World Triathlon election controversy sullies the sport’s reputation

It wouldn’t be 2024 without divisive elections and triathlon is not immune. The actual racing can be the easy bit at times. Sandwiched between the World Triathlon Championship Series finals in Spain and the men’s Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, we had a far more tactical contest – choosing the next leader of World Triathlon, the sport’s governing body.

The Machiavelliansim had been clear weeks earlier. Long-standing executive board members and two of eight presidential candidates, Mexico’s Antonio Alvarez and Japan’s Shin Otsuka, travelled to France for the European Triathlon Congress. But they withdraw from the contest and threw their support behind the secretary general Antonio Arimany of Spain. 

Both Alvarez and Otsuka were reprimanded for breaching election rules. Amid concerns about the election process, three of the remaining candidates, Australia’s Michelle Cooper, Britain’s Ian Howard and Hungary’s Tamas Toth, wrote to International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach. They complained that “extreme steps [were] being taken to determine the election outcome, coordinated, it would seem, by the secretary general himself.”

‘Unholy alliances, dodgy deals, dirty tricks’

In Spain, Howard’s final pre-election address left no doubt as to his position. “We stand at a crossroads,” he said. “You can choose more of the same and see the reputation of our federation increasingly damaged: unholy alliances, dodgy deals, dirty tricks.” 

That wasn’t the end of the scheming. Arimany won by a landslide – 90 votes to Howard’s next-best 29 – to succeed his compatriot Marisol Casado to the presidency; Casado stepping down having held the position for four terms since 2008.

But as Jens Weinreich revealed in investigative publication The Inquisitor, a list of preferential candidates for each committee was circulated to persuadable delegates prior to the vote. The 71 names on the list almost exactly mirrored the final result. The rest – around 90 or so – were out. 

These included not just Howard and co, but those seen as their allies. Yet despite the earlier wrist-slaps, Alvarez and Otsuka were elected as two of the four vice presidents. It led to Iceland’s federation president Valerie Maier protesting on Facebook that “the whole election was rigged!”

World Triathlon’s denial

World Triathlon refutes this and says the elections were conducted in a transparent and democratic way. But it’s clear that machinations were at play. The bigger question is whether all is fair in love and war and electioneering? Yes, if you’re one of the individuals in a position of power.

But having been in touch with several disillusioned delegates, the following fears were raised. Most obviously, the lack of importance placed on a proper democratic process, which undermines trust in the organisation.

Secondly, the loss of specialist experience of highly competent individuals from various committees.

Thirdly, that World Triathlon needed leadership reform because it is falling behind private organisations in the sport. Its flagship World Triathlon Series Championship is suffering as a result. The argument is that Arimany is a continuation of the existing administration and not the change candidate needed. 

And finally, on the thorny transgender issue, the incumbents are aligned with International Olympic Committee policy. This allows athletes who have been through male puberty to compete in women’s events rather than following the lead of World Athletics or British Triathlon to block this. 

What now?

Will the result stand? It seems so. Some candidates have said it’s time to move forward and concentrate on introducing more robust election rules in place in the future.

Others have told 220 that official complaints have been lodged. But World Triathlon denies any knowledge of this.

If a complaint is lodged, that process would first go to the sport’s tribunal. It could eventually end up at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where Arimany has been serving as vice-president since 2023.