Hy-Vee Elite Cup Halves Pro Prize Purse

What has been for years the richest prize purse in the sport of triathlon, the Hy-Vee Triathlon Elite Cup, has now become the richest prize purse in Olympic-distance racing, with a total prize purse of $500,000, down from more than $1.1 million last year including primes. (For comparison, the Ironman World Championship has a total prize purse of $650,000.)

The race has apparently done away with primes (extra bonuses awarded for the first athletes across certain points in the course), but the race still pays $100,000 each to the first-place male and female (down from $151,500 last year), and pays 30 deep (the 30^th-place male and female each receive $500).

Even with the smaller prize purse than previous years, the race will likely still draw big names—world champions and Olympic medalists—to Des Moines, Iowa, this September. The change in prize purse has already brought on negative reaction from several pros. 2012 winner Lisa Norden was one to express frustration on Twitter: “Hy-vee halfs [sic] prize money – time to modify the main goals of 2013..? #dissapointed”

Place               Prize (Men and Women)
1                      $100,000
2                      $20,000
3                      $15,000
4                      $10,000
5                      $9,500
6                      $9,000
7                      $8,500
8                      $8,000
9                      $7,500
10                  $7,000
11                  $6,500
12                  $6,000
13                  $5,500
14                  $5,000
15                  $4,500
16                  $4,000
17                  $3,500
18                  $3,000
19                  $2,500
20                  $2,000
21                  $2,000
22                  $2,000
23                  $1,500
24                  $1,500
25                  $1,500
26                  $1,000
27                   $1,000
28                   $1,000
29                   $1000
30                   $500

Total $250,000

Check back to Triathlete.com as we continue to follow this story.

PHOTOS: 2012 Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship