Triathlon 101 - Basics of the Olympic Sport

Triathlon 101

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

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/


Triathlon 101 - Basics of the Olympic Sport

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Triathlon 101 - Basics of the Olympic Sport