Triathlon 101 - Basics of the Olympic Sport

By Compete-At: Online Registration Solutions & Event Planning Software for Multisports; Triathlons, Duathlons, Aquathlons,IronMan

Triathlon 101


This presentation is meant to provide a brief overview.


Triathlon: The Basics

• Triathlons typically consists of running, biking, and swimming

• Triathlon has several racing distances, from youth events through ultra distance events

• Typically each stage of the race is directly following the other stages

• A competitor’s completion time includes each stage of the race and the time to transition between each stage

• Events can range from below 50 to over 3,000 competitors



Multisport Disciplines

• Triathlon: Swim, Bike, Run

• Duathlon: Run, Bike combination (Sometimes confused with biathlon which is really the Olympic sport f skiing and shooting)

• Aquathlon: Run & Swim - Sometimes in two stages or three stages; Swim/Run or Run/Swim/Run

• Off-Road: Popularity due to XTERRA series

• Winter Triathlon: Run, mountain biking, cross-country skiing

• Aquabike: Swim/Bike combination


History of the Triathlon

• The first event that resembled the modern triathlon was held in France in the 1920s

• According to USA Triathlon, the first known swim/bike/run triathlons were held at San Diego’s (Calif.) Mission Bay in 1974.

• The first known triathlons were held as training sessions for runners that were gearing up for marathons

• The first modern triathlon was the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon

• The Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon included a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run (ouch!)



Some Key Triathlon Regulations

• Many triathlons require racers to register before hand and attend a pre-race meeting

• Races are typically separated into amateur and professional categories

• Amateurs makeup the majority of triathletes

• Most amateur races are divided by sex and age

• Athletes cannot receive help from anyone during the race

• Complete USA Triathlon Rules can be found here


Triathlon Fitness

• All three events are endurance sports, so triathletes tend to be in excellent cardiovascular health

• Typically, triathletes have whole-body muscularity from training for three different sports

• Triathletes tend to use their legs less vigorously than typical swimmers to conserve energy for the whole race

• Athletes tend to run slower than typical “race pace” during the marathon portion of the race, since they have already swam and cycled



Well-Known Triathlons

• Hawaii Ironman World Championship

• Nice Triathlon

• Escape from Alcatraz

• Wildflower Half-Ironman

• Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series

• Hy-Vee World Cup


Triathlon Organizations

• The World Triathlon Corporation organizes the Ironman races

• The International Triathlon Union is the international governing body of the sport and was founded in 1989

• The ITU focuses more on shorter races, rather than longer triathlons, and does not recognize the Ironman races

• The triathlon was introduced into the Olympics in Sydney in 2000

• USA Triathlon - Governing body for triathlons in the USA



Triathlon Online Registration

• Just as with marathons, triathlons tend to have a large number of participants

• Many multi-sport events have switched to online registration to keep track of all the registrants

• Compete-At has a tailored, turn-key platform for triathlons: http://www.compete-at.com/multisport/index.html


Content Credits

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triathlon

• USA Triathlon

Image Credits

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nantaskart/254635821/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-lees/89172778/

Sports

Triathlon 101 - Basics of the Olympic Sport