Most Triathletes Live on the Financial Edge
They live out of their cars. They rent rooms from friends, mooch off supportive parents and hold odd jobs in the off-season to make ends meet.
They are the professional triathletes of the 1990s.
Increased competition in the pro ranks has made year-round training a must. But aside from a tiny thriving percent, triathletes who don’t quit their jobs can’t train full-time, and if they don’t train full-time, they can’t stay competitive.
“That’s exactly it. It’s a tough situation,” said Brett Rose of Laguna Beach, who will join a field of approximately 30 professional triathletes in Sunday’s Mazda Orange County Performing Arts Center Triathlon at Lake Mission Viejo.
Triathletes joke that a pro golfer who finishes 43rd in a minor tournament earns as much as the winning athlete in a prestigious triathlon.
The earning potential is limited to such a small percentage that some are living hand to mouth.
Darren Wood, who ran track at Corona del Mar High and then at UC Irvine, turned pro two years ago. Although Wood spends six months a year in Boulder, Colo.--he shovels snow in the winter for cash--and the other six in Australia, there are times he lives out of his van.
“Basically, if you’re looking to make a career of it, you have to finish in the top three,” Wood said. “Otherwise, it’s tough. You have to put up with the poverty thing.”
Rose is a self-described struggling triathlete who never thought the sport would make him a millionaire. Rose swam at Arizona State and initially used triathlon as a training tool--he finished 450th in his first race--before he decided to make a short-term career of it.
“It was pretty easy to give it a go,” said Rose, who had supportive parents and no college debts. “I didn’t want to be in my 40s and look back with regrets. I never really hoped to make a fortune. It’s an awesome lifestyle, but living on the financial edge is getting old.”
He’s not aging alone. Rose placed the pros in three levels, a caste-system his peers said was pretty accurate.
“You have the bottom tier, who are scraping and scratching to make ends meet,” he said. “I’d say that’s 75% of the pro triathletes, who make about $20,000 a year. Total. Then you have the middle tier, who make about $30-50,000, depending on what kind of year they’re having. Then you have the upper tier, the established ones, who make six figures. There aren’t very many of those.”
Because of the sport’s shoe-string budget--several of the organizations aligned with the sport are staffed by volunteers--record-keeping is minimal.
Most observers agree that triathlon participation and earning potential is down from what it was during the 1980s, when everyone, it seemed, wanted a piece of the sport. Reasons behind the fall are as simple as the hard-hit economy and as complex as cultural issues.
The dramatic finish of the 1982 Hawaii Ironman--the year Julie Moss crawled over the finish as another competitor trotted by her to victory--etched triathlon in the minds of millions.
“All the sudden, you have this sport that no one has heard of,” said Mark Allen of Boulder, Colo., arguably the best in the business and one of the few top names missing from this weekend’s field. “Like a rose, the first smell’s the sweetest, then you can’t smell it.”
Experts say Americans saw triathlon in the ‘80s as they see bungee jumping in the ‘90s.
“It was such a wild concept in the ‘80s, companies wanted to associate with that,” said Irvine native Andy Carlson, who was third in the MOCPACT in 1992 and is the defending national champion of the U.S. Triathlon Series. “Now there are a lot of things more wild than triathlon. For an American triathlete these days, you have to do a lot of creative thinking. The sport doesn’t draw a lot of attention here.”
Unlike parts of Europe, Asia and South America, where the sport is enjoying popularity like it did here several years ago. Several elite triathletes find themselves spending twice as much time overseas as they used to.
Insiders also point to the lack of junior development programs and individual orientation of the sport when they cite reasons for the drop-off in interest.
But the strongest arguments point back to financial ones.
“It really has mirrored the economy,” said Michael Braunstein, race director for this weekend’s Orange County event. “Triathlon became big when the country was going through growth years. The economy was booming and so was the sport. The economy has changed and the sport has really leveled off, much like the running boom did 10 years prior. Now it seems to be growing slowly again. The good races are still doing well, but some of the smaller ones are no longer around.”
The Bud Light Triathlon Series, established in 1982, probably did as much for triathlon as Hawaii’s Ironman did. But the series no longer has amateur races with 2,000 participants and can’t afford to stage 13 races a year, as it did in 1984. Now there are eight races. To counter the rigorous training demands, Bud Light started a sprint-event series this year.
“There aren’t as many people doing it,” said Jim Curl of Carlsbad-based CAT Sports, which produces the Bud Light series. “The core group got older, the economy got worse, people find it hard to triple train. In the ‘80s, (triathlon) was a lifestyle affirmation. Maybe they don’t make that affirmation anymore.”
Some that still participate want something in return. According to Triathlete Magazine Editor Tim Downs, top names command a high appearance fee and some race directors are still willing to pay them. Subsequently, prize purses are drastically reduced, as is the earning power of many elite racers.
Not so in Orange County.
Braunstein said MOCPACT will provide minimal compensation to elite athletes for what he considers work above the call of duty--special appearances or other promotional activities--but fees ranging from the reported $5,000 to $20,000 that a handpicked few command are out of the question.
“In our case, the cars, the prize money and the media interest are worth something to the athletes,” Braunstein said.
The downward spiral of the economy not only has kept sponsors at bay, but participants as well.
But all the news isn’t bleak. There are several recent developments in the sport that point to a resurgence. In January of this year, triathlon was upgraded to Group-A status by the International Olympic Committee, a mandatory step toward inclusion on program for the 2000 Olympics--of which Triathlon Federation officials have been told is a lock--and it has already earned full-medal status for the 1995 Pan Am Games in Argentina.
“The Olympics would be a huge shot in the arm,” Allen said. “That would give us credibility outside of the community. If the hammer throw wasn’t in the Olympics, I don’t think anyone would know about it.”
In addition, Tri Fed, the national governing body of the sport, has started some junior development programs, something that has been lacking in the past.
Such a grass-roots effort has started locally, by Huntington Beach-based TYR Sports.
“The age-group series is another way to appeal to the weekend warrior, not just the elite athlete. You have regular people out there doing it,” said Steve Furniss, president of TYR Sports.
Triathlon Facts
What: Orange County Performing Arts Center Triathlon.
Where: North Beach at Lake Mission Viejo.
When: Sunday. Amateur race starts at 7 a.m, elite field at 11 a.m.
Who: Approximately 1,500 are expected to participate in the amateur race, and 25-30 professionals are scheduled to race.
How Much: $20,000 purse. Top male and female winners each receive a 1993 Mazda MX-5 Miata. Second-place finishers win $4,000, third-place winners $2,500.
Distances: Amateurs will swim 1 kilometer, bike 30K and run 8K. Pros will swim 1.5K, bike 38K and run 10K. Water temperature is approximately 74 degrees.
Defending Champions: Australian Greg Welch and Canadian Carol Montgomery Roberts.
Street Closures: From 6:45 a.m. to 9 a.m: Los Alisos (from Cordova to Santa Margarita Parkway), Marguerite Parkway (from Olympiad Road to Santa Margarita Parkway), Cordova Road (from Marguerite Parkway to Los Alisos); from 6:45 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.: Alicia Parkway (from Santa Margarita Parkway to Olympiad Road), Olympiad Road/Felipe Road (from Alicia Parkway to Oso Parkway), and from 6:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Olympiad Road (from Marguerite Parkway to Alicia Parkway).
Before the Race: Free Triathlon and Fitness Expo and mandatory registration and race-packet pickup at Crystal Court, South Coast Plaza, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
About the Race: A strong field has gathered, as the top three men and women finishers will be named to the U.S. national team and compete in the World Championships, Aug. 22, in England. Leading the men’s field are Australia’s Greg Welch, Brad Beven and Miles Stewart, California’s Mike Pigg, Brad Kearns, Andrew MacNaughton and Brett Rose, Canada’s Andrew MacMartin, Chile’s Christian Bustos and Colorado’s Andy Carlson. Australia’s Michellie Jones, Canada’s Montgomery Roberts, Cardiff’s Terry Martin and Massachusetts’ Karen Smyers anchor the women’s race. MacNaughton (1988), Kearns (1990 and 91) and Smyers (1991) are previous winners.