The Rise of Pro Age Groupers

John* is an electrician by trade. He has been ‘on the tools’ for a number of years now and has always wanted to be a pro athlete. John’s love of triathlon and the fact that he is still under 30 years of age has seen him alter his working life to fit his obsession. John trains close to 35 hours a week and organises his working schedule to include less hours at work (John owns his own business) and more time spent honing his triathlon craft.

John fits the mould of a pro age grouper. A breed of athlete that races as an amateur but essentially trains as much as a pro. John is not a professional triathlete but lives and trains as if he is one. They may not have the speed but they have the time. And John is not alone. He is a part of the new wave of age groupers who are present at each race. And what they bring is a whole new image of what it is to be an amateur in the sport of triathlon.

Pro Age Groupers are organised, motivated and are attracting sponsors. Brands are getting on board labeling them as ‘inflencers’ and seeing value in their ability to generate their own version of social media hype. They generally belong to large tri groups and are worth the gamble by some brands as they are local and race in Australia.

And we are seeing this more and more. “There is definitely a spike in the pro age grouper hitting races. We see more and more people altering their work life balance to incorporate triathlon. A lot of them shift work to fit their training schedule not the other way around as it was years ago” coach of a high-performance age-group squad said.

The pro age grouper too is affecting how races are won and run. Recently there were 4 age group men in the top 10 overall. This is indicative of the rise and rise of this trend and the fact that pro fields are thinning constantly with the amount of races on offer. Pros are being very selective with their racing schedule and it is not uncommon for races

Kona spots too are becoming more and more difficult to obtain with the rise of this group. No longer do you chance your luck and try to have the best race possible, because that may not be good enough. Unless you are stopping the clock at an elite time your chances of getting a spot to the Big Island are slim. A sub 10 hour Ironman finish, once the promised land of Ironman age group racing, is now just an ok day in comparison to what some of the pro age groupers are turning out.

People train harder and longer to try and become more competitive against a depth of field that has evolved. All to get a spot in Kona. It’s not that all of a sudden people have found triathlon. It is the fact that they will alter their working lives around it.

*name changed at subject’s request.