Do I have this concept fully developed, nah. The idea is to increase race participation and make what’s happening further back in the race important too.
Cycling and XC running do a pretty good job of making the team dynamic almost as important as the individual result. For this reason, the announcers and the public are interested in what’s happening farther back in a race. The race isn’t over until the team race is concluded too. I for one would rather have triathlon/IM coverage be about team coverage rather than all the human interest drama stories that are emotionally taxing and maybe getting old. I would rather the sport stories cover good performances rather than overcoming odds (just my preference).
Could triathlon have team results? It’s rather straightforward during a race that it could be the time/places of three-five people. Season long could be team points be derived from individual performances at multiple races rolled into a team result. So even if you are the only one of your team at that race, your result is still important to your team.
This is not just for pros. It’s for AGers too so there is even a greater connection to the results of your friends. Teams could be across AG and gender. There might be some cache to say that not only are you doing triathlons; you’re part of a triathlon team.