History of the Triathlon

Triathlon is a three-part sporting discipline which is comprised of swimming, cycling and running. The three sports are combined to be a continuous event without rest. An individual can race either by themselves or as part of a team over a variety of distances.

The birth of the triathlon

Triathlon history dates back to the early 1970s and originated with the San Diego Track Club. Pioneered by Don Shanahan and Jack Johnstone, the triathlon was designed to be an alternative to hard track training. The first triathlon event was held on September 25, 1974. The San Diego Track Club sponsored the event, and at the time, the triathlon comprised a 10km run, 8km cycle and 500m swim.

And along came the Ironman

In Hawaii in1978, an argument arose regarding which of the three disciplines required the greatest endurance. At that time, Hawaii hosted The Waikiki Rough Water Swim (2.4 miles), The Oahu Bike Race (112 miles) and The Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles). Originally events in themselves, they were rolled into one to become the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.

The event attracted 15 athletes and, of them, only 12 crossed the finish line. By 1982, the Hawaii Ironman gained extensive coverage on ABC World Wide Sport and participation levels had increased to 580 competitors. Last year, over 3000 athletes completed the grueling challenge. The fastest women finish the course in just under nine hours and the fastest men finishing in a little over eight hours.

Olympic status

In 1989, triathlon was awarded Olympic status and was featured for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in Australia. Since then, the sport has grown in popularity. In fact, no other sport achieved Olympic status in such a short time. Over the next decade, triathlon grew by leaps and bounds and soon gained recognition worldwide.

World championships

In 1989, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded in Avignon, France, and the first official world championships were held. The official distance for triathlon was set at a 1500m swim, a 40km cycle and a 10km run – taken from existing events in each discipline already on the Olympic program. This standard distance is used for the ITU World Cup series and was also featured at the Sydney Olympic Games.