Gregory Barnaby of Italy Wins Inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series Following Nail-Biting Day of Racing at The 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand

December 16, 2024

- Barnaby finished ninth in the final race of the IRONMAN Pro Series, which was enough to maintain his lead to take the crown and claim a $200,000 USD bonus payout - Patrick Lange (DEU) and Kristian Høgenhaug (DEN) completed the first ever IRONMAN Pro Series male podium, also earning big pay days

TAUPŌ, New Zealand (December 16, 2024) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Gregory Barnaby of Italy today goes down in IRONMAN history as the first ever male winner of the IRONMAN Pro Series™ earning a bonus payout of $200,000 USD. Germany’s Patrick Lange and Denmark’s Kristian Høgenhaug completed the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series podium, receiving bonus payouts of $130,000 USD and $85,000 USD respectively.

The VinFast IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship in Taupō served as the series finale of the IRONMAN Pro Series, meaning it was the last chance for professional athletes to score points towards their end of year standings. Barnaby went into the race leading the IRONMAN Pro Series but had a battle on his hands with other top contenders with potential for points at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, including Matthew Marquardt (USA) and Kristian Høgenhaug (DEN).

In the perfect curtain call to Barnaby’s epic season of racing, the Italian exited the water in 14th place, eight seconds ahead of Marquardt, and then went on to bike himself into 10th place on a fast and furious bike race. In the meantime, Marquardt, who seemed to be struggling with cramps following the swim, had difficulty finding his trademark bike form, finishing the 90km FulGaz bike course with a 14-minute deficit on the lead, and nine minutes behind Barnaby. Barnaby remained strong and controlled throughout the 21.1km HOKA Run Course, clocking a half marathon split of 1:12:05. With a finish time of 3:40:14 and a solid ninth position overall, Barnaby secured 2,515 IRONMAN Pro Series points, cementing his place as the men’s IRONMAN Pro Series Champion with a total of 19,059 points.

Patrick Lange, the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Champion, although not racing in Taupō, was celebrated from afar as the dynamics of the race meant he finished second in the IRONMAN Pro Series with 18,623 points, 427 points behind Barnaby.

Lange, who won his third IRONMAN World Championship title in Kona, also earned the 2024 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship Texas title and grabbed significant points at the Mainova IRONMAN European Championship Frankfurt where he finished 8th. While his IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon results at Zafiro IRONMAN 70.3 Alcúdia-Mallorca and Athletic Brewing IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside triathlons weren’t what he was hoping for, they were good enough to fill his scorecard and earn a second place result overall.

Kristian Høgenhaug raced smart and consistently all season, with his best position being fourth at Mainova IRONMAN European Championship Frankfurt along with a top 10 result at the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship. He also added two 5th place finishes at IRONMAN Vitoria Gasteiz and Zafiro IRONMAN 70.3 Alcúdia-Mallorca to earn 18,528 points and a third-place finish.

Barnaby and Høgenhaug were presented with their trophies by CEO of The IRONMAN Group, Scott DeRue, during a dedicated IRONMAN Pro Series ceremony following the race in Taupō.

Gregory Barnaby commented that the win was a career highlight for him and a payday unlike he has ever had before.

“I’ve been doing triathlon for 20 years now and I’ve never earned in 20 years what I earned today, it’s amazing. It’s been an amazing year for me, a really long season, it was amazing to take the win in Western Australia [at the IRONMAN 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship Western Australia triathlon], it wouldn’t have been the same to take the Series without taking a win in an actual race in the Pro Series so I’m really happy. Today was a bit rough at the start, I had a really tough start to the swim, and I was chasing all day and when you come out of the water a bit back from these guys it’s a really tough day. I was fighting all day, I was fighting back because I wasn’t feeling my best, I got back to ninth and I’m actually really happy with my performance, I kept my head in the race and super proud of how I finished.

“To cross the finish line and know that I’d won the Pro Series was amazing, what a day for it, the crowds out there were amazing, I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a race with so many spectators, it was amazing, they really pushed me to that finish line.

“My focus was on [the IRONMAN Pro Series] this season, I haven’t really looked at the calendar for next year but for sure I’d like to try and defend my title,” Barnaby added.

Gregory Barnaby, who turned professional in 2021, had a breakout year, finishing in the top 10 for every IRONMAN Pro Series race he did.

Barnaby had the ‘highlight of his career’ just two weeks ago at IRONMAN 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship Western Australia, taking the tape at an IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon for the first time ever. Gregory also came third at Mainova IRONMAN European Championship Frankfurt, where he outperformed high-level competition, including Patrick Lange taking a 326-point advantage from that race.

Barnaby had a promising start to his season at Zafiro IRONMAN 70.3 Alcúdia-Mallorca triathlon, when he finished in third place, 23 seconds behind winner, Nicolas Mann, and just 16 seconds behind second place finisher, Jan Stratmann. As it would end up, that score would be replaced with his strong performance at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship today that had elevated points on offer,

Barnaby narrowly missed the top five at the VinFast IRONMAN World Championships in Kailua-Kona, but his competitive and tight racing still meant that he clocked 5,251 points which put him in excellent stead for the season.

Proving that consistency is key and you don’t need to win every race to win the IRONMAN Pro Series, Barnaby has shown a model for what winning 2025 could look like.

The top 10 athletes in the series shared a total prize purse of $1.3 million, which was weighted according to ranking. Athletes ranking 11-50 all received a bonus of $5,000 each. The bonus pay out is in addition to any money earnt at individual races throughout the season.

Top 10 Male Professional Results – IRONMAN Pro Series

*Inclusive of bonus and individual event prize purses

Following a successful first edition of the IRONMAN Pro Series, the IRONMAN Pro Series will be returning in 2025, and will kick off down under at IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong in Victoria, Australia on 23 March 2025 and finish at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Marbella, Spain on 8th – 9th November 2025.

For more information on the IRONMAN Pro Series, visit proseries.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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About IRONMAN Pro Series

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based world series that showcases and rewards top professional triathletes as they vie for points and event prize money, on their way to claiming the title of IRONMAN Pro Series champion and a lion’s share of the lucrative $1.7 million USD year-end bonus prize pool.  Along the way, athletes will battle for the prize money offered at each individual IRONMAN Pro Series triathlon, equating to over $2.5 million USD, as well as coveted world championship qualifying slots. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series ushers in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters – every second behind the race winner equates to a point earned or lost. Incorporating iconic distances, challenging courses, and stunning destinations, every IRONMAN Pro Series race will be broadcast live and free to a global audience. In 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series will be contested over 18 events and 17 race locations around the globe, including a combination of six IRONMAN^® and eight IRONMAN^® 70.3^® triathlons, as well as the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship^® women’s and men’s races and VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlon. An additional 40 events outside of the 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series will also offer IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 professional racing fields with world championship qualifying opportunities, and over $1.8 million USD in prize money., This creates a total professional prize purse of over $6 million USD in 2025. For more information, visit proseries.ironman.com/.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Running Series, IRONKIDS^®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf^®, UTMB^® World Series trail-running events including the Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB^®, Tarawera Ultra by UTMB^® and Ultra-Trail Australia™ by UTMB^®, Epic Series™ mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events including Haute Route^®, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Catering to the full athlete experience, the company portfolio also includes FulGaz^® virtual cycling, the most realistic indoor riding experience connected fitness application aimed at preparing athletes for real-world events. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business, and Orkila Capital, a growth equity firm focused on building great brands. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.

About Advance

Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 17,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Warner Bros. Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.