The Women’s Ironman World Championships in Hawaii offered a lot of drama. But what will happen to the visibility of women’s triathlon when men and women stand together at the starting line again soon?
If you were looking for big emotions, the broadcast of the Women’s Ironman World Championship was the right choice. Like a film, Taylor Knibb staggered across the street, her competitor Lucy Charles-Barclay cried in her husband’s arms. Both had had to give up the race, one in the heat-shimmering solitude of the lava desert, the other in the lead just three kilometers from the finish. Scenes that seem unimaginable.
At this point, the American Knibb had already swum almost four kilometers, cycled 180 kilometers through the lava desert and braved the tropical heat for 39 kilometers in running shoes. After this long day, all that was missing was the seemingly tiny distance of 3000 meters to the biggest title of her career. And then, all of a sudden, as if struck by lightning, she stops, staggers across the street in serpentine lines, sits down on the asphalt and says for everyone to hear: “I’m done with this. I can’t take it anymore.“What a drama. What a crime thriller. This Ironman World Championship in Hawaii produced scenes for the history books, it simply delivered. Or to be more precise: the women delivered.
Because it was the last event where women and men had separate races. Next year both genders will be competing together again in Hawaii, as they always have been. Only in the last three years did the organizers dare to experiment with separating the fields and alternately sending some to Hawaii and the others to Nice. A test that may not be considered a failure, but which those responsible for the Ironman very quickly reversed and which now raises the question: What will happen to the visibility of women’s triathlon?
Ironman boss asserts Equal treatment
“I think that’s a real shame”says Laura Philipp, who spectacularly came third in the World Championships on Saturday. “I actually thought that was the right path.” The Heidelberg native became world champion in Nice a year ago and experienced first-hand what a boost can come from undivided attention. When women and men last competed together in Hawaii in 2019, it was different.
Almost everything revolved around the men, the women were more of the “plus one” at a wedding party. That won’t happen next year, assures Ironman boss Scott DeRue in an interview with Sportschau: “We will tell the stories of women and men equally. We will treat them equally when producing the live broadcast, with the same number of cameras and broadcast minutes.” It will be interesting to see whether this succeeds. This time the route was actually almost too crowded with motorcycles.
No improved income for organizers
The question of why Ironman returns to the old model is very complex; it has to do with two special features of this sport. On the one hand, there is Hawaii, the birthplace of triathlon, a myth that carries the sport and made it famous beyond the boundaries of your own bubble. And on the other hand, there is the close connection between professional and amateur sports. Both start together, have the same conditions, challenges, torments and successes.
Ironman is financed by the entry fees paid by amateur athletes, which are not exactly low. This income is used to organize races and distribute prize money. The short-term separation of men’s and women’s competition had two goals: more visibility for women, but also more income through larger starting fields. Point one worked, point two didn’t.
Trouble threatens with Hawaiians
The majority of the triathlon scene had wanted to be able to be back in Hawaii right from the start. The races in Nice were not as well received as hoped and the actual myth of Hawaii also began to suffer its first scratches. On Saturday, only 1,515 so-called age group athletes competed in Kona – according to an American triathlon magazine, the last time there was such a small starting field was 18 years ago. For Ironman this means a good $1 million less income. That may also be a reason for the backward roll.
Next year, a total of almost 3,000 men and women will be on the starting line – more than ever before. This is also not unproblematic. While it was very quiet in Hawaii this year, it will probably be overcrowded next year; something that makes many locals extremely upset. Many athletes told the sports show about Hawaiian drivers who insulted them or threw cola cans at them. They are bothered by the triathlon spectacle on their island.
Speaking of spectacle: Taylor Knibb, the American who had to stagger and give up while in the lead, has now reported. A photo shows her grinning broadly with a thumbs up. New attempt next year. Together with the men.