World Triathlon Corporation
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The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) is a sports event promotion company owned by conglomerate
Advance Publications Advance Publications, Inc., doing business as Advance, is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse Jr. It owns a large number of subsidiary companies, including Condé Nast, an ...
, that produces the
Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consider ...
,
Ironman 70.3 An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting o ...
, the 5150 series of
triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...
races, and other sports events.


History

In December, 1989, Dr. James P. Gills, with the help of Lew Friedland and David Yates, acquired and purchased the Hawaii Triathlon Corporation, owner of the Ironman Brand, for $3 million from Valerie Silk. Yates was the CEO from 1992 to 1998, followed by Friedland in the CEO role. With the Ironman brand, Gills established the World Triathlon Corporation with the intention of furthering the sport of triathlon and increasing prize money for triathletes. Ben Fertic, formerly Vice President of
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, joined WTC in 2000 and was involved in the business operations and day-to-day decision making for WTC. Fertic became CEO of WTC in 2004. During Fertic's tenure as VP, he created Ironman Live, an online presence of Ironman Triathlon, and transformed WTC into an event production company. In 2007, WTC undertook expansion in producing Ironman events internally, with the inaugural Ironman Louisville. This followed the launch of
Ironman 70.3 An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting o ...
events in
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and
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. In 2008, World Triathlon Corporation was purchased by Providence Equity Securities for $85 million. Providence Equity is a private equity firm, of whom one board member is an Ironman athlete. CEO Ben Fertic remained at the helm of the business. The following year, in early in 2009, WTC announced the acquisition of Ironman events based in the United States, from North America Sports, a company founded by Canadian Graham Fraser. Employees from North America Sports were expected to remain and manage these events, which included Ironman Coeur d'Alene, Lake Placid, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona, Ironman 70.3 California, and Ironman 70.3 Florida. On May 31, 2011, WTC announced that Andrew Messick, who was previously the president
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, would become CEO of the World Triathlon Corporation. Fertic would continue in his role in serving on the Board of Directors as well as serving in a newly created president position. Messick, who is an Ironman triathlon finisher himself, helped build and direct, among other things, the
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cycling event.


Dalian Wanda Group (2015–2020)

In Fall 2015, World Triathlon Corporation and the Ironman brand were acquired by Chinese conglomerate
Dalian Wanda Group Wanda Group (), or the Dalian Wanda Group (), is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in Dalian, Liaoning and headquartered in Beijing. It is a private property developer and owner of Wanda Cinemas and the Hoyts Group. With invest ...
. Wanda Group reached an agreement to purchase 100% of equity for $650 million and the assumption of debt from former owners Providence Equity Partners. Ironman had been in the hands of Providence for seven successful years after they purchased it in 2008. A source for the ''Wall Street Journal'' estimated that the WTC is valued at roughly $900 million and represents a quadrupling of Providence's investment in the WTC. A Wanda Group press release stated that the World Triathlon Corporation's gross revenue has risen at a compounded average growth rate of 40% for four years straight. Net profit has grown at 40% a year. Wanda Group has announced plans to bring Ironman races to China in the future, citing the events have been hosted in over 20 countries worldwide but none yet in China. This was inspired by the success of other Ironman races in Asia, like those in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Dalian Wanda acquired
Competitor Group Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI) is a privately held, for-profit, sports marketing and management company based in Mira Mesa, San Diego, California. The company owns and operates over 40 large scale running, cycling, and triathlon events; of which inc ...
(operator of the
Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series is a collection of road running events owned and operated by the IRONMAN Group's Competitor Group, part of Advance Publications. The series is known for lining race routes with live bands, cheerleaders and themed ...
) in 2017; it became a subsidiary of the Ironman Group.


Advance (2020–)

On March 26, 2020,
Advance Publications Advance Publications, Inc., doing business as Advance, is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse Jr. It owns a large number of subsidiary companies, including Condé Nast, an ...
announced that it will acquire The Ironman group from the Dalian Wanda Group, with Orkila as a co-investor in the company. As part of the deal, Wanda will continue to operate the events in China under a license agreement. On July 21, 2020, the sale was completed.


Event acquisitions

In addition to the North American Sports acquisition in 2009 WTC has acquired several other event management companies and races. In February 2012 WTC purchased USM Events, owners of Australian triathlons in Geelong, Mooloolaba, and Noosa, as well as the Sydney World Triathlon Series (WTS) race. USM Events also owned and produced a full Ironman distance race in Cairns, Australia called Challenge Cairns. Challenge, a rival to the Ironman brand, did not wish to have WTC running one of the Challenge family of races. As a result, Challenge terminated its contract with USM and Challenge Cairns subsequently became Ironman Cairns. The purchase of USM Events expands WTC's Asia-Pacific triathlon market. The purchase would have placed WTC into
International Triathlon Union World Triathlon, previously known as the International Triathlon Union (ITU), is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations. World Triathlon hosts the top ...
racing with the Sydney WTS race, but government officials in
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
took the option of not extending an agreement to continue staging the Sydney event due to the ongoing logistical and financial investment required. In June 2013, WTC purchased YWC Sports, a private company that organizes triathlons and endurance sport events in Denmark. YWC Sports was contracted by the Challenge Family to produce the long-distance triathlon races Challenge Copenhagen and Challenge Aarhus. However, Challenge Family CEO Felix Walchshöfer did not wish to have WTC produce a Challenge licensed event and therefore terminated YWC's agreement stating that the sale to WTC constituted a breach of contract. As a result, the Challenge Copenhagen race, which was scheduled to race in August 2013, would be rebranded as Ironman Copenhagen and 50 qualifying spots would be offered up for the 2013 Ironman World Championships. Challenge Aarhus was replaced by Ironman 70.3 Aarhus and debuted in June 2014. In January 2016 WTC acquired
Lagardère Group Lagardère S.A. () is an international group with operations in over 40 countries. It is headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The group was created in 1992 as Matra, Hachette & Lagardère. Headed by Arnaud Lagardère, it is focuse ...
's endurance sports division. Lagardère was owners of
ITU World Triathlon Series The World Triathlon Championship Series is World Triathlon's annual series of triathlon events used to crown an annual world champion since 2008. There are multiple rounds of competitions culminating in a Grand Final race. Athletes compete head- ...
races in Hamburg, Abu Dhabi, Kapstadt, Leeds, and Stockholm. The acquisition also greatly expanded WTC's portfolio beyond triathlon adding several cycling events like Cyclassics Hamburg,
Velothon Berlin Velothon Berlin (officially Garmin Velothon Berlin, formerly ProRace Berlin) was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in May, between 2011 and 2015, in Berlin, Germany. It was part of the UCI Europe Tour as a 1.1 race. It was part of the U ...
, Velothon Wales, Velothon Copenhagen, Velothon Stockholm, Velothon Stuttgart as well as several running events like the
Hamburg Marathon The Hamburg Marathon (german: Hamburg-Marathon) is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of held in Hamburg, Germany. In 2009, 13,938 participants were counted. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athlet ...
, Hawkes Bay International Marathon, Marathon de Bordeaux, Queenstown Marathon, Music Runs in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and South Africa and several multisport events. *
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– annual mountain bike stage race held in the
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*Optimum Sports Events (2015) – Owners of Challenge Vichy *SuperFrog, Inc. (2015) – Multiple events including the Superfrog Triathlon. *Firstwave Events, LLC. (2015) – Big Kahuna Triathlon and Santa Cruz Half Marathon *
Auckland Marathon The Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Marathon and Half Marathon is an annual running event held in Auckland, New Zealand. The event is held in October or early November of each year, which is during the spring in New Zealand. The main feature of the ...
(2014) *Lifesport Properties Inc. (2014) – Owners of the Subaru Western Triathlon Series *Tritlon Spain SL (2014) – Owners of Challenge Barcelona *Columbia Triathlon Association, Inc. (2014) – An Ironman race licensee and owners of ChesapeakeMan *XXtra Mile, LLC (2013) – Owners of the Danskin Triathlon Series, the events were rebranded under the IronGirl banner. *Sports Promotion UG (2013), Owners of Challenge Kraichgau and Challenge Rügen *Triangle Sports & Promotion GmbH (2010) – Owners of Ironman Austria, Ironman France, Ironman South Africa, Ironman 70.3 Austria, Ironman 70.3 Monaco, Ironman 70.3 South Africa *BK Sportpromotions AG (2009) – Owners of Ironman Switzerland and Ironman 70.3 Switzerland *Xdream Sports & Events GmbH (2009) – Owners of
Ironman Germany The Ironman Germany is a triathlon race, part of the Ironman series. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). In 2005, Frankfurt became the new site of the Ironman European Championship. __TOC__ History The first Iro ...
and Ironman 70.3 Germany *5430 Sports (2009) – Multiple events including the Boulder Peak Triathlon * IronKids (2008) – Race series owned by the
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since 1985.


Event and product licensing

WTC holds the rights to use the name "Ironman" for marketing purposes in association with contests consisting of swimming, biking, and running; which is used to license triathlon events around the world. This part is part of the
licensing A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
agreement both
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
and WTC to not use the "Iron Man" and "Ironman" trademarks in ways that would suggest an association with the other or cause brand confusion. The first events to take on Ironman licensing include events in Canada, New Zealand and Australia, all of which formed in the 1980s. Since then, Ironman event licensing has gone global, with the creation of the Ironman 70.3 series in 2005 and the 5150 series beginning in 2011. The WTC licenses the Ironman and Ironman Triathlon logo and other related marks to various corporations for use in their product lines. An example is the licensing to
Timex Group USA Timex Group USA, Inc. (formerly known as Timex Corporation) is an American global watch manufacturing company founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1944, the company became insolvent but was reformed into ...
of the Ironman Triathlon logo for use in the
Timex Ironman The Timex Ironman (Ironman-Triathlon) is a digital wristwatch first produced by Timex in 1986 that continues to be made in various styles today. History and development In 1984 Timex worked together with the officials of the Ironman Triathlo ...
watch line that includes the Timex Ironman Datalink series of GPS type watches.


Former business ventures


''LAVA'' magazine

In March 2010, World Triathlon Corporation announced the start of a triathlon publication called ''LAVA'' magazine. At its conception, the magazine was published by John Duke, former publisher of ''Triathlete Magazine'' and then Vice President of Global Sales and Media for WTC. ''LAVA'' built its initial subscription base from United States athletes who had entered in an Ironman branded event in 2010. The magazine produces 9 issues per year. The "Lava" name is in reference to the
Hawaiian Island The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
that the Ironman Championship is held on each year. The magazine was started under former World Triathlon Corporation CEO Ben Fertic. Under CEO Andrew Messick, WTC sought to focus solely on the Ironman brand of races and move away from publishing. In May 2012, WTC sold ''LAVA'' to a group of investors that included ''LAVA'' publisher John Duke, Active.com's CEO Dave Alberga and president Matt Landa, as well as former hedge fund manager Matthew Michelsen. Additionally, as part of the sale, Heather Gordon became the new publisher. The sale also coincided with the end of a two-year ban that prevented ''LAVA'' from being sold on the newsstand for two years. That ban was the result of a dispute and settlement between Duke's previous employer ''Triathlete Magazine'', its parent
Competitor Group, Inc. Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI) is a privately held, for-profit, sports marketing and Event management, management company based in Mira Mesa, San Diego, California. The company owns and operates over 40 large scale running, cycling, and triathlon ev ...
, and WTC. After the sale ''LAVA'' will receive a preferred relationship with WTC as the official publication of Ironman, which will grant the magazine unique access to Ironman consumers.


Ironman Access

On October 27, 2010, World Triathlon Corporation put out a press release announcing the creation of an athlete membership program called Ironman Access. This program was to offer advanced registration to its Ironman events before entries would be open for registration to the general public. Advance race registration for members of Ironman Access would be open one week prior to the event's general entry registration date. Members of this program would also receive a number of other benefits, such as a free subscription to its ''LAVA'' magazine and discounts at its shopironman.com website. The cost of membership into the Ironman Access program was US$1,000. However, a day later, in response to comments the WTC received via email and from comments received through
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, Ben Fertic, then CEO of WTC, appeared in an online video announcing that Ironman Access program would be rescinded, stating: "If you guys think we're wrong, we're wrong." As explained in the video by Fertic, the purpose of the program was to free up 2,500 to 3,000 entry slots that go unused by individuals who sign up for multiple Ironman events.


See also

*
Competitor Group, Inc. Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI) is a privately held, for-profit, sports marketing and Event management, management company based in Mira Mesa, San Diego, California. The company owns and operates over 40 large scale running, cycling, and triathlon ev ...
*
Life Time Tri Series The Life Time Triathlon Series is a set of Olympic Distance triathlon races held annually in the United States and organized by Life Time Fitness. The series began as a single race, the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon, in 2002 in Minneapolis, Minnesot ...


References


External links


IRONMAN
{{Authority control Dalian Wanda Group Ironman Triathlon Private equity portfolio companies Privately held companies based in Florida Sports event promotion companies Triathlon organizations