PTO CEO Sam Renouf on the Challenge Acquisition, the Future of the Sport and Profitable T100 Races

March 13, 2026

It’s hardly news to any triathlon fans that the triathlon world has undergone major change over the last decade. Since the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) started putting on events, though, there’s never been a better time to be a professional long-distance triathlete. The PTO’s series forced IRONMAN to create the IRONMAN Pro Series, which has been a resounding success with large numbers of pro athletes clamouring to get into the various races.

The PTO’s T100 Triathlon World Tour has been constantly evolving, too. Last year we saw the implementation of separate men’s and women’s races (except for the Grand Final) to streamline the event coverage, and this year the series won’t be offering pro contracts. Age group racing is becoming more and more important to the T100 series, too. Last year, across the nine T100 races, almost 30,000 athletes took part in the various triathlon and “shoulder” events.

The acquisition of Challenge Family emphasizes the importance of age group racing to the PTO. We caught up with PTO CEO Sam Renouf to get more detail on the addition of Challenge Family events to the Triathlon World Tour (set to start in 2027) and how the PTO looks to grow the sport globally. SLOWTWITCH