Ironman has released the preliminary professional race calendar, which starts with Ironman 70.3 Pucon on January 10th, 2027. Of note, Ironman shared that the remainder of the 2027 professional schedule and any additional events will be updated as races are confirmed; therefore, this is our first review of what is new and what has changed, pending additional race announcements.

There are two ways that professional triathletes can earn prize money during the Ironman racing season: individual event prize purses across regular and Ironman Pro Series races, as well as the end-of-year Pro Series bonuses.

In 2026, the Ironman Pro Series featured 16 races with a combined prize purse of $2.4M for top-finishing athletes. In 2027, that figure will increase by $250k to $2.65M.

Excluding the Ironman World Championship, the 2027 Pro Series will feature five full-distance races, down from six in 2026, with a combined prize purse of $725k, similar to the previous year. The $250k increase in overall prize money comes from the Ironman 70.3 Pro Series races. In 2027, all nine races will offer a $75k prize purse, compared with eight races in 2026, seven of which offered $50k. (The exception was the Ironman 70.3 North American Championship in Pennsylvania Happy Valley, which offered $75k.)

In addition to race prize money, the Pro Series will retain its $1.7M year-end bonus pool, unchanged from 2026.

Below are a few more notes from the races announced thus far, with further updates to follow once the complete 2027 schedule is confirmed.

• The 2026 calendar included 56 professional races; the newly released 2027 professional calendar lists 42 races to date, of course with more to come.
• With 14 fewer professional races announced to date, the combined prize purse for non-Pro Series races is $995k, compared to $1.39M in 2026. (All 2027 Pro Series races have already been announced.)
• The 2027 calendar thus far includes seven new destinations for professional racing.
• Prize money decreases:
  • Ironman 70.3 Pucon’s prize purse has decreased from $25k to $15k.
  • The Ironman South Africa Championship prize purse has also decreased from $150k to $125k.
• Prize money increases:
  • Ironman 70.3 Tallinn’s prize purse has increased from $15k to $50k.
  • Ironman Cairns, the Asia-Pacific Championship, has also increased its prize purse from $100k to $125k, along with an increase in qualifying slots from two to three per gender.
• Additional changes to professional fields, Pro Series status, and qualifying slots:
  • Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau has become a women’s only professional race, with a prize purse of $20k, compared to $25k for the combined men’s and women’s fields in 2026.
  • Ironman 70.3 Vitoria-Gasteiz has also become a women’s only professional race, with a prize purse of $15k, compared to $25k for the combined men’s and women’s fields in 2026.
  • Ironman Hamburg, Ironman Kalmar, and Ironman 70.3 Swansea, all former Pro Series events, have become men’s only regular professional races. Prize money has decreased from $87.5k to $50k in Hamburg, $125k to $50k in Kalmar, and $50k to $15k in Swansea. Qualifying slots remain unchanged in Hamburg, have decreased from three to two in Kalmar, and are still to be determined in Swansea.
  • Ironman 70.3 Elsinore and Ironman 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun have also moved from the Pro Series to the regular professional calendar. Their prize purses have decreased from $50k to $40k and from $50k to $30k, respectively. Elsinore’s qualifying slots have decreased from three to one per gender, while Zell am See-Kaprun’s allocation is still to be determined.
  • The Ironman North American Championship in Texas has reduced its qualifying slot allocation from six to five per gender, with prize money unchanged.
  • The Ironman Frankfurt European Championship has expanded from a men’s only professional race with six qualifying slots in 2026 to a combined men’s and women’s professional race with five qualifying slots per gender in 2027. The prize purse has doubled from $87.5k to $175k to reflect the addition of the women’s field.