The World Triathlon Executive Board (EB) convened in Budapest for a pivotal two-day meeting to define the organization’s strategic direction for 2026-2029. Discussions focused on key priorities, including driving growth, enhancing the commercial potential of the sport, and ensuring its long-term sustainability.
The new Strategic Plan will build upon the recently published study, The Future of Triathlon, produced in conjunction with Deloitte. The study presents a strategic vision for unlocking triathlon’s untapped commercial and global opportunities. The plan will incorporate recommendations to reimagine the current Event Structure, aligning it with World Triathlon’s evolving vision and mission.
During the two-day session, the Executive Board identified key challenges and opportunities for embracing triathlon events in the future. Deloitte facilitated the discussions, leveraging insights from the Future of Triathlon study to guide the Board in establishing ambitious yet achievable goals for the coming years.
The resulting key elements for the new Strategic Plan encompass:
● Creating a unified commercial ecosystem: A focus on developing new approaches to partnerships, revenue generation, and innovation.
● Elevating event experience: Implementing festival-style formats and immersive digital touchpoints to enhance athlete and fan engagement.
● Expanding fan and athlete engagement: Focusing beyond elite performance by leveraging content, data-driven insights, and storytelling to connect with wider audiences.
● Investing in mass participation and emerging formats: Building a robust foundation for long-term sustainability by supporting grassroots development and exploring innovative event structures.
The Budapest meeting also served as an introduction and onboarding for World Triathlon’s newly appointed Secretary General, Jon Wyatt, who actively participated in the discussions ahead of his official start date in August.
The owner and CEO of Hyrox, Christian Toetzke, delivered a presentation to the Executive Board, exploring the potential for future collaboration and the inclusion of Hyrox as a discipline within World Triathlon events, potentially including the Olympics. World Triathlon’s EB will collaborate with Hyrox in the coming months to assess this opportunity and develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to align key strategic elements.
In other business, the Executive Board approved the addition of the 2025 Para Cup in San Pedro de la Paz (Chile), scheduled for November 8, to the 2025 race calendar and designated the Technical Delegates for this Para Cup and the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh.
The EB also approved the Financial Statements of 2024 and the Audit report, reviewed the 2025 Budget, and received updates on Communications, Digital, and Broadcast operations for 2025. Furthermore, the Board approved the procedures for the upcoming Athletes Committee elections in October.
Finally, the Executive Board approved the Development contracts for Europe Triathlon and Oceania Triathlon for 2025, completing the approval process for all five continents’ development plans for the next quadrennial.
“These two days in Budapest have been instrumental in laying the groundwork for a bold and ambitious a sustainable future for World Triathlon,” said World Triathlon President Antonio F. Arimany. ‘We are committed to leveraging the insights from the Future of Triathlon study, working in collaboration with Deloitte, and engaging with our entire community to create a strategic plan that will drive our sport forward for years to come.’
World Triathlon extends its sincere gratitude to the Hungarian Federation and its President, Gabor Kindl, for their warm hospitality and support in hosting this crucial meeting. The next steps will involve incorporating feedback from the Executive Board, World Triathlon staff, Committees, Commissions, and continental representatives before the final approval of the strategic plan.