Triathlon unites to increase its popularity closer to the level of tennis and golf

Triathlon is taking action to try to boost its popularity, with hopes of bringing it closer to the level of tennis and golf.

A new global circuit will debut in 2027 following an alliance between the international federation and private organizers to unify the sport that has been historically fragmented and difficult to follow because of the large number of events worldwide.

Officials are hoping the new tour will promote mass-participation events, attract new audiences and enhance the broadcast and digital storytelling of triathlon. There will be greater investment aimed at making the sport a better product for television and easier to showcase on social media in order to land bigger sponsors.

The formal announcement of the new tour is expected by the end of the month.

"Our goal is for the sport to be attractive not only for triathlon fans but to be attractive for sport fans. We need to grow the sport to be more attractive to the general public," Antonio Arimany, president of World Triathlon, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"This is not an achievement for next year, this is a goal that we have for the next six, seven years," he added. "And we really would like to have triathlon at the level of tennis or golf. Of course, we cannot reach football or other sports because we are not a team sport but compared to individual sports, we need to find a way how we can grow in popularity."

Triathlon has traditionally been divided, with the international federation not in charge of the actual organization of events. The competitions have been mostly run by private entities such as Ironman, the biggest in the sport. World Triathlon oversees Olympic Games, world championships and world series.

Canada's Mislawchuk