50 Fun Facts About Triathlon

In what order are the three disciplines of a triathlon raced?

The clock includes the two transitions between disciplines, so a slow change of shoes costs real time.

The first modern triathlon was held in 1974 at Mission Bay in which city?

Organisers Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan of the San Diego Track Club had never heard of the earlier French events.

Les Trois Sports of 1901, the first triathlon-style event, replaced the swim with what?

By 1921 the canoe had been swapped for a crossing of the river Marne, making it a genuine swim-bike-run.

How many entrants took part in the first Mission Bay Triathlon in 1974?

The organiser's 13-year-old son floated on a surfboard as lifeguard, and cars were pulled up to light the finish with their headlights.

Which couple who raced at Mission Bay in 1974 went on to found the Hawaii Ironman four years later?

John Collins was a US Navy commander stationed on Oahu.

The idea for the Ironman arose during the awards ceremony for which 1977 Hawaiian event?

The debate was over whether swimmers, cyclists or runners were the fittest athletes.

Which cyclist's record oxygen uptake led Ironman founder John Collins to argue cyclists might be the fittest athletes?

His answer was to settle it with a race combining the island's three existing endurance events.

The full Ironman distance is a 2.4-mile swim, a marathon run and a bike ride of how many miles?

The total is 140.6 miles, and most events give athletes 16 or 17 hours to finish.

The original Ironman combined the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the Honolulu Marathon and what?

The bike race was originally a two-day event; it was cut by three miles to link up with the marathon start.

Who was the first person to earn the title Ironman, finishing the 1978 race in 11 hours 46 minutes?

He was a US Navy communications specialist; Collins had said whoever finished first would be called the Iron Man.

In 1981 the Ironman moved from Oahu to a new home. Where?

The bike ride crosses the lava desert to Hawi and back, and the race is based in Kailua-Kona.

Who passed Julie Moss just before the line as she crawled to finish the 1982 Ironman?

Moss had entered as research for an exercise physiology thesis; the footage was broadcast worldwide and inspired thousands to try the sport.

Julie Moss later married which six-time Ironman world champion?

Allen lost at Kona six times, often to Dave Scott, before winning in 1989.

Dave Scott, the first six-time Ironman world champion, was known by what nickname?

In 1994, aged 40, he finished second at Kona and nearly won a seventh title.

The 1989 Kona winner took the last of his six Ironman titles in 1995 at what age, then a record?

It made him the oldest winner at the time; Outside magazine dubbed him the World's Fittest Man in 1997.

Paula Newby-Fraser, the Queen of Kona, won the Ironman World Championship how many times?

Born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, she won 21 of the 26 Ironman races she entered over 12 years.

Chrissie Wellington was undefeated over how many full-distance Ironman races?

She won the world title less than a year after turning professional, which no other triathlete has managed.

Daniela Ryf, five-time Ironman world champion, competes for which country?

She also won the Ironman 70.3 world title five times and raced two Olympics before moving to long distance.

Jan Frodeno won Olympic triathlon gold at which Games before his three Ironman world titles?

The German started as a swimmer in South Africa and later lowered the long-distance world best to 7:27:53.

In June 2022, who became the first person to complete an Ironman-distance triathlon in under seven hours?

The Norwegian clocked 6:44:25 at the Pho3nix Sub-7 event on a German race track, an unofficial record because of pacing help.

Triathlon made its Olympic debut at which Games?

48 women and 52 men raced over the standard 1.5 km, 40 km and 10 km distances.

The Olympic triathlon is a 1.5 km swim, a 10 km run and a cycle leg of how many kilometres?

Race director Jim Curl created the format in the mid-1980s for the US Triathlon Series.

Who won the first men's Olympic triathlon in Sydney, recovering from a 15-rider bike crash to win?

The Canadian's time of 1:48:24 stood as the fastest Olympic triathlon until 2012.

At which Games did Alistair Brownlee win his two Olympic individual triathlon titles?

He won at home in London and again in Rio, with his brother Jonathan taking bronze and then silver.

At the 2016 series final in Cozumel, Alistair Brownlee gave up his own chance of winning to do what?

Jonathan had been leading with a kilometre to go before heat exhaustion set in; South Africa's Henri Schoeman passed them both to win.

Jonathan Brownlee received a 15-second penalty at the London 2012 Olympics for what?

He still won bronze behind his brother Alistair.

Who is the most decorated Olympic triathlete, with two golds, a silver and a bronze from 2020 and 2024?

The Briton is the only triathlete with four Olympic medals and the only one to win two at each of two Games.

Flora Duffy's triathlon gold in Tokyo was the first Olympic gold ever for which country?

It made her nation the smallest ever to win a Summer Olympic gold medal.

What was Gwen Jorgensen's job before USA Triathlon recruited her?

She had passed the CPA exam and was working for Ernst and Young in Milwaukee.

The mixed team relay was added to the Olympic triathlon programme at which Games?

Each team fields two men and two women, a format World Triathlon adopted in 2009.

The International Triathlon Union was founded in 1989 at a congress in which French city?

Canadian Les McDonald was elected its first president, and the city hosted the first world championship.

Where was the first Nice Triathlon of 1982 originally meant to be held before Princess Grace's death?

Seven of the 57 starters were hospitalised after swimming in a 14-degree Mediterranean.

The first European triathlon was held in 1980 in which country?

It took place in Plzeň; the Netherlands, Belgium and West Germany followed the next year with almost no media coverage.

In triathlon timing, what do T1 and T2 refer to?

Results normally list swim, bike and run times, with transitions sometimes shown separately.

Under USA Triathlon rules, wetsuits are allowed in the swim when the water temperature is below what?

Flippers and other propulsion or flotation aids are banned outright and mean disqualification.

Under USA Triathlon rules, male athletes over 100 kg may compete in which weight division?

The women's equivalent, for athletes over 75 kg, is the Athena division.

Amateur triathletes, who make up the vast majority of the field, are commonly known as what?

They are classified by sex and age in five- or ten-year bands so they race people like themselves.

A back-to-back training session in two disciplines, usually cycling then running, is known as what?

It prepares the legs for the strange, heavy feeling of running straight off the bike.

The 70.3 in Ironman 70.3 refers to what?

It is a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile ride and 13.1-mile run, each exactly half the full Ironman.

The Norseman Xtreme Triathlon in Norway finishes where?

It starts with a fjord swim and ends on Gaustatoppen at 1,850 metres above sea level.

Which triathlon distance had more sanctioned US races in 2022 than all others combined?

There were 839 USAT-sanctioned sprint triathlons that year.

The Professional Triathletes Organisation, launched in 2016, is unusual because it is owned by whom?

In 2022 it launched a tour of million-dollar majors including the Collins Cup.

Which race director created the standard Olympic triathlon distance in the mid-1980s?

He and partner Carl Thomas had produced the U.S. Triathlon Series from 1982 to 1997.

What margin of error does World Triathlon accept in cycle and run course distances?

Short triathlons in particular can vary, but most races conform to one of the standard distance sets.

Paratriathlon made its Paralympic debut at which Games?

The event was planned as a sprint-distance race with six categories based on athletes' impairments.

Who won the Nice Long Distance triathlon ten consecutive times?

In the 1980s Nice and Kona were the two races each year with real prize money and media attention.

The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon run includes a notorious 400-step climb known as what?

The race opens with a 2.4 km swim through the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay from Alcatraz Island.

Which Midwest grocery chain started a 2007 triathlon with the richest prize purse in the sport?

It joined the World Triathlon Cup series from 2008 to 2010 and briefly hosted Ironman's 5150 Series US Championships.

The XTERRA series is the best-known example of which off-road multisport variant?

It swaps the road bike and road run for mountain biking and trail running.

Which American network partnered with IMG in 1982 to create a new European triathlon to rival Hawaii?

Rival ABC held exclusive rights to the Hawaii Ironman, so the new race was set up as a competing premier event.