Digging Into IRONMAN’s Data on Participation and Barriers to Entry

Yesterday IRONMAN released key data and research findings across the landscape of the sport, showing positive trend lines in participation but also some of the first concrete data we’ve had on barriers of entry to triathlon. It’s a report that provides reassurances that we could be in for the next growth phase in our sport, but it also highlights the potential high-water marks that we may hit without changes in how we, collectively, as stakeholders approach the sport.

The Positives: We’re Getting Younger, and There’s More of Us

More than 200,000 athletes registered for an IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 race in 2024, which breaks out to a rough average of north than 1,200 athletes per race across the global portfolio of events. More importantly, though, is that the largest age group is 30-34. That’s the first time we’ve ever had this many athletes in that age band participating, and that figure is up 8% over 2023.

There’s also been a 39% increase since 2019 in first-time athletes under 30 entering IRONMAN-branded events. That shift is driven most dramatically at IRONMAN 70.3 events, with a 66% growth rate in that demographic over the same time span.

The top five countries with athletes participating are as follows:

1. United States
2. United Kingdom
3. France (+16% in entries, most of any country)
4. Germany
5. Australia

Factor it all together, and you’re seeing a return towards races selling out earlier — 32 races globally have already reached capacity for the year.

Concerns: Women’s Participation and Cited Barriers to Entry

Triathlon remains primarily a man’s world. Globally, women make up only 18% of total IRONMAN entries. That number improves to 26% for IRONMAN 70.3s. This comes despite growth in 140.6 participation amongst women in the United States and Canada over the last year, with 10% more women taking on a long-course event. It mirrors a trend that we saw out of USA Triathlon’s data, where women are coming back to triathlon at a slower rate than men following the COVID-19 pandemic; women’s participation has only rebounded to 71% of pre-COVID levels, whereas men have hit 91% of their pre-COVID watermark.

IRONMAN then surveyed over 10,000 athletes from three different pools to try to get a better understanding of women’s barriers to entry to triathlon. Those pools were:

• Existing IRONMAN/IRONMAN 70.3 athletes;
• Female endurance athletes who have taken part in IRONMAN Group owned events outside of triathlon (e.g., UTMB, Epic Races, Rock n Roll Marathons)
• Female endurance athletes who have not taken part in IRONMAN Group events.

Unsurprisingly, “finding time” was the top reason listed as a barrier to participating in triathlon. When presented with options to further define the barriers to that time, women most frequently selected: family life demands; the volume of training required; lack of childcare to support training; and “finding time to train.” A full 56% of female athletes specifically cited the demand on family life as a barrier.

Cost was also a frequent barrier cited. Interestingly, more existing triathletes said that cost was a barrier than ones who have not yet entered the sport. 28% of current IRONMAN/IRONMAN 70.3 athletes stated cost was a concern. That’s more than double the percentage of non-current customers, at 13%. Non-triathletes also mentioned body image concerns as inhibitors to racing, with 23% of respondents mentioning them.

What Do We Do About It?

IRONMAN has cited some specific action steps based on responses in the survey. First, there’s talk of modifications to race experiences and offerings that may evolve in order to address these barriers to entry. Those may include things like courses, race distances, race locations, and/or onsite experiences in order to better appeal to athletes. There’s also talk of revamping existing programs and initiatives, including but not limited to Women For Tri, increasing media exposure of female athletes, and community-building events focused on overcoming real or perceived barriers to entry.

In a statement, Chief Executive Officer of The IRONMAN Group Scott DeRue said: “Our vision is simple; we want to give more people from around the world the opportunity to experience the life-changing journey of triathlon, and to inspire more people to reach for their IRONMAN dream. As the global leader of triathlon, we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to not only grow IRONMAN, but also to partner across the community to grow the sport. We only achieve this by continuing to listen to and care for our athletes with intent and purpose. With this goal in mind, we have an unwavering commitment to reducing key barriers to entry, evolving our product offerings, partnering with others who share our goals, and committing a sustained effort into community building, emerging markets, and developing the next generation of athletes.”

And here’s where we, collectively, as stakeholders come in. Because it’s not just about what IRONMAN does on this one. It’s about how we as media members act; it’s how brands that work within our space act; it’s how we as community members on our forum can interact with one another. We’re all responsible in some way, shape, or form of the health of the sport.

Let’s use one of the barrier examples that we talked about before: body image concerns. There’s a few ways that all of us, collectively, can do a better job on this front. We as media members can be better about diversity in body type and size in both who we hire to write / produce content, as well as be representative within our stories that we cover. Brands, meanwhile, can approach this with opportunity for product line diversification (not every single piece of triathlon apparel needs to be completely form-fitting, I promise) as well as having appropriate size spread on offer. And we, as community members, can continue to be mindful that body size, type, etc. are not proxies for how many races someone has done, or how well they have achieved at them.

Because, at the end of the day, 200,000 triathletes entering IRONMAN branded events isn’t enough. The top 100 running races in the USA last year had 1.8 million combined entrants. That’s the nut we eventually need to crack. And it starts with how we talk, engage, and promote our sport — all of us.

Tags: