Sam Long, Ben Kanute lead U.S. Men's Field at PTO U.S. Open

MILWAUKEE — Elite triathletes Sam Long and Ben Kanute lead a five-strong contingent of U.S. men's athletes at the PTO U.S. Open in Milwaukee, as the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) on Wednesday announced the stellar men's field for the race on Aug. 4.

Following a podium finish at Challenge Roth on his first visit to the race, Kanute is in great form and hopes the support of a US crowd will help him climb further up the podium in Milwaukee: 

“I was buzzing coming off my podium finish at Challenge Roth, which I feel puts me in a great position for this PTO US Open race in Milwaukee. It’s another stacked field, which is what we’ve come to expect from these PTO Tour races. So it won’t be easy, but with a home crowd behind us and a bunch of support from the athletes competing in the USAT National and Youth Championships that will be happening at the same time, I’ll be hoping to take that next step up.”

U.S. triathlon fans will get the chance to watch Kanute, Long and some of the sport's other biggest names at the PTO U.S. Open in Milwaukee, including PTO World #1 Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) and #3 Magnus Ditlev (DEN).

Joining Long and Kanute on the U.S. men's squad include Jason West, Trevor Foley and Chris Leiferman – who will all be looking to win the PTO US Open title on home soil.  

The PTO U.S. Open will take place in conjunction with USA Triathlon Nationals, which combines the longstanding Olympic & Sprint National Championships and Youth & Junior Nationals to create the biggest weekend of triathlon racing in the United States, with more than 7,000 participants and 20,000 spectators expected to attend.

The packed weekend of racing takes place Aug. 4-6 in Milwaukee, with the women's PTO U.S. Open taking place Aug. 5 and the men's PTO U.S. Open on Aug. 4.

Registration for USA Triathlon Nationals is still open.

WHO IS RACING

In total, the lineup for the second PTO Tour race of the season includes 12 of the top 20 men from PTO World Rankings as well as PTO World #21 and double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee. 

The PTO US Open men’s confirmed automatic qualifiers start list can be found 

1. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) 
2. Magnus Ditlev (DEN)
3. Sam Long (USA) 
4. Ben Kanute (USA) 
5. Daniel Baekkegard (DEN) 
6. Aaron Royle (AUS) 
7. Frederic Funk (GER) 
8. Clement Mignon (FRA) 
9. Lionel Sanders (CAN) 
10. Florian Angert (GER) 
11. Jason West (USA) 
12. Kristian Hogenhaug (DEN) 
13. Alistair Brownlee (GBR) 
14. Bradley Weiss (SA) 
15. Miki Moerck Taagholt (DEN) 
16. Mathis Margirier (FRA) 
17. Jackson Laundry (CAN) 
18. Thomas Bishop (GBR) 
19. Gregory Barnaby (ITA)
20. Trevor Foley (USA) 
21. Braden Currie (NZL) 
22. Chris Leiferman (USA) 
23. David McNamee (GBR) 
24. Thor Bendix Madsen (DEN) 

*Auto qualifiers based on 29 May rankings (ranked #1-10) and 26 June rankings (ranked #11-26). 

 Both the men’s and women’s 100km races in Milwaukee will take place on a specially designed course, which is adjacent to the Milwaukee Art Museum, Henry Maier Festival Park and Discovery World along the shore of Lake Michigan. For further course details, please visit: 

HOW TO WATCH

The men’s race takes place on Friday, Aug. 4, starting at 5:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live around the world to 195+ territories, courtesy of the PTO Tour’s partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery. It will live on Eurosport 1 from 2300 CET as well as featured on a range of other international, regional and local broadcasters including CNBC in the US, DAZN, beIN Sports and SPOTV.

The prize fund for the PTO Opens in 2023 is $600,000 USD per event – with $100,000 for the winner, $50,000 for second and $35,000 for third – making each event the most lucrative in the sport over this distance. 

This year, the PTO US Open is being staged alongside USA Triathlon’s National Championships, which are in partnership with Sports Milwaukee. With the USAT Age Group National Championships and Youth & Junior Nationals being staged together for the first time, it promises to be the biggest weekend of triathlon racing in the US, with more than 7,000 participants and 20,000 spectators expected to attend.  

The 2023 PTO US Open women’s start list is here.

The wildcards for each of the races will be announced on Thursday, July 13.