The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) US Open men’s and women’s races in Dallas this weekend (September 17 -18 September) will showcase the planet’s best triathletes – all fighting it out for a whopping $1 million prize purse.
But as well as world-class sporting action, there will also be a fan village serving up great food from Ferris Wheeler and Mi Cocina. Plus a very special guest: US Olympic sprint sensation Michael Johnson, who will be checking out both races and making guest appearances on the TV commentary.
“I’m excited about getting involved in the new Professional Triathletes Organisation Tour’s first race here in the US and I’m delighted they’ve chosen Dallas,” said Johnson.
“Triathlon wasn’t the sport for me. I could never go for that long, but I remember thinking that these guys must be the ultimate endurance athletes – to not just take on one discipline but combine three to such a high level and over significant distances. So I’m looking forward to speaking to them and getting under the skin of what motivates them and how they train.”
Who will be the first-ever PTO US Open Champion?
The women’s race will have a strong contingent of Americans, led by PTO world-ranked #7 Taylor Knibb and supported by #15 Jackie Hering, #18 Jocelyn McCauley, #37 Danielle Lewis and #56 Lesley Smith. They will be up against a stellar line-up of international stars including PTO Canadian Open winner and runner-up Ashleigh Gentle from Australia, Paula Finlay from Canada and Kat Matthews, Holly Lawrence and Lucy Charles-Barclay from Great Britain.
The women’s race features 14 of the world’s top 25 PTO world-ranked female triathletes and will take place on a specially designed course in Las Colinas, which will create a stadium-feel event where fans will see the athletes as many as 12 times during the 100km race (2 km swim, 80 km bike and 18 km run).
The men’s race features 22 of the top 30 in the PTO world rankings and covers 12 different countries, including seven from the USA led by PTO world-ranked #11 Sam Long. Sam will be up against feature PTO world-ranked #3 Magnus Ditlev from Denmark, #4 Lionel Sanders from Canada and #5 Alistair Brownlee from Great Britain.
Amateurs to get the chance to ‘race and watch’ the Pros
While the world’s best will go head-to-head in the professional races, there will also be 25 km and 100 km age-grouped races taking place as well – a unique feature of the PTO Tour which gives amateurs the opportunity to rub shoulders with the pros and race and watch on the same course.
Run in partnership with USA Triathlon, participants will have the benefit of race organization from a team of local experts backed by the PTO’s dedication to exceptional event experiences, with everything from the race pack to the finish line fit for the world’s best athletes. For more details visit: protriathletes.org
Superhuman athletes who deserve more…
“I really like how the PTO is setting itself up, as an athlete-owned body, committed to promoting the longer distances of the sport and in a different way,” continued Johnson.
“The superhuman efforts of these triathletes haven’t always enjoyed the spotlight they deserve, so the PTO was set up by the athletes to change that, make the sport more professional and try to take it to the next level in terms of story-telling, prize-money and global broadcast," he added. "So I’m interested in finding out more about that too. It is definitely an event that people in the Dallas area should get themselves down to.”
