A big day in Bahrain is upon us
Tomorrow, at the Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship in Bahrain, Ironman World Champion and Ironman 70.3 World Champion Daniela Ryf can earn the biggest payday in triathlon history.
If the 28-year-old Swiss woman wins Saturday, she will earn a $1 million bonus for winning the three races of the Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad al Khalifa Triple Crown – Challenge Dubai in February, the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in July, and the Bahrain 70.3 Middle East Championship tomorrow.
Adding up her winnings for Challenge Dubai ($65,000), Challenge Fuerteventura ($3,500), Ironman 70.3 Mallorca ($3,500), Ironman 70.3 Switzerland ($3,000), Ironman 70.3 Worlds ($45,000), the Ironman World Championship ($125,000) and her potential take if she wins Bahrain ($20,000) – that would make Ryf’s potential prize purse-only take for the year to be $291,500. Total earnings – not including lucrative sponsorships – would be $1,291,500.
Such an amount would at least double the biggest previous triathlon one year bonus and prize money total – Greg Bennett’s 2007 $500,000-plus reward for winning all four Life Time Fitness series events – the major portion being a $300,000 bonus for the Life Time Fitness Grand Slam sweep.
While the single day winner’s payoffs at Bahrain will be a relatively modest $20,000, the potential $1 million payout for the Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad al-Khalifa Triple Crown would be a landmark in the sport. Triathlon and duathlon big payoffs started with a $50,000 total purse paid to Maddie Tormoen for winning the 1994 edition of Powerman Zofingen which included a $10,000 bonus for the gender handicap victory and a $10,000 bonus for the 1994 Powerman Series title. Life Time Fitness joined the big payday parade with a $50,000 award to Barb Lindquist for her gender handicap victory at the 2002 Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis. From 2003 through 2005, Life Time Fitness at Minneapolis upped the ante, offering $200,000 to the men’s and women’s winners plus a $50,000 bonus for the gender handicap champion. Hy-Vee took up the cause of large payoffs with $200,000 paid out to the men’s and women’s winners of its Des Moines, Iowa races from 2007 through 2013.
Of course, as Shakespeare so eloquently put it, there is many a slip ‘twixt lip and cup. Ryf faces a challenge from a few highly rated rivals as well as the requirement that she arrives at the start line in good health and does not suffer a crash or other misfortune in the 70.3 race.
Coming into this 2015 finale with a perfect record of 7 wins – four of them majors – and no losses, Ryf is the prohibitive favorite. But she will face two and possibly three serious rivals in the 11-women pro field.
Caroline Steffen of Switzerland is the 2010 and 2012 ITU Long Distance World Champion and placed second at Kona in 2010 and 2012. She had a strong record in this year, winning 70.3 races in Mandurah, Sunshine Coast, Cebu, Cairns, and Vietnam as well as 3rd at Ironman Frankfurt.
Jodie Swallow of Great Britain, the 2010 Ironman 70.3 World champion and 2009 ITU Long Distance World Champion, had a strong start to 2015 with wins at Ironman South Africa, Ironman 70.3 South Africa and Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote as well as 3rd at Ironman 70.3 St. George. Swallow fought anemia in mid-season but has rallied with a 2nd-place at last weekend’s Challenge Laguna Phuket.
Corinne Abraham is listed as a starter but if she races she will not likely be in top form as she will be recovering from her victory at Ironman Cozumel last weekend.
The men’s field is deeper and top contenders in order include Brent McMahon of Canada, Ruedi Wild of Switzerland, Ben Hoffman of the U.S., James Cunnama of South Africa, Ritchie Nicholls of Great Britain, Bertrand Billard of France, WTS star Henri Schoeman of South Africa, Bart Aernouts of Belgium Alberto Casadei of Italy and David Plese of Slovenia.
