A triathlon is a multi-sport endurance event consisting of swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall course completion time, including timed "transitions" between the individual swim, bike, and run components.
Triathlon races vary in distance. According to the International Triathlon Union, and USA Triathlon, the main international race distances are Sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run), Intermediate distance commonly referred to as "Olympic distance" (1.5km swim, 40km ride, 10km run), the Long Course 1.9km swim, 90km ride, 21.1km run, such as the Half Ironman), and Ultra Distance (3.8km swim, 180 km ride, and a marathon: 42.2km run), the most popular branded Ultra Distance is the Ironman triathlon.
Transition areas are positioned both between the swim and bike segments (T1), and the bike and run segments (T2), and are often just one checkpoint, especially in shorter courses. These areas are used to store bicycles, performance apparel, and any other accessories essential for preparing and gearing for the next stage of the race. The transition times (T1 and T2) are included in the overall time of the race. So speed during transition - removing the wetsuit, putting on the helmet, putting on the running shoes - is essential. Elite triathletes have the bicycle shoes mounted on the bikes before the race and place their feet into them when riding. In large races, transitions areas maybe up to a kilometer long, and be storing over 2000 entrants bicycles. In addition, these areas provide a social headquarters prior to the race, and are an integral part of triathlon culture.
The demanding nature of the sport focuses primarily on persistent and often periodized training in each of the three disciplines, as well as combination workouts and general strength conditioning to ensure the highest levels of endurance, strength, and power possible come race day. Proficiency in swimming, cycling, and running alone is often not sufficient for success in triathlon.
History
Triathlon is considered by some to have its beginnings in 1920s France . According to triathlon historian and author Scott Tinley (and others), the origin of triathlon is attributed to a race during the 1920s-1930s that was called variously "Les trois sports", "La Course des Débrouillards", and "La course des Touche à Tout". Nowadays, this race is held every year in France near Joinville-le-Pont, in Meulan and Poissy.
An earlier tri-sport event in 1902 featured running, cycling, and canoeing. There are documented tri-sport events featuring running, swimming, & cycling (not necessarily in that order) in 1920, 1921, 1945, and the 1960s . In 1920, the French newspaper "L´Auto" reported on a competition called "Les Trois Sports" with a 3 km run, 12 km bike, and a swim across the channel Marne. Those three parts were done without any break. Another event was held in 1921 in Marseilles with the order of events bike-run-swim. Among the participants was American athlete Charles Sector . There are also articles in French newspapers about a race in Marseille in 1927. There is a 1934 article about "Les Trois Sports" (the three sports) in the city of La Rochelle, a race with: (1) a channel crossing (c. 200 m), (2) a bike competition (10 km) around the harbor of La Rochelle and the parc Laleu, and (3) a run (1200 m) in the stadium André-Barbeau.
Modern triathlon
The first modern swim/bike/run event to be called a 'triathlon' was held at Mission Bay, San Diego, California on September 25, 1974. The race was conceived and directed by Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan, members of the San Diego Track Club, and was sponsored by the track club. 46 participants entered this event. It was reportedly not inspired by the French events., although a race the following year at Fiesta Island, California is sometimes called 'the first triathlon in America'.
Ironman
The first modern long-distance triathlon event was the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon. It included a 2.4 mile (3.86 km; 77 lap) swim, a 112 mile (180.2 km) bike ride, and a 26.2 mile (42.195 km) run. It was conceived during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay (a running race for 5-person teams).
Among the participants were numerous representatives of both the Mid-Pacific Road Runners and the Waikiki Swim Club, whose members had long been debating which athletes were more fit: runners or swimmers. On this occasion, U.S. Navy Commander John Collins pointed out that a recent article in Sports Illustrated magazine had declared that Eddy Merckx, the great Belgian cyclist, had the highest recorded "maximum oxygen uptake" of any athlete ever measured, so perhaps cyclists were more fit than anyone. Collins and his wife, Judy, had taken part in the triathlons staged in 1974 and 1975 by the San Diego Track Club in and around Mission Bay, California, as well as the Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in Coronado, California in 1975.
A number of the other military athletes in attendance were also familiar with the San Diego races, so they understood the concept when Collins suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining the three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi/3.862 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 miles (185 km); originally a two-day event) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.219 mi/42.195 km). No one present had ever done the bike race so they did not realize it was a two-day, not one-day, event. Collins calculated that, by shaving 3 miles (5 km) off the course and riding counter-clockwise around the island, the bike leg could start at the finish of the Waikiki Rough Water and end at the Aloha Tower, the traditional start of the Honolulu Marathon. 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:
With a nod to a local runner who was notorious for his demanding workouts, Collins said:
Of the fifteen men to start off in the early morning on February 18, 1978, twelve completed the race and the world's first Ironman, Gordon Haller, completed it in 11 hours, 46 minutes, and 58 seconds.
Organizations
Today, a number of triathlon events over varying distances are held around the world. The standard "Olympic Distance" of 1.5/40/10 km (.93/24.8/6.2 miles)was created by long time triathlon race director Jim Curl in the mid-1980s, after he and partner Carl Thomas successfully produced the U.S. Triathlon Series (USTS) between 1982 and 1997. The Hawaii Ironman Triathlon now serves as the Ironman world championship, but the entity that owns the race, the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), hosts other triathlons around the world that are also called Ironmans. Long-distance multi-sport events organized by groups other than the WTC may not officially be called "Ironman" or "Iron" races. Such triathlons may be described as Full distance triathlon or "Half distance", but the "Ironman" and "Iron" labels are the official property of the WTC.
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 expressed little interest in supporting longer distance triathlons, choosing to retain its focus instead on the shorter races geared toward the Olympics.
Olympics
The sport made its debut on the Olympic program at the Sydney Games in 2000 over the Olympic Distance (swim: 1,500 m (1,600 yd) - bike: 40 km (24.9 mi) - run: 10 km (6.2 mi)). (See Triathlon at the Summer Olympics.)
Popularity
Since its founding, triathlon has grown significantly and now includes thousands of races with hundreds of thousands of competitors worldwide each year.
Standard race distances
The ITU accepts a 5% margin of error in the cycle and run course distances.
Though there can be some variation in race distances, particularly among short triathlons, most triathlons conform to one of those above standards.
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) sanctions and organizes a World Cup series of Olympic distance races (13 in 2004) each year, culminating in an annual World Championship for both 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.
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 Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i (October, Ironman) and Clearwater, Florida (November, Ironman 70.3).
In addition, the ITU has a Long Distance Triathlon s
Sprint Training- speed tips,agility and quickness coaching
Speed and sprint training ideas and information.Sprint time predictors,calculators and controls to determine your speed. Training ideas for the 100m.
The Original 13 Week Sprint Training Plan
A great 13 week program with good guidelines leading up to it. Have fun!
Sprint Training - Important Principles for Running Speed and ...
Subscribe to a monthly message containing 400-800-1500m Training Ideas. Enter your e-mail address: (privacy respected)
VersaClimber, #1 fat and calorie burner, versaclimber.com, versa ...
total body training, better than ellipticals, better than treadmills, better than steppers, Versaclimber is 2 cardio machines in 1.
sprint training | sprinting workouts | coaching
Sprint training: Increase your strength speed and stamina for free at the amazing new Peak Performance sports science Library
Sprint Training - 100m, 200m, 400m, sprint, hurdles
Planning your sprint training program - 100m, 200m, 400m, sprint, hurdles
Sprintology-Sprint Training ,Mobile Speed Timing,Testing & Coaching
Sprintology for sprint training,speed timing and testing. We are a speed testing,speed timing and power testing company. We specialise in speed, agility,quickness & sprint training
Sprint Training For Developing Athletes
Training information for young and beginning sprinters. Aimed at athletes as young as 8. From Sydney Athletics.
YouTube - Sprint Training At MISH
Sorry, no can do. dont hang around the track too much anymore. Unsure as to how you would build one. There will probably be one for sale over the internet though
Sprint Triathlon Training Program
Check out our new Directory! Serving 4,000+ members : We have a New Site! If you have entered through a page other then the 'home' page ...