London, UK: The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has announced a partnership with Fund Her Tri UK and Cycle Sisters to help encourage a broader participation across the first London T100 Triathlon weekend.

The partnership kicked off last Saturday when the PTO, in collaboration with Fund Her Tri UK and Cycle Sisters, hosted 30 of their athletes at Lee Valley VeloPark in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, with the support of professional triathlete India Lee.

The coached session allowed beginners and first-time triathletes the opportunity to learn and sharpen their transition and dismount skills, as well as engage in an in-depth Q&A with India, who won the first of the PTO’s new T100 Triathlon World Tour races in Miami earlier this year. The partnership will go on to provide places for female first-time athletes facing financial barriers and for members of the Cycle Sisters community. There will also be additional discounted entries for their community athletes to participate in the London T100 weekend across all distances on 27-28 July.

Bianca Fernandez-Clark, co-Founder and Chair of Fund Her Tri UK said: “We are incredibly grateful to the PTO for their support of our charity. Their openness and willingness to listen to the barriers faced by the women in our community and to help us address them has been invaluable. Some of our women are just learning to swim, cycle, or run; each has her own story and is excited to take part in triathlons because of the welcoming community and the support they have received so far from Fund Her Tri UK, Cycle Sisters and the PTO.”

Fund Her Tri UK aims to bring more gender diversity to triathlon by supporting first-time female triathletes and beginners with less than three years experience in the sport through various programs, including sponsorship, mentorship, coaching and community support. They have a membership of women aged 18 to 60 years old, with 37% from a minority ethnic background, 7% with a disability and over 40% have talked about finances as being a barrier to take part and develop themselves in the sport.

Sarah Javaid MBE, Founder & CEO of Cycle Sisters, added: “We are very excited to be partnering with the PTO and Fund Her Tri UK to offer places for the women in our network to experience a triathlon, something many of them would never have dreamed was possible.  Collaborations like this are so important to demonstrate that everyone is welcome in triathlon. Small adjustments such as offering private changing facilities and women-only waves can make triathlon more inclusive for diverse communities. We really hope to see triathlon organisers up and down the country following in the PTO’s footsteps.”

Cycle Sisters aims to address inequalities in accessing sport for Muslim women and girls by creating opportunities to participate without having to compromise cultural or religious values. Their Tri Sisters project enables Muslim women to develop skills and confidence to participate in triathlon through programmes such as women-only swimming lessons, open water coaching and working with event organisers to ensure events are inclusive.

As part of this, and in collaboration with Cycle Sisters, the PTO are working to meet all the requirements of Muslim athletes. This effort will ensure they can participate without compromising their faith, sending a message to the industry and races worldwide that triathlon can be inclusive for everyone, given the right support.

“It was so good to see more people getting involved in triathlon,” said India. “It’s crucial for all sports to attract new participants, but because triathlon has such a strong community feel, it’s key we work hard to encourage as many people from different backgrounds as possible to enjoy our great sport. I think the work Bianca and Sarah are doing with Fund Her Tri UK and Cycle Sisters is so important, I really enjoyed spending time with them and look forward to catching up again at the London T100 weekend in a couple of month’s time.”

As well as seeing the top 20 women and top 20 men in the world go head-to-head in the professional races on the T100 Triathlon World Tour, the London T100 weekend offers everyone the chance to take part and caters for participants of all abilities, with distances ranging from:

• Super Sprint Triathlon (0.4km Swim, 10km Bike, 2.5km Run)
• Sprint Triathlon (0.75km Swim, 20km Bike, 5km Run)
• Olympic Triathlon (1.5km Swim, 40km Bike, 10km Run)
• T100 Triathlon (2km Swim, 80km Bike, 18km Run)

The race course is all on fully closed-roads and takes in the magnificent and iconic sights of Central London. What’s more, amateur athletes will be racing on the same course as the pros, meaning that everyone will get to experience the incredible atmosphere and a totally unique event experience. The T100 distance is sold out due to high demand, but there are a final few places left for the Olympic, Sprint and Super Sprint distances taking place on Sunday 28July. Check out the event details, and then sign up here: https://t100triathlon.com/participate/

The London T100 will be the fourth stop on the eight-leg T100 Triathlon World Tour, which sees the world’s best triathletes compete consistently, head-to-head in iconic cities around the world over the new 100km distance (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run) on a global broadcast feed across 195+ territories. The next stop is the San Francisco T100 on 8-9 June.

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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 is the new name for the PTO Tour and has been designated by World Triathlon as the ‘official World Championship for long distance triathlon’. It is a season-long schedule of eight T100 races during 2024 that will be competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run) and will feature 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), Dubai (16-17 November) and at the Grand Final (29-30 November). There will also be racing opportunities for amateurs at all the events, including the new 100km distance at six stages, including: Singapore, London, Ibiza, Lake Las Vegas, Dubai and at the Grand Final. 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.