The Escape to Bermuda triathlon has become the latest victim of the global credit crunch after the Bermudan government pulled its funding for 2009.
Organisers have confirmed that the triathlon, marketed as a ‘sports tourism’ event, which saw the island transformed into a gruelling race for some of the world’s top athletes, would not go ahead this year.
According to newspaper the Bermuda Sun, the Department of Tourism has pulled the plug on its sponsorship because of budget cuts forced by the economic downturn.
The ‘Escape’ triathlon is the second major sports event to be directly impacted by the credit crunch, with the XL Open tennis tournament was also cancelled, after the headline sponsor insurance giant announced it was withdrawing its funding.
The news comes just as the triathlon, which brought an estimated 600 tourists to the island in October, was beginning to gain momentum. It was the subject of an hour-long television show screened on outdoor-themed cable channel Versus and this month featured as a six-page spread in Triathlete magazine, which has a readership of more than 100,000.
