London, UK: Jelle Geens’ dramatic win in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, New Zealand, has secured him December’s Professional Triathletes Organisation Athlete of the Month award.
The Belgian won the vote from a competitive shortlist of:
- Taylor Knibb – Ironman 70.3 World Champion for the third time, securing her status as the indisputable best triathlete in the world right now.
- Kat Matthews – Second at her second World Championship of the year, in the process claiming the first ever Ironman Pro Series title.
- Morgan Pearson – Announced himself as a middle distance triathlete with victory at Indian Wells 70.3, beating fellow American Matt McElroy.
“It was a crazy day,” said Geens, who passed long time leader Hayden Wilde late on the run in Taupō to secure his second major victory of the season – following his win at the Lake Las Vegas T100 in October – and move him to 4th in the PTO World Rankings. “It will take time for it to really sink in. This is something I dreamed of.”
Belgium has been on the rise in triathlon this year, with Geens’ compatriot, Marten Van Riel, becoming the inaugural T100 World Champion in Dubai in November, 2024.
“I’ve been in this sport a long time and I’ve been doing ITU a long time and it’s really had its ups and downs. I would say the last one and a half years in short course racing has been really tough mentally, but to step up now to middle distance racing and in my first try to become a World Champion, it’s incredible.”
Global Triathlon Network (GTN), Tri-Mag.de, Triathlon Magazine & Triathlete.com make up the panel of triathlon media who voted on their 1, 2, 3 from a four-athlete shortlist, awarding 3 points for #1, 2 pts for #2 and 1 pt for #3. Votes were also counted from online triathlon fans who had their say via the T100 social handles. Geens received the top vote from two of the triathlon media judges and the social poll.
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For Further Information:
Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]
About Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO)
The PTO is a sports body that is co-owned by its professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of triathlon and take it to the next level. The T100 Triathlon World Tour was the new name for the PTO Tour and has been designated by World Triathlon as the ‘official World Championship for long distance triathlon’. It was a season-long schedule of T100 races during 2024 that was competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run) and featured the world’s best triathletes going head-to-head in Miami (9 March), Singapore (13-14 April), San Francisco (8-9 June), London (27-28 July), Ibiza (28-29 September), Lake Las Vegas (19-20 October) and then the Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final (16-17 November). There were also racing opportunities for amateurs at all the events, including the new 100km distance at five stages, including: Singapore, London, Ibiza, Lake Las Vegas and Dubai. The global broadcast shows the races live around the world in 195+ territories, courtesy of the PTO’s partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery as well as a range of other international, regional and local broadcasters.
