What is a triathlon?

A triathlon is an athletic event consisting of swimming, cycling and running over various distances. 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, cycling, and running 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 triathlon historians, the origin of Triathlon is anecdotally attributed to a race held in France during the 1920s that a French newspaper "L´Auto" reported as an ‘athletic competition called "Les Trois Sports" with a 3 km run, 12 km bike, raced in three parts without any break’

Modern triathlon
Since the 1930s, very little was heard about triathlon until 1974 at San Diego California, where a group of friends began training together. Amongst them were runners, swimmers and cyclists and before long training sessions turned into informal races. The first San Diego Triathlon was held on September 25, 1974 and welcomed 46 athletes. This date is often celebrated as the day modern triathlon began and was not based on the French events

The first modern long-distance triathlon event (3.86-km swim +180.2 km bike + 42.2 km run) was the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon, which was conceived during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay (an around island running race for 5-person teams). Among the participants were numerous athletes who had long been debating who were the most fit: runners or swimmers?. It was suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 miles), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 miles) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.219 miles). Prior to racing, each athlete received three sheets of paper listing a few rules and a course description. Handwritten on the last page was this exhortation: “Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!” and it was agreed "Whoever finishes first, we'll call him the Ironman."

Today, a number of triathlon events over varying distances are held around the world. The now known standard "Olympic Distance" of 1.5km + 40km + 10km was created and successfully produced the U.S. Triathlon Series between 1982 and 1997. The USTS, as it was known, was responsible for first bringing accessible triathlons to the fitness conscious public. 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 ‘Ironman’ events. Greater distance multi-sport events organized by groups other than the World Triathlon Corporation may not officially be called "Ironman" or "Iron" races. Such longer distance triathlons may be described as "Full distance" or "Half distance", but the "Ironman" and "Iron" labels are 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 being to put triathlon on the Olympic program. The ITU has never officially sanctioned the Ironman Triathlon. Some believe that the Hawaii Ironman should be recognized as the official world championship for the sport as a whole, and as such should be sanctioned by the ITU. For its part, however, the ITU has only recently been expressing interest in supporting longer distance triathlon, choosing to focus mainly on the shorter races geared toward the Olympics.
Since the ITU founding, triathlon has grown significantly and now includes thousands of races with hundreds of thousands of competitors worldwide each year.
The sport made its debut on the Olympic program at the Sydney Games in 2000 over the Olympic Distance (1.5km swim + 40km bike +10km run).

Standard race distances Though there can be some variation in race distances, particularly among short triathlons, most triathlons conform to one of the below standards.

Description	Swim	Bicycle	Run	Notes
Kids Triathlon	100m +	5-15 km	1-5 km	Distances vary with age of child
Novice (Australia)	300 m	8 km	2 km	Distances vary, but this is a standard Novice distance.
Super Sprint	400 m	10 km	2.5 km	Distances vary, but this is a standard Super Sprint.
Sprint	750 m	20 km	5 km	The fastest growing triathlon distance in the USA.
Olympic	1.5 km	40 km	10 km	Sometimes known as "standard or international course".
ITU-Long Distance	3.0 km	80 km	20 km	Shortened in 2006
Half Ironman	1.9 km	90 km	21.09 km	Also called "medium distance" or 70.3.
Triathlon one 0 one	3.0 km	130 km	30 km	Made debut in 2007 and ended in 2007
Full	3.8 km	180 km)	42.195 km	Also known as "long distance" or "Ironman".

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) sanctions and organizes a World Cup Series of Olympic distance races (13 in 2008) each year, culminating in an annual World Championship for elite pro-triathletes, junior pro-triathletes and amateur athletes in 5-year age-groups. The professional world cup races are conducted in a draft legal format for the bike leg while drafting is not permitted at the amateur level.

In addition, the ITU has a Long Distance Triathlon series. This is smaller than either the Olympic Distance world cup or the WTC Ironman or Ironman 70.3 series.

The World Triathlon Corporation sanctions and organizes a series of Ironman and Ironman 70.3 distance races each year. These races serve as qualifying events for the World Championships held annually in Kona, Hawaii (Ironman) and Florida (Ironman 70.3).

Non-standard variations

Equilateral Triathlon: A triathlon in which each leg takes approximately equal time.
Formula 1 Triathlon: An event that consists of a swim+bike+run combination in multiple groups.
Ultraman Triathlon: An Ultra-long distance triathlon covering 320 miles.
Off-road triathlon: (aka XTerra.) Consists of swim + mountain bike + trail running.
Winter Triathlon: Cross country skiing + mountain bike or ice speed skating + running.
Aquathlon: Composed of only swimming + running stages.
Duathlon: Composed of a run + Bike + another run.
Triple Tri: Composed of a swim+bike+run x 3 in one day over several courses.

How a triathlon works In a typical triathlon, event organizers take advantage of a host town's hospitality. Major races require athletes to register and attend a race briefing the day before the actual race. This race briefing details the course, the rules, and any problems to look out for (road conditions, closures, traffic lights, aid stations). At registration the racers are provided a race number, coloured swimming cap, and, if the event is being electronically timed, an ankle timing band.
For most races, triathletes have their race number marked on their arms and legs, and sometimes are required to set up their bike in the transition area the day before and leave it overnight under guard.

For shorter distances, triathletes arrive at the venue as late as an hour before the race, register, receive swim cap and number, then proceed to set up their spot in the transition area.

In the transition areas, athletes will generally be provided with a rack to hold their bicycle and a small section of ground space for shoes, helmet, glasses etc. Generally, transition places are allocated according to their competition number or ranking, although in some events, athletes choose their spot in the transition area on a first-come, first-served basis. In some races, the bicycle stage does not finish in the same place that it begins, so athletes set up two transition areas: one for the swim-to-bike transition, and one for the bike-to-run transition. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘point to point’

Generally, competitors are categorized into separate professional and amateur categories. Amateurs, who make up the large majority of triathletes, are often referred to as "age groupers" since they are typically further classified by sex and age. One feature that has helped to boost the popularity of such a complex, time-intensive sport is the opportunity to compete against others of one's own gender and age group. The age groups are defined in five or ten year intervals.

In some triathlons, amateur athletes may have the option to compete against others in heavier-weight divisions. "Clydesdale" athletes are generally those men over 200 pounds, while "Athena" athletes are generally women over 150 pounds. These weight based divisions are not officially sanctioned in any of the professional or Olympic events.

As in most marathons and other competitive endurance sport events, there is typically a lower age limit, though many races have been organized to allow children and teens to compete in their own categories.

After setting up their bike and gear in the first transition areas, athletes usually head to the swim area (a lake, river, canal or ocean) for the race start. Depending on the water temperature, swimmers may be required to wear a wetsuit. Depending on the type and size of the race, there may be any of the following methods implemented to start the race. Mass starts, traditional in full distance events, whereby all racers enter the water at a single start signal. Wave start events, comprising smaller groups, start at set intervals of a few minutes. An athlete's wave is usually determined either by age group or predicted swim time. Wave starts are more common in shorter races where a large number of amateur athletes are competing. Another option is individual time trial starts, where athletes enter the water one at a time, usually 3 to 5 seconds apart.

The swim leg usually involves swimming around a series of marked buoys and exits the water near the transition area. Racers run out of the water into the first transition area, (T1) and rapidly change from swim gear into bike gear before heading to the road course. In most cases, triathletes leave their bike shoes attached to their bike pedals and slip their feet into them once they’ve started riding.

The Bike leg proceeds around a marked course on public or private roads which are often closed during the event. Race marshals are usually present to help guide traffic and in non-drafting format events, marshals called ‘Draft Busters’ enforce drafting regulations from motorcycles. Typically, the cycling stage finishes back at the same transition area (T2) where triathletes re-rack their bikes in their allocated spot, and quickly change into running shoes before heading out for the run course.
The run leg, is typically held closed roads, and ends at a separate finish line near the transition area.

In most races, "aid stations" located on the bike and run courses provide water and energy drinks to the athletes as they pass by. Aid stations at longer events will often provide various types of food as well, including such items as energy bars, gels, fruit, cookies, and ice. Some high profile events have ‘wheel change stations’ where a competitor can replace a punctured or damaged wheel mid-race.

Once a triathlete has completed an event, there is typically another aid station for them to get water, medical attention, massage, fruit, cookies, and other post-race goodies, compare race experiences and plan post-race celebrations - ranging from ice cream to cookouts and barbecues. The more serious Pro may embark on a specific ‘warm- down’ post racing procedure.

Rules of triathlon Traditionally, triathlon is an individual sport where each athlete is competing against the course and the clock for the best time. As such, athletes are not allowed to receive assistance from anyone else inside or outside the race, with the exception of race-sanctioned aid volunteers who distribute food and water on the course. This also means that race tactics, such as drafting, especially on the bike leg (a cycling tactic in which several riders huddle close to each other to benefit from the slip-stream effect of reduced wind resistance) is not allowed.

This began to change with the introduction of triathlon into the Olympic Games. Many Olympic-distance races, including the Olympics themselves plus ITU World Cup and Championship events, now allow drafting during the bike leg. This change has sparked extensive debate among the triathlon community. Supporters feel that it brings triathlon rules closer in line with international cycling rules and practices, whereas opponents feel that drafting has the potential to negate individual gains achieved by an athlete in the swim, and gains a rider assistance from others during the cycling leg by. Drafting has become the standard format for professional standard ITU events and the Olympics; however, the majority of amateur events retain the non-drafting format.

Triathlon events are usually timed in sections:
1) From the start of the swim to the beginning of the first transition (swim time).
2) From the beginning of the first transition to the end of the first transition (T1 time).
3) From the start of cycling to the end of the cycling leg (bike time).
4) From the beginning of the second transition to the end of the second transition (T2 time).
5) From the start of the run to the end of the run, at which time the triathlon is completed.
Results are usually posted on official websites that show each triathletes swim + bike + run time separately, as well as total time. Some races also post transition times.

Other rules of triathlon vary from race to race but generally involve descriptions of allowable equipment such as wetsuit use, bike equipment, and prohibitions against interference between athletes or support.

One important rule involving the bike leg is that the competitor must be wearing an approved bike helmet before mounting the bike which must remain strapped until the rider has dismounted. Failure to comply with this rule will result in disqualification.

Triathlon is often quoted as being the fastest growing outdoor sport in the world, largely because it appeals to athletes who may be proficient in either one of the three disciplines of swim, bike or run but want to vary the monotony of single sport participation. Additionally participants can compete in triathlon by gender or age group or mixed; or as a team member doing part only of this multi-sport competition.

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