The official distance for the triathlon was set at a m swim, a 40km cycle, and a 10km run—taken from existing events in each discipline already on the Olympic program.
Triathlon races are held over four distances, known as sprint, Olympic, long course, and ultra. The Olympic triathlon comprises a 1. After a mass start, the race remains continuous, with no stops between the three legs.
Changeovers or transitions are vital to race strategy. Women are expected to finish in just over 2 hours, with men requiring about 1 hour 50 minutes. These areas are used to store bicycles, performance apparel, and any other accessories needed for the next stage of the race. The transition from swim and bike is referred to as T1 and that between the bike and run is referred to as T2.
Transitions areas vary in size depending on the number of participants expected. In addition, these areas provide a social headquarters before the race. The nature of the sport focuses on persistent and often periodized training in each of the three disciplines, as well as combination workouts and general strength conditioning. These first triathlons were held on summer evenings and gave participants a break from their grueling training schedules.
Led by Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan, this group of athletes and friends hosted 46 participants in the first official triathlon, the Mission Bay Triathlon, on Sept. Naval Officer, also played a pivotal role in the development of the sport.
He took the triathlon to Hawaii, where he worked to bring together the major swimming, biking and running events in Oahu into one huge triathlon event: the Ironman. Triathlon Association and the American Triathlon Association joined forces with a combined 1, members. Since then, this group has been the governing body of triathlons in the United States, and its membership has surged to , members.
Once the triathlon was introduced to the sports scene, it didn't take long for it to take off as an important endurance competition. The Ironman, in particular, pushes its participants to the limits and is the ultimate test of endurance of both the mind and the body. Soon after the first triathlons were raced, triathletes began to debate which part of the race required the most endurance. As a result of these debates, the lengths of each section of the race were adjusted. Navy Commander John Collins was instrumental in coming up with the standards for each section of the race.
Out of the 15 athletes who participated in the first event, 12 finished the race. The first Ironman, Gordon Haller, finished in 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds [source: Ironman History ]. In , one woman and 13 men completed the competition.
The next year, thanks to a Sports Illustrated article about the race, hundreds of people entered the competition. Currently, 1, athletes compete in this race [source: Ironman ].
Although triathlons surged in popularity through the s and s, the sport didn't become an Olympic event until the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The first American to win a medal in an Olympic triathlon was Susan Williams of Colorado, who won the bronze in in Athens, Greece.
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