Gregory Barnaby of Italy today goes down in IM history as the first ever male winner of the Ironman Pro Series earning a bonus payout of $200,000 USD. Germany’s Patrick Lange and Denmark’s Kristian Høgenhaug completed the inaugural IM Pro Series podium, receiving bonus payouts of $130,000 USD and $85,000 USD respectively.
The Ironman World Championship in Taupō served as the series finale of the IM Pro Series, meaning it was the last chance for professional athletes to score points towards their end of year standings. Barnaby went into the race leading the Ironman Pro Series but had a battle on his hands with other top contenders with potential for points at the IM 70.3 World Championship, including Matthew Marquardt (USA) and Kristian Høgenhaug (DEN).
In the perfect curtain call to Barnaby’s epic season of racing, the Italian exited the water in 14th place, eight seconds ahead of Marquardt, and then went on to bike himself into 10th place on a fast and furious bike race. In the meantime, Marquardt, who seemed to be struggling with cramps following the swim, had difficulty finding his trademark bike form, finishing the 90km bike course with a 14-minute deficit on the lead, and nine minutes behind Barnaby. Barnaby remained strong and controlled throughout the 21.1km run course, clocking a half marathon split of 1:12:05. With a finish time of 3:40:14 and a solid ninth position overall, Barnaby secured 2,515 IM Pro Series points, cementing his place as the men’s IM Pro Series Champion with a total of 19,059 points.
Patrick Lange, the 2024 Ironman World Champion, although not racing in Taupō, was celebrated from afar as the dynamics of the race meant he finished second in the IM Pro Series with 18,623 points, 427 points behind Barnaby.
Lange, who won his third Ironman World Championship title in Kona, also earned the 2024 Ironman North American Championship Texas title and grabbed significant points at the Ironman European Championship Frankfurt where he finished 8th. While his IM 70.3 triathlon results at Ironman 70.3 Alcúdia-Mallorca and IM 70.3 Oceanside triathlons weren’t what he was hoping for, they were good enough to fill his scorecard and earn a second place result overall.
Kristian Høgenhaug raced smart and consistently all season, with his best position being fourth at Ironman European Championship Frankfurt along with a top 10 result at the Ironman World Championship. He also added two 5th place finishes at IM Vitoria Gasteiz and IM 70.3 Alcúdia-Mallorca to earn 18,528 points and a third-place finish.
Gregory Barnaby commented that the win was a career highlight for him and a payday unlike he has ever had before. “I’ve been doing triathlon for 20 years now and I’ve never earned in 20 years what I earned today, it’s amazing. It’s been an amazing year for me, a really long season, it was amazing to take the win in Western Australia [at the IM 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship Western Australia triathlon], it wouldn’t have been the same to take the Series without taking a win in an actual race in the Pro Series so I’m really happy. Today was a bit rough at the start, I had a really tough start to the swim, and I was chasing all day and when you come out of the water a bit back from these guys it’s a really tough day. I was fighting all day, I was fighting back because I wasn’t feeling my best, I got back to ninth and I’m actually really happy with my performance, I kept my head in the race and super proud of how I finished.
“To cross the finish line and know that I’d won the Pro Series was amazing, what a day for it, the crowds out there were amazing, I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a race with so many spectators, it was amazing, they really pushed me to that finish line.
“My focus was on the IM Pro Series this season, I haven’t really looked at the calendar for next year but for sure I’d like to try and defend my title,” Barnaby added.
Gregory Barnaby, who turned professional in 2021, had a breakout year, finishing in the top 10 for every Ironman Pro Series race he did.
Barnaby had the ‘highlight of his career’ just two weeks ago at Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship Western Australia, taking the tape at an IM 70.3 triathlon for the first time ever. Gregory also came third at the IM European Championship Frankfurt, where he outperformed high-level competition, including Patrick Lange taking a 326-point advantage from that race.
Barnaby had a promising start to his season at Ironman 70.3 Alcúdia-Mallorca triathlon, when he finished in third place, 23 seconds behind winner, Nicolas Mann, and just 16 seconds behind second place finisher, Jan Stratmann. As it would end up, that score would be replaced with his strong performance at the IM 70.3 World Championship today that had elevated points on offer.
Barnaby narrowly missed the top five at the IM World Championships in Kailua-Kona, but his competitive and tight racing still meant that he clocked 5,251 points which put him in excellent stead for the season.
The top 10 athletes in the series shared a total prize purse of $1.3 million, which was weighted according to ranking. Athletes ranking 11-50 all received a bonus of $5,000 each. The bonus pay out is in addition to any money earnt at individual races throughout the season.
Top 10 Male Professional Results – Ironman Pro Series
| Place | Name | County | Pro Series Points | Bonus payout (USD) | Total Prize Money (USD) |
| 1. | Gregory Barnaby | ITA | 19,059 | $200,000 | $254,750 |
| 2. | Patrick Lange | DEU | 18,623 | $130,000 | $286,000 |
| 3. | Kristian Høgenhaug | DNK | 18,528 | $85,000 | $114,000 |
| 4. | Matthew Marquardt | USA | 18,132 | $70,000 | $99,250 |
| 5. | Matt Hanson | USA | 17,853 | $50,000 | $82,500 |
| 6. | Bradley Weiss | ZAF | 17,350 | $40,000 | $55,250 |
| 7. | Robert Kallin | SWE | 17,192 | $30,000 | $46,000 |
| 8. | Mathias Petersen | DNK | 16,648 | $20,000 | $29,000 |
| 9. | Braden Currie | NZL | 16,306 | $15,000 | $35,000 |
| 10. | Jonas Hoffman | DEU | 16,217 | $10,000 | $15,000 |
