The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) announced today it has acquired a majority shareholding in Challenge Family from Y11 Sports & Entertainment, to make it a key part of the newly announced Triathlon World Tour.
“This acquisition and investment into Challenge Family is a significant moment in the PTO journey. As we make the Triathlon World Tour a reality alongside our partners, World Triathlon, to create a single brand and competition structure that helps professionals, amateurs, fans, media, sponsors and other stakeholders more clearly understand and engage with our sport,” said PTO CEO Sam Renouf.
“Challenge Family’s respected event platform, community-driven ethos and operational expertise make them a natural partner, in addition to a shared vision to transform the sport and unlock its untapped commercial potential. I look forward to working closely with Jort [Challenge Family CEO], his dedicated team and their community of passionate race partners around the world to make this happen.”
The PTO and World Triathlon vision to create the new Triathlon World Tour was announced at the end of last year, in response to the key findings of World Triathlon’s Deloitte Report which sought to ‘reimagine the future of triathlon’. It highlighted a fragmented ecosystem and recommended a change from a technically driven model to a commercially driven one.
Responding to the news, Jort Vlam, CEO of Challenge Family, said:
“Challenge Family and our race partners have spent more than two decades building a global series defined by strong local communities, athlete-first experiences, and a commitment to innovation. Joining forces with the PTO marks an important evolution in that journey. This partnership allows us to preserve what makes Challenge Family unique while contributing to a unified, globally recognized series that strengthens the sport’s long-term growth, commercial sustainability and global visibility. We are excited to work closely with the PTO, World Triathlon, and our race organisers worldwide to help shape a more connected, professional and inspiring future for triathlon.”
The Triathlon World Tour will start in 2027 and present a clear competition structure that combines the existing T100 Triathlon World Tour and the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) rebranded as the T100 and T50 World Championship Series respectively. With two newly formed ‘Challenger’ series sitting beneath each of them and providing a clear qualification pathway to become an official World Champion at both distances. The PTO aims to grow the Triathlon World Tour to approximately 80 events from 2027 onwards.
The full schedule of more than 35 Challenge Family events in 2026 - following the successful Challenge Sir Bani Yas event in Abu Dhabi at the end of January - will continue under the Challenge Family brand for the rest of the year as the two companies continue to plan for 2027.
Commenting on the expansion, World Triathlon President Antonio F. Arimany said:
“World Triathlon is immensely proud of our strategic partnership with the PTO as we continue to build the Triathlon World Tour. By incorporating more events and welcoming more private event organisers to the Tour, we are creating a more unified and robust ecosystem for our sport. This expansion will provide significantly more opportunities for athletes to compete on a global stage and will also unlock greater commercial opportunities for all stakeholders, ensuring a sustainable and thriving future for triathlon at every level.”
The PTO and World Triathlon will unveil the further details of the new Triathlon World Tour, including branding, tiered competition structure and organisational set-up, at an event in the first half of 2026, when fans, athletes, media and partners will be able to see, in one place, how a unified Triathlon World Tour will bring together the best of our sport into a single, compelling global format.