A three-part sporting event consisting of sea swimming (3·8 km/2·4 mi), cycling (180 km/112 mi), and marathon running (42·2 km/26·2 mi). The events take place in sequence on a single occasion.
In contemporary usage, the name triathlon is mostly applied to a combination of swimming, cycling and running, in that order. In most modern triathlons, these events are placed back-to-back in immediate sequence and a competitor's official time includes the time required to "transition" between the individual legs of the race, including any time necessary for changing clothes and shoes. As a result, proficiency in swimming, running, and cycling alone is not sufficient to guarantee a triathlete a competitive time: trained triathletes have learned to race each stage in a way that preserves their energy and endurance for subsequent stages.History
According to former Ironman Champion, triathlon historian and author, Scott Tinley, the Triathlon is anecdotally based on a race in France during the 1920-1930s that was called "Les trois sports", "La Course des Débrouillards" and "La course des Touche à Tout". Since the 1930s, very little was heard about triathlon until 1974 at San Diego's Mission Bay in Southern California, where a group of friends began training together. Directed and conceived by Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan, the first Mission Bay Triathlon was held on September 25th 1974 and welcomed 46 athletes.
The first modern long-distance triathlon event (2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) swim, 112 mi (180.2 km) bike ride, and a 26.2 mi (42.2 km) run) was the Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon, the idea for which arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay (a running race for 5-person teams). Collins and his wife, Judy, had taken part in the triathlons staged in 1974 and 1975 by the San Diego Track Club in and around Mission Bay, California, as well as the Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in Coronado, California, in 1975. Collins suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining the three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.862 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 miles;
Today, a number of triathlon events over varying distances are held around the world. The standard "Olympic Distance" of 1.5/40/10k was created by long time triathlon race director, Jim Curl in the mid 80's after he and partner, Carl Thomas, successfully produced the U.S. Triathlon Series between 1982 and 1997. The Hawaii Ironman Triathlon now serves as the Ironman world championship, but the entity that owns the race, the World Triathlon Corporation, hosts other triathlons around the world that are also called Ironmans. Long-distance multi-sport events organized by groups other than the World Triathlon Corporation may not officially be called "Ironman" races. Such triathlons may be described as "Iron-distance" or "Half-Ironman", but the "Ironman" label is the official property of the World Triathlon Corporation.
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded in 1989 as the international governing body of the sport, with the chief goal of putting triathlon on the Olympic program. The ITU has never officially sanctioned the Ironman Triathlon. For its part, however, the ITU has expressed little interest in supporting longer distance triathlon, choosing to retain its focus instead on the shorter races geared toward the Olympics.
The sport made its debut on the Olympic program at the Sydney Games in 2000 over the Olympic Distance (1500 m swim - 40 km bike - 10 km run).
Since its founding, triathlon has grown significantly and now includes thousands of races with hundreds of thousands of competitors worldwide each year.
Standard race distances
| Name | Swim | Bicycle | Run | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Sprint | 400 m (0.25 miles) | 10 km (6.2 miles) | 2.5 km (1.5 miles) | Distances vary, but this is a standard Super Sprint course. |
| Sprint | 750 m (0.5 miles) | 20 km (12.4 miles) | 5 km (3.1 miles) | A 500 m swim is also common. The Sprint Distance is the fastest growing triathlon race distance in the United States |
| Olympic | 1.5 km | 40 km | 10 km | Also known as "international distance", "standard course", or "short course". |
| Half-Ironman | 1.2 mi (1.9 km) | 56 mi (90 km) | 13.1 mi (21.09 km) | Also called a "70.3", or "medium distance". |
| ITU-Long Distance | 3.8 to 4.0 km | 120 km | 30 km | The ITU accepts a 5% margin of error in the distance of the cycle and run courses. |
| Ironman | 2.4 mi (3.8 km) | 112 mi (180 km) | 26.2 mi (42.195 km) marathon | Also known as "iron distance" or "long distance". |
The official triathlon world cup is a series of Olympic distance races organized and sanctioned each year by the International Triathlon Union, in 2004 it included thirteen events. Many other non-official triathlon races have adopted the Olympic distance format.
Though there can be some variation in race distances, particularly among short triathlons, most triathlons conform to one of these five standards.
Equilateral Triathlon: A triathlon, proposed by Wainer and De Veaux (1994), in which each leg would take an approximately equal time. For example, their "Olympic" triathlon, run as a relay, should take three world-record holders each about 28 minutes per leg: 2.7 km swim / 22.4 km bike / 10 km run. Formula One (F-1) Triathlon: An event that consists of a swim-bike-run combination in multiple groups. For example, a swim to bike to run followed by another swim to bike to run combination done in one event or as a group of events. The F-1 frequent transitions between swim, bike and run does not make it a practical format for large groups of bikers to draft as frequently seen in other bike draft legal versions of triathlons where bike drafting is typically limited to pro level triathletes. Ultraman Triathlon: An event held annually in Hawai'i over a three day period and covering a total distance of 320 miles. 10 km (6.2 mi) ocean swim / 421 km (261 mi) cross-country bike / 84 km (52.4 mile) ultramarathon run.Nonstandard variations
Winter variants of triathlon, raced in snow-covered conditions, can include (in order):
Cross country skiing, mountain biking and running.Another popular variant is the so-called off-road triathlon, that consist of swimming, mountain biking and trail running.
Aquathlons are two-stage races consisting of a swimming stage and a running stage.
Recent decades have seen the development of a wide variety of so-called "multisport" events, of which triathlon is now considered only one major type.
How a triathlon works
In a typical triathlon, racers arrive at the venue about an hour (or more) before the race is to begin, to set up their spot in the "transition area".
In some triathlons, amateur athletes may have the option to compete against others in heavier-weight divisions.
There is usually (as in most marathons) a lower age limit (typically 18) for the longer triathlons (all of the 5 events listed above) but many shorter races have been organized to allow children and teens to compete in triathlon.
After transitions are set up, the athletes don their swim gear and head to the swim area - usually a lake, river, or the ocean - for the race start. Depending on the type and size of the race, either all the athletes will enter the water at a single signal ("mass start", traditional in Iron-distance races), in waves spaced every few minutes, usually by age group (wave starts are more common in shorter races where a large number of amateur athletes are competing), or individual "time trial" starts where the athletes enter the water one at a time, usually 3-5 seconds apart. Racers run out of the water and attempt to change from their swim gear into cycling gear as rapidly as possible. In the modern day, however, competition and pressure for time has led to the development of specialized triathlon clothing that is adequate for both swimming and cycling, meaning many racers' transitions consist of little more than removing goggles and pulling on a helmet and cycling shoes. Professionals often don't even wear socks.)
The cycling stage proceeds around a marked course and finishes back at the transition area, where racers rack their bicycles and change quickly into running shoes before heading out for the final stage.
In most races, "aid stations" located on the bike and run courses provide water and energy drinks to the athletes as they pass through.
Rules of triathlon
Traditionally, triathlon is an individual sport: each athlete is competing against the course and the clock for the best time.
This has begun to change with the introduction of triathlon into the Olympic Games. Many Olympic-distance races including the Olympics themselves and ITU World Cup events now allow drafting during the cycling stage. This change has sparked extensive debate among the triathlon community, with supporters feeling that it brings triathlon rules closer in line with international cycling rules and practices, and opponents feeling that drafting has the potential to negate gains achieved by an individual in the swim, and gains an individual would have the potential to achieve during the cycling leg.
Triathlons are timed in sections: 1) from the start of the swim to the beginning of the first transition (swim time); 5) and finally from the start of the run to the end of the run, at which time the triathlon is completed.
Other rules of triathlon vary from race to race and generally involve descriptions of allowable equipment (such as wetsuits, which are allowed in the swimming stage of some races -- generally when the water temperature is below 78 degrees Fahrenheit or 26 °C), and prohibitions against interference between athletes.
Professional competitions
The world of professional triathlon is primarily split into three circuits:
The "short course", or Olympic-distance competitive circuit, run by the International Triathlon Union (ITU), which includes the ITU World Cup series and ITU World Championships. The "long course", or "Ironman" circuit, run by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), which culminates each year with the Hawaii Ironman World Championship. These races are not recognized as "official" by the ITU, but are unquestionably the best-known series of races in the sport.In addition, the ITU has a Long Distance Triathlon series, with races slightly shorter (except for the swim) than the Ironman standard.
The term Ironman Triathlon is a trademark of the World Triathlon Corporation and refers to the series of races organised by the WTC. Races of this distance which are not organised by the WTC are commonly referred to as Iron Distance Triathlon.
Triathlon and fitness
Triathletes tend to be extraordinarily fit, and many amateur athletes choose triathlon specifically for its fitness benefits. Because all three events are endurance sports, nearly all of triathlon training is cardiovascular exercise.
Specialization of swimming, cycling and running in triathlon
Each element of the triathlon is a little different from those sports if encountered alone. While amateur triathletes who also compete in individual swimming, cycling or running races generally apply the same techniques and philosophy to triathlon, seasoned triathletes and professionals have specialized techniques for each discipline that improve their race as a whole.
Swimming
Triathletes will use their legs less vigorously and more carefully than other swimmers, husbanding their energy for the cycle and run to follow. In addition, the majority of triathlons involve open-water (outdoor) swim stages, rather than pools with lane markers.
Because open water swim areas are often cold, specialized triathlon wetsuits have been developed.
Cycling
Triathlon cycling, with the exception of Olympic triathlon and ITU World Cup races, is very different from most professional bicycle racing because it does not allow drafting, and so racers do not cluster in a peloton. Triathlon bikes use a specialized geometry including a steep seat-tube angle both to improve aerodynamics and spare muscle groups needed for running (see also Triathlon equipment). It is believed, though, that the primary benefit to spinning in a triathlon is the strain of the effort being placed disproportionately on the slow twitch muscle fibers, preventing the athlete from accumulating an oxygen debt before the run.
Running
The primary distinguishing feature of running in a triathlon is that it occurs after the athlete has already been exercising in two other disciplines for an extended period of time, so many muscles are already tired. Another association of this term has been claimed to originate from a New Zealand athlete by the name of Matt Brick.)
Legendary and well-known events
Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of individual triathlons are held around the world each year. A few of these races are legendary and/or favorites of the triathlon community because they have a long history, or because they have particularly grueling courses and race conditions. First held in 1978, only five years after the sport of triathlon was founded. This non-standard-length race begins with a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) swim in frigid San Francisco Bay waters around Alcatraz Island, followed by an 18 mile (29 km) bicycle and 8 mile (13 km) run in the extremely hilly terrain of the San Francisco Bay area. In recent years, the race has included a fourth event: a one-mile (1.6 km) "warm-up" run between the swim and bike leg to reduce the incidence of hypothermia. Known for a particularly hilly course, it has expanded now to include three races of different lengths and is one of the largest triathlon events in the world, with over 8,000 athletes attending each year. Offering the largest professional prize purse in triathlon, this event draws international triathlon talent in large numbers. Enduroman "Arch to Arc Challenge" This ultra-distance triathlon starts with an 87-mile run from London's Marble arch to Dover on the Kent coast, then a cross-channel swim to the French coast, and finishes with a 180 mile bike from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Chicago Triathlon In 2006 Chicago will apply to the Guiness Book of World Records for inclusion as the world's largest triathlon. With about 8,000 participants in the sprint and international fields (most in the latter), start times range from 6 a.m. to nearly 10 a.m. Ironkids Triathlon Series is a series of triathlons held around the country for children ages 7 to 14.
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