Triathlon News & Notes: Collegiate Nationals, Oceanside Live Feed, and Paratri Prize Money

USAT offering prize money to paratriathletes 

Taking one more step toward professionalizing the sport of paratriathlon, USA Triathlon will now offer athlete support stipends equal to those offered to the U.S. elite national team, the organization announced this week. In addition, a prize purse of $36,750 will be up for grabs at the 2022 Paratriathlon National Championship on July 17 in Long Beach, California, and paratriathletes are now able to earn their elite license at six separate races throughout the season. This comes on the heels of one of the best showings by paratriathletes at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where Team USA brought home five medals in eight events; two of those being gold. 

Tune in to Oceanside 70.3

Ironman 70.3 Oceanside takes off bright and early Saturday morning, and you don’t have to miss a minute of the action no matter where you are in the world. The race will be free to watch live on Outside Watch, and on the Outside Watch app for U.S. and Canada, with the broadcast starting at 6 a.m. PT. There will also be an Outside Watch finish line feed starting at 10:10 a.m. PT—show you can watch friends and family. Going to miss the action? Watch the broadcast on-demand after it’s over on the Outside Watch app and here. 

Action kicks off at Triathlon Collegiate Champs

Ben Bettin of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Franca Henseleit of Queens University of Charlotte took the men’s and women’s draft-legal crowns, respectively on day one of the 2022 USA Triathlon Collegiate Club National Championships in Lake Lanier, Georgia in April. (It’s worth noting that both the air and water temperatures were in the high 40s at race time.) Queens University also claimed the mixed relay event, making Henseleit a double winner for the day. The action continues Saturday with an Olympic-distance race. 

Xterra announces new long-distance race format

XTERRA races in Europe this season will feature a brand new format: Long distance, which, depending on the location, will include around 2km of open water swimming, 60-70km off-road riding, and 20-22km of trail running. The format is “designed to mix pleasure and performance,” say the organizers and “deliver a true endurance test for athletes.” Xterra will also allow gravel and cyclocross bikes, as well as mountain bikes in the new format, and offer slots into the 2022 XTERRA World Championship in Trentino, Italy. The first long-distance race is scheduled for July 30 in France. 

Ironman Foundation announces new partnerships; aims to expand its diversity initiative

This week, the Ironman Foundation announced partnerships with Black Kids Swim, Black Runners Connection, and Major Taylor Cycling Club to “build awareness and expand outreach in support of its Race For Change diversity initiative,” according to a release. These partnerships are aimed at diminishing potential barriers that might prevent Black athletes and other diverse groups from competing in triathlon. As part of this new alliance members from Black Kids Swim, Black Runners Connection, and Major Taylor Cycling Club will form Race For Change relay teams to compete in several 2022 Ironman 70.3 events throughout the U.S., starting with the Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga on May 22.

Rach McBride’s taking it off-road in the Life Time Grand Prix

Pro triathlete Rach McBride is one of the headliners in the inaugural Life Time Grand Prix cycling race series, which starts on April 9 in Monterrey, California. The series, comprising six off-road cycling events, including the 200-mile gravel race at Unbound in Emporia, Kansas, and the Leadville 100 cross-country mountain bike, will be contested by some of the world’s top cyclists gunning for a $250,000 prize purse. McBride, 44, who is a two-time 70.3 champ, holds several bike course records in triathlon, and is the world’s first non-binary professional triathlete, told Cycling Weekly that this will be a challenge, despite their success in multisport. “When I first signed up, I thought ‘oh, it’s just bike racing’ and I’m used to training for three sports at once. But then, when I took a closer look at the schedule, I realized that [the series] is really dominating my schedule this year,” they said, adding that they will not be racing any triathlon until the fall because of the demands of this series. 

Podcast Notes

• Triathlete Magazine’s Fitter & Faster podcast brings on former professional athlete turned coach Rebekah Keat, who joins host Emma-Kate Lidbury to go over how to get race ready, including structuring training, tapering, race simulations, and psychological prep, plus a gear round-up from Triathlete editor Chris Foster.
• The Triathlete Hour has a chat with Jonas Deichmann, who completed his around the world triathlon (the equivalent of 120 Ironman races) in 429 days.
• Greg Bennett brings on one of his best mates, 2000 gold medalist Simon Whitfield, for a lively and nostalgic chat looking back at Whitfield’s career and their shared times on the race course.  
• Marten Van Riel—AKA the “Belgium Hammer”—is featured on this week’s World Triathlon Podcast. The recent Dubai 70.3 champ is set to race the Arena Games Triathlon World Champs in Munich on April 23, and he shares how he is navigating switching up between the short and long distances.
• The TriDot podcast focuses on short-course racing, and brings on a pair of pro coaches to chat about how to get ready for a sprint or Olympic tri.
• IronWomen brings on Jess Smith, a pro triathlete, mom, and coach to explore the concept of becoming a “lifer” in the sport—and how she’s gotten to where she is.
• ProTriathlon News has Sam Renouf, CEO of the Professional Triathletes Organization (PTO), who shares a behind-the-scenes look at his day-to-day life and the growth of the group. 

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