World Triathlon

TRIATHLON 2016 I INSIDE THE ITU 4 The ITU World Triathlon Series was introduced in 2009, creating a series of world championship races rather than a single-day world championship. From 2009 until 2011, it was called the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship series, but was re-branded in 2012 as the ITU World Triathlon Series. There were nine rounds in the 2016 season, culminating with the Grand Final in Cozumel in September. The world's top triathletes competed head-to-head for rankings points that determined the overall ITU World Champion, with media and fans able to watch from everywhere with a live international broadcast feed available for every event. NEW FOR THE 2016 SEASON Two new cities were added to the docket in 2016 to make it a nine-stop circuit. For the second time, the Series opener was held in the Middle East with a race in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. However this season, Abu Dhabi offered a standard-distance race for the elites as opposed to a sprint as was contested in 2015. The second stop was Gold Coast, Queensland. Cape Town was the third stop, but this year offered up a sprint- distance course. Following Yokohama, which was be the fourth race, the Series hit the halfway mark before heading to Europe. The English city of Leeds, home to the Brownlee brothers, hosted a standard-distance course. After the elites competed in Stockholm and Hamburg, there was a brief hiatus in the Series while the athletes headed to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games. Following Rio 2016, the circuit headed to Canada, where Edmonton once again offer up a sprint distance race before the Grand Final. The 2016 World Triathlon Grand Final was hosted in Cozumel, Mexico. PRIZE MONEY With ITU leading as one of the top sport's to honour equal earnings for both men and women, in 2016 there was USD692,500 available to the top 35 men and women. With around USD2.2 million dollars up for grabs, the WTS remains one of the richest triathlon circuits worldwide. 2016 POINTS SYSTEM There are three levels included in the rankings: ITU Triathlon World Cup events, ITU World Triathlon Series events and the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final. The final ranking is obtained by adding the five top scores from the World Triathlon Series and ITU Triathlon World Cup events, plus the points gained at the Grand Final. Scoring for a season begins immediately after the Grand Final and ends with the following year's Grand Final. Athletes can only score points from a maximum of five events on the same continent, excluding the Grand Final. Points are awarded to the top 50 athletes at the Grand Final; top 40 for World Championship Series events and top 30 for ITU Triathlon World Cup events.

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