Major sports participation events are increasingly drawing the same level of professional management as touring professional sports like Formula One.  Marathons have been there for some time but Triathlons are increasingly muscling in to very good effect for host cities.
IMG Challenger World has this week extended its association with the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon up to 2015. It was involved in the first running of the event in 2010 and is involved in the planning, operational staging, commercial, marketing and public relations support.
Abu Dhabi’s target is to secure sports participation tourism as well as to highlight the advantages it has for winter training in the professional world.  The race has drawn professional Iron man competitors as well as 2,000 participants from around the world.
This is very much a city event with roads on the cycling leg around the city centre completely closed for the duration of the race.  It encompasses the city’s formula one circuit as an added attraction.
Ireland has been to the fore in terms of developing mass participation triathlons as the sport has grown rapidly. Our ease of access and temperate climate has seen events like the Women’s Mini Marathon grow into the largest event of its kind in the world.
Galway has hosted legs of the IronMan Triathlon series and benefitted from international broadcast exposure as a result, as well as drawing support from Fáilte Ireland and local sponsors.
Tri Athy and Tri Athlone are another two of the largest triathlons and commit a lot of resource towards attracting Irish competitors.  Athlone is the European City of Sport in 2013 and is likely to reach out to an international audience as part of that.
Most Triathlons are organised on a professional basis but if an international circuit is developing through the engagement of firms like IMG, then perhaps there is an opportunity to fully develop one as a premier ‘world class’ event that might attract global sponsorship.
If there was one event lifted to that level it would raise interest in others as well.  Simply look at the boost in 2012 when Formula One star Jensen Button competed in the Tri Athy while he was in Dublin for the City Racing motor event.
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