For the first time since the Professional Triathletes Organization (PTO) World Rankings were started in 2016, a man other than Jan Frodeno is set to be at the top of the standings – Gustav Iden.
The Norwegian has had a stellar year that included representing his country at the Olympics in July, an impressive performance at the Collins Cup, a huge win at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship and an incredible full-distance debut at Ironman Florida.
“In his victory in Florida over the weekend at his first long-distance race, Iden scored 107.23 PTO World Ranking Points, the second highest score for a full-distance race in 2021, just below the stellar performance of two-time world champion Patrick Lange at Tulsa, where Lange scored 108.88 PTO World Ranking Points,” the PTO announced in a press release earlier today. “Combined with Iden’s 110.18 points scored at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship and the 111.34 points he scored at The Collins Cup, this gives Iden a nearly unassailable average of 109.62 PTO World Ranking Points.”
The ranking is based on the average of an athletes best three races from the year. While Frodeno scored higher than Iden at the Collins Cup (112.86 points), his other scoring events were his 107.51 from Challenge Miami and just 88.10 from Challenge Gran Canaria, giving him an average of 102.82 points.
The winner of the PTO standing at the end of the year earns US$100,000, while second place will earn $90,000.
Lionel Sanders, who finished second to Iden at Ironman Florida, has moved himself to third in the PTO ranking. If he stays in that spot he’ll earn $80,000, an improvement of $30,000 compared to the $50,000 he would have earned had he remained in sixth place in the ranking, which is where he sat before the Florida race.
The women’s top standings remain up in the air at this point and likely to be decided at Clash Daytona where Lucy Charles-Barclay (#1), Laura Philipp (#3) and Anne Haug (#5) are all on the start list and capable of taking the top spot.
