Anne Haug and Kristian Blummenfelt defend their positions at the top of the end-of-year PTO World Rankings.

London, UK: The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) today confirmed the final placings for the 2023 PTO World Rankings, with German superstar Anne Haug and Norwegian trailblazer Kristian Blummenfelt both finishing top for the second year in a row.

The Top Tens were:

The leading athletes share out an end of season bonus pool of $2,000,000 USD split equally between women and men, with a $100,000 going to the top ranked athletes.

“Finishing the season on the PTO top spot again makes me more than proud. Especially after the slightly changed points system, where you need to perform now at every distance,” said Haug, who’s three counting scores in 2023 including the PTO European Open (99 points), Ironman Hawaii (97.88 pts) and the PTO Asian Open (96.62 pts).

“It has been a really great year for me. Especially the win in Ibiza, which was a kind of a milestone in my career, because it had one of the greatest women’s fields in the history of the sport. I absolutely love the fast racing against the best in the world and can’t wait for the new PTO series to start.“

Blummenfelt led the way in the men’s rankings for a second year after a busy schedule that at one point saw him embark on a whirlwind trip of three races across two continents in ten days during August 2023. He competed in the Olympic test event in Paris on 18 August, followed by the PTO Asian Open in Singapore two days later before jetting back to Europe for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Finland on 27 August.

His three counting scores included all three PTO Tour races: the PTO Asian Open (99.38 pts), the PTO European Open (95.89 pts) and the PTO US Open (95.53 pts).

Commenting on his success, Kristian said:

“Finishing top of the PTO World Rankings again is something I’m very proud of. Every time I take to the start line, I race to win. It’s who I am as an athlete.”

“I want to race the best athletes and that is exactly what it’s like in a PTO Tour race, so it’s no coincidence my three scoring results came in those races.”

The PTO World Rankings were introduced in 2017 to identify and rank the world’s best professional triathletes who participate in non-drafting triathlon events. Any athlete who holds a professional license and is a PTO Professional member is eligible. For 2023, the PTO introduced a new, updated version of the PTO World Rankings System (PTO WRS) to make the rankings more transparent, objective and reflective of professional triathletes’ race performances over the season.

This hard work had been spearheaded by a committee of professional athletes that included: Ruth Astle (GBR), Antony Costes (FRA), Renee Kiley (AUS), Jackson Laundry (CAN) and Danielle Lewis (USA). The new PTO WRS incorporated:

1. 1. A tiering system for races
   2. Rewarding race positions directly
   3. Consideration of the strength of field at each event; and
   4. Ensuring exceptional performances are rewarded based on finishing times compared to other athletes in the same race.

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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.