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The triathlon is an athletic competition, which consist three events, usually swimming, cycling, and running in consecutive order. Triathlon dates back to 1920’s France. It originated from a race called “Les trois sports.’ This sport was developed to the test the endurance of the competitors.

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Triathlon participants can compete individually or with a group (relay). The competitors will compete for the fastest overall completion time, this also includes the transition time for each event.

Distances

A standard distance triathlon (also called the Olympic distance), 1.5 km (0.93 mi) swim, 40 km (25 mi) cycle and 10 km (6.2 mi) run. Sprint triathlons are half the standard distances, a format created for venues and places that cannot fully use the Olympic distance. 

One of the popular triathlon competitions is the Ironman Triathlon, the most well known being the Hawaii Ironman, which consists of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run.

Another variation in the distances of the triathlon is the Equilateral Triathlon. Although not popular, this event is designed so each leg of the triathlon takes a similar time. Typically, cycling occupies about 78% of the typical race distances, running 19%, and swimming 3%. In an equilateral triathlon, each leg takes about a third of the time (a longer swim and a shorter cycle).

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Triathlon Variations

• Winter Triathlon — athletes compete in running, mountain biking and cross-country skiing.
• Cross Triathlon — a variation of the traditional triathlon, with a swim stage, mountain-biking stage and a trail-running stage.
• Paratriathlon — for disabled athletes, involving a 750 m swim, a 20 km bike with handcycles, bicycles or tandems with a guide, and a 5 km wheelchair or running race.
• Indoor Triathlon — swimming in an indoor pool, cycling on a stationary bike, and running on an indoor track or treadmill.

Similar Sports

• Aquabike — a shortened version of triathlon, with no running leg. Athletes swim followed by cycling.
• Aquathlon — a continuous race involving swimming followed by running.
• Duathlon — similar to triathlon, running first, then cycling, then running again
• Quadrathlon — consists of swimming, kayaking, cycling, and running.
• Modern Pentathlon — comprises five events: fencing, 200m swim, show jumping, and combined pistol shooting and 3200m run.
• Triathle — a shortened version of the Modern Pentathlon in which athletes compete in shooting, swimming and running events as a part of a single race.

Related Pages

• About Multi-Sports
• Triathlon at the Olympics
• Juggling Triathlon (unusual sport)
• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports