After the dip in racing and prize money during the Covid years of 2020 and 2021, we’ve now had two almost normal years of Pro racing. This post looks at the overall trends and which athletes have been making good money in different categories.
If you want to check out the 2022 analysis, you can find it in my post “Deep Dive Into 2022 Triathlon Money List“.
Money List – Overview
First, here is an overview of the races that are included in the money lists and comparisons to the 2022 and 2019 seasons. The totals are 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 2023 |
Change to 2022 |
Total Money 2022 |
# Pro Events 2023 (2022) |
| Ironman | WTC Ironman-branded races | $ 2.624.400 | – 21% | $ 3.338.400 | 26 (27) |
| 70.3 | WTC 70.3-branded races | $ 1.758.000 | + 12% | $ 1.566.100 | 45 (42) |
| PTO | PTO races (incl. Bonus Pool) | $ 3.769.500 | – 32% | $ 5.563.000 | 4 (4) |
| Challenge | Challenge- and Clash-branded full and half-distance races (incl. Bonus Pool) |
$ 934.408 | + 15% | $ 811.920 | 30 (20) |
| WTCS | World Triathlon Championship Series (incl. Bonus Pool) | $ 1.840.000 | – 5% | $ 1.930.000 | 9 (8) |
| SuperLeague | SuperLeague Professional Events | $ 850.000 | – 14% | $ 987.000 | 5 (6) |
| Other | Independent Races (e.g Embrun, XTerra World Championships, Alpe D’Huez) |
$ 716.890 | – 12% | $ 814.745 | 26 (24) |
| Total | $ 12.493.198 | – 17% | $ 15.011.165 | 145 (131) |
Some observations:
- Ironman prize money is down by 21% compared to 2022, but that is mostly due to two World Championship events in 2022 which each paid US$ 750.000.
- Prize money for 70.3s is slightly up, partly because of a small increase in the number of Pro events but also better prize purses. The average money per race has gone up from 37k to 39k.
- In previous years, the PTO money has significantly increased. For 2023 they have taken a step back, most of it is because they have skipped the well-paid Collins Cup in favour of preparing for an extended race calendar in 2024. (Details haven’t been announced yet, but there are rumored to be six to eight races on the PTO Tour after three this year.) The PTO events (including their Bonus payments) have the highest average purse at 942k per event.
- In 2023, Challenge have extended their race calendar from 20 events last year to 30 races. Even with Clash (counted in the Challenge category) no longer offering Pro purses, Challenge have also increased their prize money by 15%.
- Even with one additional event, WTCS numbers are slightly down after restructuring their prize purses. Their average purse (including their Bonus Pool) has gone down from 240k to 204k.
- SuperLeague is another well-paying short-course series – with one fewer event their prize money has slightly decreased in 2023, but they still pay 170k on average.
- The number of independent races that are included has stabilized at a high level. Most of these are smaller events that are just at the minimum 10k US$ to be included in the PTO World Rankings.
At the end of 2023, Ironman have announced their own bonus structure to be paid at the end of 2024. Therefore, here’s a look over a longer period at the development of the Prize Money paid by WTC over the years for Ironman and 70.3 races:
Some key numbers and observations:
- In 2015, the first year I have usable prize money data for all WTC events, just under 5.35 Mill.US$ was paid to professional athletes, 2.9 Mill.US for 31 Ironman races (an average of 94.2kUS$ per Ironman) and 2.4 Mill.US$ for 68 70.3 races (35.7k US$ per 70.3 on average).
- The total money was about the same for 2016, with the total money for Ironman races going slightly down and the amount for 70.3s slightly up (mainly because their number also went up to 75 events).
- Up to 2019, the total WTC prize money has declined to 4.6 Mill.US$, 2.47 Mill. for Ironman (32 events, average purse of 77k) and 2.15 Mill. for 70.3s (71 events, average purse of 30k).
- With the severely reduced racing in 2020 and 2021, the prize purses also went down.
- With two Ironman World Championships in 2022, the money for Ironman races went up to 3.3 Mill (27 events, average of 123.6k) while the 70.3 money went down to 1.57 Mill (42 Pro events, average of 37k).
- The overall money went down again in 2023, with a total of 4.38 Mill US$ it is the lowest number since 2015 (excluding the Covid years). Money for Ironman races was at 2.6 Mill. (26 events, some of them single-gender races, average of 101k), while 70.3s paid a total of 1.76 Mill US$ (45 events, average of 39k USD, the highest ever average)
- Ironman’s “Pro Series” will pay a total end-of year bonus of 1.7 Mill. They are not changing the money directly paid at these events, and it’ll be interesting to see if the series will have an impact on the number of Pro events (and the money paid out) throughout the year.
Overall Money List
Anne Haug is the overall leader of the 2023 Triathlon Money List, earning just over 335.00 US$. With the reduced PTO money this is less than last year’s top earner Kristian Blummenfelt (he made almost 500.000 US$ in 2022), but still a fair bit up form the 2021 top earner. (Daniela Ryf made 244.000 in 2021.) The number of athletes making more than $100.000 is only slightly lower this year, there were 29 athletes in 2023 compared to 33 in 2022. There was a total of 818 athletes who were able to earn prize money in 2023, up from 762 athletes in 2022.
Photo: Anne Haug wins the PTO European Open, provided by the PTO.
| # | Name | Nation | Sex | Total | Ironman | 70.3 | PTO | Challenge | WTCS | SuperLeague | Other |
| 1 | Anne Haug | GER | F | $335,788 | $65,000 | $3,000 | $250,000 | $17,788 | |||
| 2 | Kristian Blummenfelt | NOR | M | $325,775 | $285,000 | $25,775 | $15,000 | ||||
| 3 | Ashleigh Gentle | AUS | F | $323,821 | $18,750 | $290,000 | $15,071 | ||||
| 4 | Taylor Knibb | USA | F | $281,700 | $25,000 | $57,500 | $180,000 | $19,200 | |||
| 5 | Lucy Charles-Barclay | GBR | F | $246,750 | $125,000 | $2,750 | $119,000 | ||||
| 6 | Magnus Ditlev | DEN | M | $202,953 | $49,000 | $127,000 | $26,953 | ||||
| 7 | Jan Frodeno | GER | M | $196,500 | $7,500 | $4,000 | $185,000 | ||||
| 8 | Jason West | USA | M | $190,500 | $8,000 | $175,000 | $7,500 | ||||
| 9 | Hayden Wilde | NZL | M | $190,338 | $4,000 | $99,500 | $76,000 | $10,838 | |||
| 10 | Leo Bergere | FRA | M | $181,600 | $7,500 | $69,100 | $105,000 | ||||
| 11 | Beth Potter | GBR | F | $172,600 | $159,600 | $13,000 | |||||
| 12 | Cassandre Beaugrand | FRA | F | $163,900 | $108,900 | $55,000 | |||||
| 13 | Laura Philipp | GER | F | $163,125 | $70,000 | $24,500 | $60,000 | $8,625 | |||
| 14 | Pieter Heemeryck | BEL | M | $162,791 | $27,000 | $16,900 | $113,500 | $5,391 | |||
| 15 | Sam Laidlow | FRA | M | $154,801 | $125,000 | $21,500 | $8,301 | ||||
| 16 | Kate Waugh | GBR | F | $139,500 | $42,500 | $93,000 | $4,000 | ||||
| 17 | Mathis Margirier | FRA | M | $132,496 | $14,250 | $65,000 | $53,246 | ||||
| 18 | Alex Yee | GBR | M | $126,500 | $66,500 | $60,000 | |||||
| 19 | Katrina Matthews | GBR | F | $125,750 | $28,000 | $40,750 | $57,000 | ||||
| 20 | Emma Lombardi | FRA | F | $122,100 | $66,100 | $56,000 | |||||
| 21 | Dorian Coninx | FRA | M | $121,400 | $121,400 | ||||||
| 22 | Paula Findlay | CAN | F | $116,500 | $26,500 | $90,000 | |||||
| 23 | Patrick Lange | GER | M | $116,181 | $68,500 | $2,750 | $30,000 | $14,931 | |||
| 24 | Rudy Von Berg | USA | M | $115,500 | $68,000 | $47,500 | |||||
| 25 | Imogen Simmonds | SUI | F | $112,684 | $25,000 | $55,000 | $32,684 | ||||
| 26 | Sam Long | USA | M | $106,750 | $4,250 | $40,500 | $59,000 | $3,000 | |||
| 27 | Leon Chevalier | FRA | M | $103,500 | $57,000 | $4,000 | $42,500 | ||||
| 28 | Max Neumann | AUS | M | $103,478 | $100,000 | $3,478 | |||||
| 29 | Jeanne Lehair | LUX | F | $101,550 | $26,550 | $75,000 | |||||
| 30 | Daniela Ryf | SUI | F | $99,953 | $20,000 | $11,000 | $42,000 | $26,953 |
PTO Events
Ashleigh Gentle continues to be the best money earner in PTO tour events: Last year she topped the PTO Money List at 325k, this year she earned slightly less than 300k. Most of the athletes in the table below made a significant part of their 2023 earnings from the PTO. The exception is usually athletes who did well at WTC events, for example Lucy Charles-Barclay (48% from the PTO), Rudy von Berg (41%) or Laura Philipp (37%). There were 124 athletes who earned PTO money in 2023.
Photo: Ashleigh raising the banner at the PTO Asian Open, provided by the PTO.
| # | Name | Sex | PTO | Total | Share |
| 1 | Ashleigh Gentle | F | $ 290.000 | $ 323.821 | 90% |
| 2 | Kristian Blummenfelt | M | $ 285.000 | $ 325.775 | 87% |
| 3 | Anne Haug | F | $ 250.000 | $ 335.788 | 74% |
| 4 | Jan Frodeno | M | $ 185.000 | $ 196.500 | 94% |
| 5 | Taylor Knibb | F | $ 180.000 | $ 281.700 | 64% |
| 6 | Jason West | M | $ 175.000 | $ 190.500 | 92% |
| 7 | Magnus Ditlev | M | $ 127.000 | $ 202.953 | 63% |
| 8 | Lucy Charles-Barclay | F | $ 119.000 | $ 246.750 | 48% |
| 9 | Pieter Heemeryck | M | $ 113.500 | $ 162.791 | 70% |
| 10 | Max Neumann | M | $ 100.000 | $ 103.478 | 97% |
| 11 | Paula Findlay | F | $ 90.000 | $ 116.500 | 77% |
| 12 | Mathis Margirier | M | $ 65.000 | $ 132.496 | 49% |
| 13 | Chelsea Sodaro | F | $ 62.000 | $ 85.000 | 73% |
| 14 | Laura Philipp | F | $ 60.000 | $ 163.125 | 37% |
| 15 | Sam Long | M | $ 59.000 | $ 106.750 | 55% |
| 16 | Katrina Matthews | F | $ 57.000 | $ 125.750 | 45% |
| 17 | Imogen Simmonds | F | $ 55.000 | $ 112.684 | 49% |
| 18 | Daniel Baekkegard | M | $ 50.000 | $ 73.110 | 68% |
| 19 | Rudy Von Berg | M | $ 47.500 | $ 115.500 | 41% |
| 20 | Emma Pallant-Browne | F | $ 45.000 | $ 78.264 | 57% |
| 21 | Leon Chevalier | M | $ 42.500 | $ 103.500 | 41% |
| 22 | Daniela Ryf | F | $ 42.000 | $ 99.953 | 42% |
| 23 | David McNamee | M | $ 34.000 | $ 50.498 | 67% |
| 24 | Aaron Royle | M | $ 32.500 | $ 47.216 | 69% |
| 25 | Tamara Jewett | F | $ 31.500 | $ 59.500 | 53% |
WTC Races
The WTC money list is topped by the Nice and Kona winners, Sam Laidlow and Lucy Charles-Barclay – winning 125k at these events was enough to be placed ahead of everyone else. All in all, there were 524 athletes who earned prize money from WTC in 2023.
Photo: Lucy Charles-Barclay celebrating her win at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, provided by Ironman.
| # | Name | Sex | IM | 70.3 | WTC | Total | Share |
| 1 | Lucy Charles-Barclay | F | $ 125.000 | $ 2.750 | $ 127.750 | $ 246.750 | 52% |
| 2 | Sam Laidlow | M | $ 125.000 | $ 125.000 | $ 154.801 | 81% | |
| 3 | Laura Philipp | F | $ 70.000 | $ 24.500 | $ 94.500 | $ 163.125 | 58% |
| 4 | Taylor Knibb | F | $ 25.000 | $ 57.500 | $ 82.500 | $ 281.700 | 29% |
| 5 | Patrick Lange | M | $ 68.500 | $ 2.750 | $ 71.250 | $ 116.181 | 61% |
| 6 | Katrina Matthews | F | $ 28.000 | $ 40.750 | $ 68.750 | $ 125.750 | 55% |
| 7 | Anne Haug | F | $ 65.000 | $ 3.000 | $ 68.000 | $ 335.788 | 20% |
| 7 | Rudy Von Berg | M | $ 68.000 | $ 68.000 | $ 115.500 | 59% | |
| 9 | Leon Chevalier | M | $ 57.000 | $ 4.000 | $ 61.000 | $ 103.500 | 59% |
| 10 | Rico Bogen | M | $ 56.750 | $ 56.750 | $ 68.709 | 83% | |
| 11 | Skye Moench | F | $ 45.000 | $ 11.000 | $ 56.000 | $ 80.000 | 70% |
| 12 | Magnus Ditlev | M | $ 49.000 | $ 49.000 | $ 202.953 | 24% | |
| 13 | Sam Long | M | $ 4.250 | $ 40.500 | $ 44.750 | $ 106.750 | 42% |
| 14 | Pieter Heemeryck | M | $ 27.000 | $ 16.900 | $ 43.900 | $ 162.791 | 27% |
| 15 | Kylie Simpson | F | $ 37.000 | $ 4.250 | $ 41.250 | $ 42.120 | 98% |
| 16 | Sarah True | F | $ 38.000 | $ 3.000 | $ 41.000 | $ 64.500 | 64% |
| 17 | Mike Phillips | M | $ 20.500 | $ 17.500 | $ 38.000 | $ 54.419 | 70% |
| 18 | Lisa Norden | F | $ 34.000 | $ 3.500 | $ 37.500 | $ 51.656 | 73% |
| 19 | Steven McKenna | M | $ 30.500 | $ 6.250 | $ 36.750 | $ 36.750 | 100% |
| 20 | Alice Alberts | F | $ 36.000 | $ 36.000 | $ 41.000 | 88% | |
| 21 | Braden Currie | M | $ 34.000 | $ 1.750 | $ 35.750 | $ 47.565 | 75% |
| 22 | Matthew Marquardt | M | $ 35.000 | $ 35.000 | $ 49.500 | 71% | |
| 23 | Robert Wilkowiecki | M | $ 33.250 | $ 1.500 | $ 34.750 | $ 44.750 | 78% |
| 24 | Bradley Weiss | M | $ 30.000 | $ 2.000 | $ 32.000 | $ 62.686 | 51% |
| 25 | Emma Pallant-Browne | F | $ 31.000 | $ 31.000 | $ 78.264 | 40% |
Challenge
As in previous years, the top money earners on the Challenge side are athletes who focus on the Challenge Family “World Bonus”. This year, Mathis Margirier and Magda Nieuwoudt were at the top of the Challenge bonus table and they also lead the Challenge money list. Similar to the WTC side, almost all of the top earners also make significant money from other race organizers. In total, 236 athletes finished in the money ranks in the 2023 Challenge races.
Photo: Mathis Margirier winning Challenge “The Championship” in Samorin, provided by Challenge Family
| # | Name | Sex | Challenge | Total | Share |
| 1 | Mathis Margirier | M | $ 53.246 | $ 132.496 | 40% |
| 2 | Magda Nieuwoudt | F | $ 44.583 | $ 50.333 | 89% |
| 3 | Imogen Simmonds | F | $ 32.684 | $ 112.684 | 29% |
| 4 | Caleb Noble | M | $ 32.046 | $ 37.546 | 85% |
| 5 | Thomas Bishop | M | $ 31.122 | $ 48.122 | 65% |
| 6 | Els Visser | F | $ 27.277 | $ 69.277 | 39% |
| 7 | Magnus Ditlev | M | $ 26.953 | $ 202.953 | 13% |
| 7 | Daniela Ryf | F | $ 26.953 | $ 99.953 | 27% |
| 9 | Lucy Byram | F | $ 25.789 | $ 50.789 | 51% |
| 10 | Frederic Funk | M | $ 19.548 | $ 73.048 | 27% |
| 11 | Anne Haug | F | $ 17.788 | $ 335.788 | 5% |
| 12 | Caroline Pohle | F | $ 16.548 | $ 33.798 | 49% |
| 13 | Menno Koolhaas | M | $ 16.404 | $ 35.904 | 46% |
| 14 | India Lee | F | $ 16.172 | $ 54.922 | 29% |
| 15 | Margie Santimaria | F | $ 15.990 | $ 27.490 | 58% |
| 16 | Patrick Lange | M | $ 14.931 | $ 116.181 | 13% |
| 17 | Aaron Royle | M | $ 14.716 | $ 47.216 | 31% |
| 18 | Youri Keulen | M | $ 12.819 | $ 42.569 | 30% |
| 19 | Fenella Langridge | F | $ 11.439 | $ 60.460 | 19% |
| 20 | Amelia Watkinson | F | $ 10.782 | $ 69.190 | 16% |
Short Course
As in previous years, the top earner of “short course money” had to be successful in both major events, the World Triathlon Series WTCS and SuperLeague. Hayden Wilde comes out on top of this list, he was the runner-up in both series. In total, 115 athletes made money in these short-course events, most of which made the majority of their money on these distances.
Photo: Hayden Wilde winning the 2023 WT Sprint Championships in Hamburg, provided by World Triathlon.
| # | Name | Sex | WTCS | SuperLeague | Short Course | Total | Share |
| 1 | Hayden Wilde | M | $ 99.500 | $ 76.000 | $ 175.500 | $ 190.338 | 92% |
| 2 | Leo Bergere | M | $ 69.100 | $ 105.000 | $ 174.100 | $ 181.600 | 96% |
| 3 | Beth Potter | F | $ 159.600 | $ 13.000 | $ 172.600 | $ 172.600 | 100% |
| 4 | Cassandre Beaugrand | F | $ 108.900 | $ 55.000 | $ 163.900 | $ 163.900 | 100% |
| 5 | Kate Waugh | F | $ 42.500 | $ 93.000 | $ 135.500 | $ 139.500 | 97% |
| 6 | Alex Yee | M | $ 66.500 | $ 60.000 | $ 126.500 | $ 126.500 | 100% |
| 7 | Emma Lombardi | F | $ 66.100 | $ 56.000 | $ 122.100 | $ 122.100 | 100% |
| 8 | Dorian Coninx | M | $ 121.400 | $ 121.400 | $ 121.400 | 100% | |
| 9 | Jeanne Lehair | F | $ 26.550 | $ 75.000 | $ 101.550 | $ 101.550 | 100% |
| 10 | Sophie Coldwell | F | $ 52.700 | $ 26.000 | $ 78.700 | $ 78.700 | 100% |
| 11 | Matthew Hauser | M | $ 52.100 | $ 24.000 | $ 76.100 | $ 82.422 | 92% |
| 12 | Vasco Vilaca | M | $ 68.600 | $ 3.500 | $ 72.100 | $ 72.100 | 100% |
| 13 | Taylor Spivey | F | $ 49.825 | $ 15.500 | $ 65.325 | $ 65.325 | 100% |
| 14 | Pierre Le Corre | M | $ 54.900 | $ 54.900 | $ 59.595 | 92% | |
| 15 | Henri Schoeman | M | $ 10.500 | $ 37.500 | $ 48.000 | $ 58.613 | 82% |
| 16 | Jonathan Brownlee | M | $ 1.000 | $ 43.500 | $ 44.500 | $ 44.500 | 100% |
| 17 | Leonie Periault | F | $ 22.900 | $ 21.500 | $ 44.400 | $ 44.400 | 100% |
| 18 | Tim Hellwig | M | $ 42.300 | $ 42.300 | $ 42.300 | 100% | |
| 19 | Kristian Blummenfelt | M | $ 25.775 | $ 15.000 | $ 40.775 | $ 325.775 | 13% |
| 20 | Georgia Taylor-Brown | F | $ 31.900 | $ 31.900 | $ 31.900 | 100% |