Still at the Top: Michellie Jones Joins Van Rysel & Kiprun Ahead of Oceanside 70.3

March 26, 2026

OCEANSIDE, CA (March 26, 2026) /OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ — Olympic silver medalist, Ironman World Champion, and one of the most decorated athletes in triathlon history, Michellie Jones has joined Van Rysel (cycling) and KIPRUN (running) as an Elite Athlete Ambassador, with the partnership launching at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside.

Ironman Hall of Famer Jones’ career spans Olympic podiums, world titles, and decades of continued excellence in the sport. Her achievements include Olympic Silver Medalist, Ironman World Champion, 2x ITU World Champion, XTERRA World Champion, and Paralympic Gold Medalist (Guide), alongside multiple age-group world titles in recent years.

Rather than a traditional athlete sponsorship, this collaboration centers on Jones’ complete understanding of triathlon performance: how the swim sets up the bike, how the bike shapes the run, and how transitions connect the entire race.

Jones will work across both brands, bringing insight not just from racing, but from decades spent coaching and developing athletes through her platform, Giddy Up Coaching (powered by TriDot). Her role will span product feedback, positioning, and athlete engagement, helping both Van Rysel and KIPRUN better understand how equipment performs not in isolation, but under fatigue, across disciplines, and in real race conditions.

“Triathlon isn’t just swim, bike, run; it’s how everything connects, and that’s where I get really interested,” said Jones. “I’ve always been a bit of a tech nerd when it comes to equipment. What excites me about working with Van Rysel and Kiprun is not just racing the products, but helping refine them: how the swim sets up your position on the bike, how that impacts your run, and how everything performs under fatigue. There’s a real opportunity here to bring that full triathlon perspective into product development.”

Just as importantly, Jones remains deeply embedded in the age-group triathlon community, where the sport continues to see its strongest participation. She is currently ranked the #1 overall age-group athlete in the world, a distinction that carries particular weight in endurance sport, where longevity is rare and sustained performance is the ultimate benchmark. While many athletes experience a peak lasting a decade, Jones has remained at the top of the sport for more than 35 years, continuing to race, win, and mentor athletes across generations.

The partnership also builds on a long-standing foundation. Jones and Beverly Jacobus, Director of Specialty Brands at Decathlon Americas, have worked together in athlete–brand relationships for more than 20 years, bringing a level of trust and shared experience that underpins the collaboration.

“Michellie is not just a legend of the sport, she’s still defining it,” said Jacobus. “To see someone perform at that level across decades, and still be leading today, is incredibly rare. She understands the realities of racing now, at every level, and that perspective helps us build better products and connect more authentically with the community.”

While she will be on-site at Oceanside coaching and supporting her athletes, Jones will race the 2026 season on the Van Rysel XCR triathlon platform, and compete in KIPRUN’s KIPSTORM running shoe range. Her race calendar will include a return to World Championship competition, where she will look to defend her title at the age-group level.

Her involvement reflects a broader push from both brands to grow their presence in triathlon through experience-led development, connecting swim, bike, and run performance in a way that reflects how the sport is actually raced.

“At this point in my career, I’m interested in working with brands that listen and evolve,” said Jones. “There’s a real opportunity here to connect the dots across the sport and improve the racing and training experience for athletes.”

Jones will be present throughout race week at Oceanside, engaging with athletes, media, and the wider triathlon community as the partnership launches.

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About Van Rysel

Born in the legendary cycling heartland of Lille and Roubaix, Van Rysel represents the high-performance division of the Decathlon group. The brand combines the technical expertise of its engineers with invaluable feedback from professional riders on World Tour teams such as DECATHLON CMA CGM. More than just bicycles, Van Rysel designs true instruments of performance, proven on the road and perfected in the wind tunnel to push the boundaries of aerodynamics.”

About KIPRUN

KIPRUN is Decathlon’s expert running and trail brand, launched in 2008 and present in 70 countries. At KIPRUN, we believe that in running, as in life, the journey matters more than the destination. We exist to support everyone to keep running so they can explore their potential and grow. We do this by democratizing high-performance solutions to run for life. Collaborating closely with world-class athletes, we create products and services, such as the PACER app, that are high-performance, fairly priced, durable, and built to move and evolve in harmony with everyday runners. That’s how we stand by runners — to keep them running, growing, and living more fully through every run. KIPRUN will be launching in the U.S. on April 6, 2026.

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Decathlon@OutsidePR.com