London, UK: Daniel Baekkegard’s impressive win at Ironman WA – his second in two months – has helped him scoop December’s PTO Athlete of the Month.
The six-athlete shortlist for December included strong performances from Daniel, Fenella Langridge, Solveig Løveseth, Kat Matthews, Kyle Smith and Marten van Riel.
With a panel of triathlon media picking their 1,2,3 from the shortlist – awarding 3 points for #1, 2 pts for #2 and 1 pt for #3 – and then fans also voting via the PTO social handles, the points were added up to determine the winner. This month Daniel collected 12 points, beating off van Riel who finished second with 8 points and Langridge third on 5. The media panel includes: Global Triathlon Network (GTN), Triathlete, Triathlon Magazine & Tri-Mag.de.
Speaking about his wins, the PTO World #11 said:
“The two race wins obviously gave me a huge confidence boost and now winning the PTO Athlete of the Month also gives me a huge amount of encouragement going into the 2024 season. All in all, it’s just a nice way to have the holidays off with the family and enjoy some downtown. Because I know that next year will be extremely busy with a packed calendar where I will only have World Championship caliber races all year round.”
Giving reflections on his victory in Western Australia, Daniel said:
“It was definitely one of the most learning-ful experiences I’ve had. Not only in Ironman races but races in general. One thing is how things went at the race – a well executed all round race. But it was more the way I went into the race. Well prepared, but not overcooked, like I’ve done before. Having good people around me and learning how to perform well without necessarily being in top shape.”
He was also a big fan of his first trip down under:
“Traveling to Australia, I’ve never been there before and that contributed to the trip. It helped me to enjoy the crowds there, the people and all the places I went. As an experience it was perfect and that’s definitely one of things I’m going to focus more on in the future. Enjoying where I am, enjoying the experiences. Not only the results and races, but life around them as well.”
Looking ahead to the coming season, he said:
“Right now I’m on Lanzarote, one of the big Canary Islands, prepping for the 2024 season. My goal is pretty obvious, it’s the PTO Tour. It’s a no-brainer and it’s going to be absolutely epic. By the sound of it, it’s the future in races and I can’t wait for it to start.”
“Then, obviously, Kona is a big one for me. Qualifying in Western Australia and getting the slot early was key for me, so I could focus on the PTO calendar in the season. It’s basically a season of World Championship caliber races we’re going to have next season and that’s definitely going to help the sport grow, get more fans and to build the profiles of the athletes and so on.”
“With my coach we looked at last season, what went well and what we could do better. And we’ve turned things a bit around for this season as it’s a different set of skills I’m going to need. So I’m just extremely motivated to get going and hopefully do well.”
The PTO Athlete of the Month is a new accolade introduced for the first time this season by the Professional Triathletes Organisation to celebrate its members across the year and recognises a female or male PTO athlete each month based on: outstanding race performances, significant movement up the PTO World Rankings and/or challenges overcome.
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For Further Information
Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]
About the Professional Triathletes Organisation
The PTO is a new body, co-owned by the professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of Triathlon and take it to the next level. Each PTO Open is raced over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run). In 2023, the calendar consisted of the PTO European Open on 6 May and was followed by the PTO US Open in Milwaukee on 4-5 August and then the PTO Asian Open in Singapore on 19-20 August. With the season underpinned by the new PTO World Rankings, helping to create a compelling season-long narrative in the sport for the first time. The PTO has already confirmed that the PTO Tour will go back to Singapore on 12-14 April and Ibiza on 28-29 September, 2024, and that further stages of the Tour will be announced soon.
