014 $10.000 $93.014
9 Richard Murray ZAF M $99.850 $70.850 $29.000
10 Anne Haug GER F $92.500 $46.500 $31.000 $15.000
11 Henri Schoeman ZAF M $91.400 $46.400 $45.000
12 Jan Frodeno GER M $90.000 $30.000 $60.000
13 Michael Weiss AUT M $89.000 $53.000 $36.000
14 Kristian Blummenfelt NOR M $87.150 $14.000 $63.150 $10.000
15 Bart Aernouts BEL M $85.175 $75.000 $6.250 $1.425 $2.500
16 Lionel Sanders CAN M $81.000 $6.000 $45.000 $30.000
17 Jake Birtwhistle AUS M $80.400 $80.400
18 Georgia Taylor-Brown GBR F $78.800 $72.800 $6.000
19 Ashleigh Gentle AUS F $73.461 $57.350 $16.111
20 Kirsten Kasper USA F $73.250 $50.250 $23.000

WTC Races

The first “subcategory” of the Money List I want to take a closer look at is the money earned in WTC races (i.e. Ironman-branded and 70.3-branded races). This list is clearly dominated by athletes that did well in the two “biggest money races”, Kona and the 70.3 Championships – as last year the two top spots are occupied by the Kona winners Daniela Ryf and Patrick Lange.

Dani 703WC

Photo: Daniela leading 70.3 Worlds in front of Lucy Charles, Credit: Donald Miralle/Getty Images for IRONMAN

# Name Nation Sex WTC Money Ironman 70.3 Total
1 Daniela Ryf SUI F $201.000 $150.000 $51.000 $201.000
2 Patrick Lange GER M $132.750 $128.000 $4.750 $134.485
3 Lucy Charles GBR F $110.000 $90.000 $20.000 $165.000
4 Jan Frodeno GER M $90.000 $30.000 $60.000 $90.000
5 Michael Weiss AUT M $89.000 $53.000 $36.000 $89.000
6 Bart Aernouts BEL M $81.250 $75.000 $6.250 $85.175
7 Anne Haug GER F $77.500 $46.500 $31.000 $92.500
8 Sarah Crowley AUS F $64.000 $59.000 $5.000 $64.000
9 Mirinda Carfrae AUS F $61.000 $36.000 $25.000 $66.000
10 Braden Currie NZL M $59.000 $49.000 $10.000 $61.015
11 Melissa Hauschildt AUS F $54.500 $30.000 $24.500 $54.500
12 Matt Hanson USA M $52.250 $40.000 $12.250 $52.250
13 Sarah True USA F $51.750 $37.500 $14.250 $51.750
14 Lionel Sanders CAN M $51.000 $6.000 $45.000 $81.000
15 Terenzo Bozzone NZL M $50.000 $30.000 $20.000 $50.000
16 David McNamee GBR M $47.750 $40.000 $7.750 $47.750
17 Rodolphe Von Berg USA M $44.000 $44.000 $49.000
17 Timothy O’Donnell USA M $44.000 $29.000 $15.000 $46.400
19 Heather Jackson USA F $43.500 $30.000 $13.500 $48.500
20 Cody Beals CAN M $41.750 $27.000 $14.750 $41.750

Ironman (outside of Kona)

When looking at a list just for Ironman races, it’s interesting to exclude Kona (as including Kona skews the rankings towards those that did well there). Without the Kona money, this list is dominated by multiple winners (or at least podium finishers) such as Sarah Crowley (winner in Mar del Plata and Hamburg, third in Frankfurt) and the other athletes who won a Regional Championship in 2018.

CrowleyHH

Photo: Sarah Crowley winning IM Hamburg, Credit: TriRating

# Name Nation Sex IM Money Total Money
1 Crowley, Sarah AUS F $43.000 $64.000
1 Weiss, Michael AUT M $43.000 $89.000
3 Hanson, Matt USA M $40.000 $52.250
4 Adam, Teresa NZL F $36.000 $36.000
5 Buckingham, Kyle ZAF M $33.500 $34.750
6 Abraham, Corinne GBR F $30.000 $45.338
6 Bozzone, Terenzo NZL M $30.000 $50.000
6 Charles, Lucy GBR F $30.000 $165.000
6 Currie, Braden NZL M $30.000 $61.015
6 Frodeno, Jan GER M $30.000 $90.000
6 Hauschildt, Melissa AUS F $30.000 $54.500
6 Jackson, Heather USA F $30.000 $48.500
6 Ryf, Daniela SUI F $30.000 $201.000
14 Cheetham, Susie GBR F $27.500 $31.000
15 Beals, Cody CAN M $27.000 $41.750
16 Corbin, Linsey USA F $23.000 $40.000
17 Skipper, Joe GBR M $21.500 $43.925
18 Gossage, Lucy GBR F $21.000 $32.088
19 Amberger, Josh AUS M $20.000 $25.750
19 Siddall, Laura GBR F $20.000 $67.616
19 Svensson, Jesper SWE M $20.000 $21.425

70.3 (outside of 70.3 Championships)

Similar to the Ironman list above, leaving out the Championships shows athletes that have raced well across a number of 70.3s in the 2018 season. The list is topped by Lionel Sanders (five 70.3 wins, only beaten by Jan Frodeno at 70.3 Oceanside), Rodolphe Van Berg and Ellie Salthouse (both had five 70.3 podiums including three wins).

Lionel Indian Wells

Photo: Lionel Sanders on the run at his win at 70.3 Indian Wells. Credit: TalbotCox

# Name Nation Sex 70.3 Money Total Money
1 Sanders, Lionel CAN M $45.000 $81.000
2 Von Berg, Rodolphe USA M $39.500 $49.000
3 Salthouse, Ellie AUS F $34.750 $41.250
4 Appleton, Sam AUS M $33.250 $39.750
5 Weiss, Michael AUT M $31.000 $89.000
6 Kahlefeldt, Radka CZE F $30.000 $58.917
7 Oliveira, Pamella BRA F $29.500 $39.500
8 Laundry, Jackson CAN M $28.750 $28.750
9 Seymour, Jeanni ZAF F $28.500 $34.500
10 Kessler, Meredith USA F $26.000 $37.000
11 Findlay, Paula CAN F $25.500 $28.000
11 Starykowicz, Andrew USA M $25.500 $30.000
13 Carfrae, Mirinda AUS F $25.000 $66.000
14 Mendez Cruz, Mauricio MEX M $24.750 $26.250
15 Hauschildt, Melissa AUS F $24.500 $54.500
16 Reed, Tim AUS M $22.000 $24.000
17 Lawrence, Holly GBR F $21.250 $21.250
18 Philipp, Laura GER F $21.000 $29.000
19 Wurtele, Heather CAN F $20.250 $30.588
20 Bozzone, Terenzo NZL M $20.000 $50.000

Challenge

The Challenge money list is dominated by athletes who focused their summer racing on the Challenge races and placing well in the Challenge Bonus Pool ($ 165.000 total). Sebastian Kienle took the win at Challenge Roth and three half-distance races, Pablo Dapena either won or placed second in all his eight Challenge races this year. Yvonne Van Vlerken won the female Bonus Pool by winning Challenge Almere and three half-distance races.

SebiRoth

Photo: Sebastian Kienle on the bike leg of Challenge Roth, Credit: James Mitchell

# Name Nation Sex Challenge Money Total Money
1 Kienle, Sebastian GER M $93.014 $103.014
2 Van Vlerken, Yvonne NED F $60.505 $71.255
3 Charles, Lucy GBR F $55.000 $165.000
4 Dapena Gonzalez, Pablo ESP M $52.144 $62.144
5 Siddall, Laura GBR F $47.616 $67.616
6 Saemmler, Daniela GER F $44.338 $59.588
7 Heemeryck, Pieter BEL M $37.134 $46.634
8 Dreitz, Andreas GER M $30.838 $33.338
9 Sanders, Lionel CAN M $30.000 $81.000
10 Verstuyft, Katrien BEL F $29.307 $31.307
11 Kovacic, Jaroslav SLO M $28.832 $47.424
12 Roberts, Lisa USA F $22.254 $36.748
13 Sali, Kaisa FIN F $20.000 $52.000
14 Wurf, Cameron AUS M $17.986 $48.486
15 Thomas, Jesse USA M $17.707 $22.957
16 Kahlefeldt, Radka CZE F $17.213 $58.917
17 Haug, Anne GER F $15.000 $92.500
18 Santimaria, Margie ITA F $14.358 $14.358
19 McNeice, Dylan NZL M $11.119 $11.119
20 Lewis, Sarah GBR F $10.176 $21.426

ITU

As noted above, the ITU Money List is a reflection of the order of athletes in the final WTS rankings, the top athletes are this year’s champions Mario Mola and Vicky Holland. All of these athletes focused on shorter distances, earning all additional money on other short course racing such as SuperLeague. (The exceptions are Kristian Blummenfelt and Casper Stornes who finished first and third at 70.3 Bahrain in December.)

Mola

Foto Credit: © ITU Media, Wagner Araujo

# Name Nation Sex ITU Money Share of Total Total Money
1 Mola, Mario ESP M $197.500 99% $199.500
2 Holland, Vicky GBR F $163.100 98% $166.100
3 Zaferes, Katie USA F $117.400 66% $177.400
4 Luis, Vincent FRA M $109.300 69% $159.300
5 Birtwhistle, Jake AUS M $80.400 100% $80.400
6 Taylor-Brown, Georgia GBR F $72.800 92% $78.800
7 Murray, Richard ZAF M $70.850 71% $99.850
8 Blummenfelt, Kristian NOR M $63.150 72% $87.150
9 Gentle, Ashleigh AUS F $57.350 78% $73.461
10 Kasper, Kirsten USA F $50.250 69% $73.250
11 Learmonth, Jessica GBR F $47.850 100% $47.850
12 Duffy, Flora BER F $47.800 100% $47.800
13 Schoeman, Henri ZAF M $46.400 51% $91.400
14 Alarza, Fernando ESP M $40.550 93% $43.550
15 Klamer, Rachel NED F $40.000 64% $62.200
16 Lindemann, Laura GER F $37.600 100% $37.600
17 Stimpson, Jodie GBR F $34.800 77% $45.100
18 Spivey, Taylor USA F $31.450 60% $52.450
19 Le Corre, Pierre FRA M $30.750 100% $30.750
20 Stornes, Casper NOR M $29.050 87% $33.550
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