‘More viewers, extra the whole lot’ – Two-time Olympic medallist hails adjustments to Triathlon World Tour
Taylor Knibb has welcomed the introduction of the T50 and T100 World Championship Tours, which will sit as the highest tier of competition under the new Triathlon World Tour structure from 2027
PTO CEO Sam Renouf, triathletes Matt Hauser and Taylor Knibb, and World Triathlon President Antonio Arimany address the media in London to announce changes to the format of the Triathlon World Tour
Taylor Knibb insists the creation of the new Triathlon World Tour can help lift the entire sport by bringing greater attention, investment and opportunity to both short-course and long-distance racing.
The US triathlon star welcomed the introduction of the T50 and T100 World Championship Tours, which will sit as the highest tier of competition under the new Triathlon World Tour structure from 2027, and believes the move will allow both formats to grow together.
Speaking about the WTCS London event, Knibb, who has competed successfully across both Olympic-distance and long-distance racing, believes the introduction of the T50 and T100 formats can make the sport more accessible and commercially attractive.
“One thing about short-course racing, when you went to Ironman 70.3, was that there’s the age-group side of the sport, and there’s the relatability,” the two-time Olympic silver medallist said.
“And so now, by making it T100 and T50, you can bring other athletes into the sport, which brings a commercial aspect, which brings more sponsors, more partners, more viewership, more everything.”
Knibb, who has won both the T100 Triathlon World Tour Gold Coast and the World Triathlon Cup Edmonton this year, continued: “I’m very excited because I think that change is necessary. Actually, thinking of the path version, F1 is better than F2 racing. So, it’s not that a bigger number is better; it’s just different.
“A rising tide lifts all ships. Hopefully, we can elevate the sport altogether versus everyone keeping each other down.”
The WTCS London event returns to the capital for the first time since 2015. More than 100 of the world’s leading triathletes, including Britain’s Olympic champion Alex Yee and 2023 world champion Beth Potter, will race around the ExCeL London and Royal Docks course as they battle for valuable championship points. The event forms part of the London T100 Triathlon weekend, with over 5,000 amateur athletes also taking part across the weekend.
Knibbs’ comments come after the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) and World Triathlon confirmed the launch of the Triathlon World Tour, which will unify the existing T100 Triathlon World Tour and the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) under one structure.
The WTCS will be rebranded as the T50 World Championship Tour, while the existing T100 series will become the T100 World Championship Tour. Both will feature World Championship Finals, with additional Challenger-level events providing a pathway for athletes.
PTO CEO Sam Renouf echoed Knibb’s view that T50 and T100 should be seen as complementary rather than competing properties and rejected the idea that the shorter format is a lesser version of the sport.
“One of the first things when we announced this was, ‘Oh, well, T50 is below T100 because it’s half,’ and I think it couldn’t be more opposite,” said Renouf. “The ultimate pinnacle of our sport is the Olympic Games, and that’s what we want to see the journey towards. It’s also why we would like to see T100 at the Olympic Games again.”
“It is an important point to make that T50 and T100 are equally important, and if anything, our investment will go more into the short-course side of the sport, even in the short term, because it needs that lift.”
The first T50 World Championship Tour calendar will include nine events in 2027, beginning in Abu Dhabi in March and the World Championship Finals in Hamburg in September. London will join the series in August, while the T100 World Championship Tour will feature eight races, including its final in Qatar.
Watch British stars, including Alex Yee, Beth Potter, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Sophie Evans, race at the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) London, with Olympic qualifying points on the line. The elite women start at 1430 and the elite men go at 1615, with live coverage on Triathlonlive.tv and TNT Sports in the UK.
