The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has announced the final athlete line-up and broadcast presentation team for the inaugural PTO Pro Am, to be held on Sunday 15 May at the Herbalife24 Triathlon Los Angeles.. ‘and streamed live for free around the world.’
The event will see six of the world’s top professional athletes race an Olympic-distance course alongside Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) athletes and special guests including former UFC star Paul Felder and Olympic silver medallist Heather Fell.
CAF athletes will kick-start the day with a 1500m swim in the sea off Venice Beach. Once out of the water, they’ll tag in a highly-ranked PTO professional… ‘who’ll rip up the road over a 40km bike course finishing in downtown LA between the Crypto.com Arena and Microsoft Square, outside the Herbalife Nutrition HQ.’
From here, another CAF athlete, or one of PTO’s special guests, will complete a 10km run to close out this first-ever PTO Pro Am event.
The PTO is working alongside the Challenged Athletes Foundation… ‘to celebrate life through sport at the first PTO Pro Am.’ The six teams taking on the challenge of the PTO Pro Am in LA are:
- Swimming and track runner Haven Shepherd, PTO World #3 Lionel Sanders and former UFC star Paul Felder.
- Swimmer and para climber Emily Gray, PTO World #8 Sam Long and swimmer and para-triathlete Rudy Garcia-Tolson.
- Para-triathlete Allysa Seely, PTO World #4 Daniel Baekkegard and GTN presenter and Olympic silver medallist Heather Fell.
- Swimmer Ahalya Lettenberger, PTO World #11 Holly Lawrence and swimmer and para-triathlete Roderick Sewell.
- Para-triathlete and hand cyclist Andre Kajlich, PTO World #7 Skye Moench and influencer and Herbalife ambassador Shirley Alvarez.
- Para-triathlete Chris Hammer, PTO World #14 Heather Jackson and para-triathlete, cyclist and marathoner Willie Stewart.
The first PTO Pro Am will be broadcast live and will also introduce the PTO’s new core broadcast presentation team. UFC commentator and triathlon convert, John Gooden, will be lead commentator beside longtime triathlon commentator Barrie Shepley. Meanwhile motorsports and athletics presenter, Rachel Stringer will present the coverage alongside Olympic bronze medallist Vicky Holland.
“As much as I love the start line, mats or the octagon, there’s nothing quite like watching the performances of elite athletes at close quarters and celebrating them with a microphone,” said John Gooden.
“I’m proud to have my dream job and I’m excited about going on this new journey with the PTO and share my passion for triathlon and help tell the stories of these incredible athletes.”
The broadcast unfolds from 05:45 local time (1:45pm BST). Fans will be able to watch the race for free wherever they are in the world. The PTO Pro Am will be streamed live to the PTO’s YouTube and Facebook channels and can also be watched via a selection of other broadcasters including Eurosport Player (Europe), Discovery+ (Europe, some exclusions apply), GCN+ (global, some exclusions apply), OutsideTV (global), BeIN Sport (USA and Canada) and CBC Sport Digital (Canada).
Following the event, a PTO Pro Am highlights documentary will also be broadcast on Eurosport in Europe and Asia.
Tim Godfrey, Chief Marketing Officer, PTO, said “We are delighted to have John, Rachel, Vicky and Barrie present coverage of our first ever PTO Pro Am, which will be televised across the globe with some great broadcast partners in Eurosport, Discovery, CBC Sports, BeIN Sports and OutsideTV. The PTO Pro Am is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the powerful stories of CAF athletes alongside our own PTO professionals and special guests.”
www.protriathletes.org
www.challengedathletes.org
