Triathlon has long been one of the fastest growing sports in the world and that trend has continued in recent years: according to figures shared by Ironman. Young people in particular are becoming enthusiastic about the sport and appear to be racing Long Distance races faster than ever.
Up front: Ironman shares an extensive data analysis based on participants who started in races organized by its own organization over the past five years, so figures from other organizations are not included in this. That the sport of triathlon is growing fast is clear, but the number of female participants at Ironman, on the other hand, lags considerably behind. In the United States and Canada the participation rate among women still increased by ten percent, but in other countries Ironman saw the same or even lower numbers of women at the start of their races.
Compared to five years ago, however, there is a whopping 39 percent increase in rookies under the age of 30. At Ironman 70.3s, this trend is even more evident than at the 140.6 distance, as there the growth among this group is as high as 66 percent. According to Ironman, the sporting successes of top young athletes such as Taylor Knibb, Gustav Iden and Sam Laidlow would contribute immensely to the increase in popularity among young people.
Ironman logically had the most participants in the United States over the past five years. This is followed by the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia. The biggest growth in terms of number of athletes was seen in France, where 16 percent more athletes participated in an Ironman last year in comparison to the year before (2023).
