Triathlon

Olympic symbol of the triathlon.

Triathletes in swim.

Triathletes at the stage of cycling.

Triathletes in the running phase on foot.

The triathlon is a sport that involves 3 sports disciplines, swimming, cycling and running, which are carried out in order and without interruption between one test and the next. The time it takes the triathlete to change from one discipline to the next is called transition. The transition from swimming to cycling is known as T1 and from cycling to running as T2.

Triathlon races are classified into several modalities according to: their distance, having short and long distance, if the cycling circuit is on the road or cross (by roads and mountains) and if they allow drafting (going to another rider's wheel in the cycling segment). Within each modality the best-known competitions are:

• World Triathlon Series (known as WTS): World Championship of several short-distance races where cycling is on the road and with drafting. The championship winner is the triathlet that gets more points taking the top 5 results obtained in the season tests.
• Ironman: Distance Championship ironman where the drafting. The winner of the championship is the winner of the Ironman of Kona. The places to run this triathlon are awarded to the first classifieds in one of the other tests of the Ironman circuit.
• Xterra: Short distance championship in triathlon cross mode. The winner of the championship is the winner of the Maui Triathlon. The places to run this triathlon are awarded to the first classifieds in one of the other tests of the Xterra circuit.

Triathlon became an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the short-distance modality with drafting.

Within the triathlon federation, other sports are grouped that are also based on the union of various sports disciplines such as duathlon (running-cycling-running), winter triathlon (running-cycling-skiing long distance) and quadriathlon (swimming-canoeing-cycling-running).

The complexity of the triathlon lies in the need to be able to acquire a correct technical and physical mastery in three different disciplines, as well as in its great physiological demands. They are the basis for carrying out subsequent work at a tactical level that interrelates the three.

History

Entrance to the water in a triathlon.

The triathlon begins, according to popular legend, with a bet between North American marines in 1978, on the island of Hawaii, to determine which sport and, therefore, which athlete would be the most resistant and complete as a whole; a swimmer, an athlete or a cyclist, which would give rise to the current Ironman of Hawaii.

According to the triathlete, historian and writer Scott Tinley, the origin of the triathlon is anecdotally attributed to a race in France during the years 1920 - 1930 that received the names of "Les trois sports", "La Course de Débrouillards" and "La course des Touche à Tout". Since 2010, this race has been held every year in France, near Joinville-le-Pont, in Meulan and in Poissy.

In 1920 the French newspaper L'Auto reported about a contest called Les Trois sports, which had the reverse order of the current triathlon, with a Initial race of three kilometers on foot, which was followed by 12 km by bicycle and ended with a swim in the Marne canal. All three tests were carried out without interruption. There are also articles in French newspapers about a race in Marseilles in 1927. There is an article from 1934 about Les Trois sports (the three sports) in the city of La Rochelle, a race with swimming (approximately 200 m), cycling (10 km) around the port of La Rochelle and the Laleu park, and (3 km) ending with a run (1200 m) at the André Barbeau stadium.

Modern history

From the 1930s, very little was heard about triathlon, until 1974, when the Mission Bay Triathlon was held in San Diego, California, in the reverse order of today (running, cycling, and swimming).. It was sponsored by the San Diego Track Club where a group of friends had started training for the test. This phenomenon is well documented and is not based on the French events but rather an idea of its organizers that was conceived and directed by Jack Johnstone and Don Shananah. The first Mission Bay Triathlon was held on September 25, 1974, welcoming 46 athletes.

Olympic Games

The sport made its debut on the program at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, covering the Olympic Distance (swimming: 1,500 m (0.9 mi) – cycling: 40 km (24.9 mi) – run: 10 km (6.2 mi)).

The first Olympic test had 48 women and 52 men, since at that time the federation established a participation quota of 100 athletes. This continued the same at Athens 2004, and increased to 110 athletes at Beijing 2008.

Long distance triathlon

The first modern long-distance race in the triathlon with a (2.4 mile/3.8 km) swim, (112 mile/180.2 km) bike ride, and a run (26.2 mile/42, 2 km) was the Ironman of Hawaii, which was conceived during the awards ceremony, in 1977, for the Oahu Perimeter Relay (a race for 5 teams of athletes). Among the participants were numerous representatives of the Mid-Pacific Road Runner's and the Waikiki Swim Club, whose members had long debated who were the best athletes on the island: runners or swimmers. On this occasion, the Commander of the US Navy, John Collins, who was present at the discussions, pointed out that in an article in Sports Illustrated magazine he himself had stated that Eddy Merckx, a great Belgian cyclist, had the highest level of oxygen uptake (VO2) of any athlete in those years, so perhaps cyclists could adapt better than anyone. Collins and his wife, Judy, had participated in the 1974 and 1975 triathlons organized by the San Diego Track Club in California, as well as the Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in Coronado, California, in 1975. Several of the other military athletes who were in attendance They were also familiar with the San Diego races in the discussion, so they understood what Commander Collins was getting at when he suggested that the debate should be resolved through a race that combined the three existing long-distance races on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (3.862 km/2.4 mi), the Around Oahu Bike Race - (115 miles; 180 km- originally a two-day event) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.219 mi./42.195 km). It should be noted that no one had made the cycling circuit present, so they would not notice that the original cycling race was two days, and not one day long, as the event they organized was supposed to be. According to Collins' calculations, the cycling could start at the finish line of the Waikiki Rough Water and end at the Aloha Tower, the traditional start of the Honolulu Marathon. Before the competition, each athlete received three sheets of announcement paper with some rules and the description of the event. In handwriting, on the last page appeared the following exhortation:

• Swimming 2.4 miles! Cycling 112 miles! Alardeen for the rest of your life! Commander Collins (1978).

Due to the notorious demands of the race ahead, Collins said, "Whoever finishes first, we're going to call him Ironman." Of the fifteen men who started at dawn on February 18, 1978, twelve finished the race, and the first Ironman was Gordon Haller, who finished the test in 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 s.

Today, a number of triathlons of various distances are held around the world. The "Olympic" The 1.5/40/10k was created by triathlon race director Jim Curl in the mid-'80s after he and his partner Carl Thomas successfully produced the U.S. Triathlon Series (USTS) between 1982 and 1997. The USTS, as is known, made triathlons more accessible to more people. The Ironman Hawaii is now known as the Ironman World Championships even though the race is organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and not the International Triathlon Union. The WTC that organizes all the events that take place under the Ironman brand and that serve as qualifiers for Hawaii. Other long-distance triathlon events that are not organized by the WTC cannot be officially called "Ironman" nor carry the initial clarifier Iron. These triathlons can be described simply as Full Distance (long distance) or Half Distance (medium distance).

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded in 1989 as the international governing body for the sport, with the primary goal of developing triathlon. ITU currently has its own long distance world championships that are held annually.

Since its founding, triathlon has grown significantly and today includes thousands of races with hundreds of thousands of competitors around the world each year. The history of the sport is documented in Scott Tinley's book, Triathlon: A Personal History (Velo Press, 2002).

Distances

The original triathlon distance, used in the Ironman races, consists of a 12,000-foot swim, a 110-mile bike ride, and a 26-mile run. But that distance is commonly shortened to the Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run) and Sprint (750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run).

For minors, there are shorter distances, known as IronKid, which consist of half the Sprint distance and even less for the youngest (from 7 to 12 years old). Another vigorous event is the Half Ironman or 70.3, which consists of a 1900m swim, a 90km bike ride and a 21km run; They are generally qualifying tests to compete in an Ironman.

The distances of each segment are approximate, varying slightly in each test.

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) sanctions and organizes the Olympic distance races each year, which culminate in world championships for elite, junior and amateur triathletes divided into 5 age groups. In the world championships, elite triathletes are allowed to use drafting in cycling (sticking behind the wheel of another triathlete to cut the wind), a measure prohibited for competitors in age groups.

The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) sanctions and organizes the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 series of events each year. These races serve as qualifying events for the World Championship held annually in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (October, Ironman) and Clearwater, Florida (November, Ironman 70.3).

In addition, the ITU runs a series of long-distance triathlons.

Modalities

There are other sports that consist of performing several sports disciplines within the same test that are governed by the triathlon federations. We can highlight the duathlon, it consists of running - cycling - running with a variant that is the mountain duathlon, carried out on unpaved roads and with a mountain bike; the aquathlon consists of running - swimming - running; the white triathlon, which takes place in winter, replaces swimming with cross-country skiing and the quadriathlon, which adds canoeing to the triathlon. The following table describes the specific distances:

* Modality or distance different or not recognized to those imposed by the ITU

In duathlon, the most physically demanding event is known as the Powerman (10 km of running, 150 km of cycling and another 30 km of running), similar to the Ironman in the triathlon.

Triathlon Rules

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) is the sole governing body responsible for the Competition Rules for Triathlon, Duathlon and its other related Multisports. Those in charge of implementing and executing the sports regulations are the Technical Officials (T.O. for its acronym in English).

Traditionally, triathlon is an individual sport: each athlete competes against-time to get the best time. As such, athletes are not authorized to receive assistance from anyone else inside or outside the race, with the exception of the help of volunteers designated by the organization of the event, who distribute food and water during the course of the race. This also affects team tactics, such as drafting, a stage cycling tactic in which several cyclists ride in a group, at a close distance (forming a line, usually) to reduce air resistance; Tactics like these are not allowed in some races, especially middle and long distance races.

This has begun to change with the introduction of triathlon in the Olympic Games. Many Olympic distance races, including those at the Olympic Games and ITU World Cup events, now allow drafting during the cycling leg. This change has provoked a wide debate among the triathlon community, with the feeling that its supporters are based on the fact that its use brings triathlon closer to international cycling standards, and the feeling of opponents, who maintain that this element it eliminates the achievements achieved by a triathlete with a good level of swimming, since his rivals with a lower level of swimming would have the possibility of reaching it during the cycling cycle. Drafting is officially allowed for professional events at the ITU level and the Olympic Games. However, most amateur events do not allow the use of drafting by the participants.

Timing in triathlon is segmented. The results are usually published on the official websites, and the detailed time is shown for each triathlete; cycle time (with transitions included); execution time, and total time. Some publications include the specification of transition times separately.

Other triathlon rules vary from race to race, and, in general, descriptions of permissible equipment (such as wetsuits, which are allowed in the swim leg in some races - usually when the water temperature is below 78 degrees Fahrenheit or 14 °C) and prohibitions on interference between athletes.

An important rule in cycling is that the competitor must have their helmet on before leaving the parc fermé where the transition takes place, and the helmet must remain on until the competitor gets off at the second transition; the competitor may remove the helmet from him at any time, as long as he is not on the bike (ie, for example, while repairing a mechanical problem). Failure to comply with this rule will lead to recusal.

In races organized by the ITU, the use of protruding elements on bicycles or that do not belong to their mechanics is not allowed. Therefore, the use of couplings is rejected, as well as the use of sports cameras.

There are other rules that vary depending on the organizing entity, such as the maximum time that an athlete can spend in each stage and, in general, where the competition number must be worn, the mandatory use of the swimming cap delivered by the organizers, the distribution of water and food supply posts and the blocking of certain bicycle sprockets in youth categories, among others.

Triathlon Categories

An absolute category is established for men and another for women:

In addition to the absolute category to which all athletes belong, they may belong to the following categories according to their ages and regardless of their sex:

The age category will be determined by the age of the participant on December 31 of the year in which the competition is held.

As an alternative to the related categories, a competition can be established by age groups. In this case the age groups will be grouped as follows: 1. xx-19 years 2. 20-24 years 3. 25-29 years 4. 30-34 years old, etc.

Official championships and competitions may be organized for the following categories and over the following distances:

Cadet - Sprint Distance

Junior - Sprint and Standard Distances

In a competition, all athletes opt for the absolute classification in addition to their own age classification, if there is one. No athlete may compete in a category other than his age.

The Categories in School Age:

Most known competitions

Hundreds or perhaps thousands of triathlon competitions take place each year. Some of these are legendary and/or favorites in the triathlete community, as they have a long history, extreme environmental conditions, or because they are long distances that are physically and psychologically challenging. Some of these are detailed below:

• Ironman Hawaii World Championship, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The first edition was held in 1978 in Oahu, only five years after the triathlon sport was reborn (in San Diego, California), which was taken to Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island. The cycle stage spans more than a hundred miles above the lava, on the large island of Hawaii, where at noon are temperatures that usually reach more than 110 °F (43 °C) and transverse winds at times 55 mph (90 kilometers/hour). The race is often difficult, even for professional competitors and experienced in other long distance events.
• Ironman de Lanzarote, Lanzarote, Spain. The test was created in 1992 by Club La Santa in the southern city of Playa Blanca, Lanzarote. In this edition, 148 athletes participated, of which, 116 finished the race. In 1993, the test was transferred to Puerto del Carmen, where the test is currently being contested. The race is contested at the end of May and is a good physical preparation for Hawaii, as for many triathletes it is one of the toughest tests in the world.
• Nice Triathlon, Nice, France. A race that existed until 2002, when the event was approved by the WTC (the World Triathlon Corporation in English) as Ironman France. During the 1980s the long-distance Nice Triathlon (nation 4 km, 120 km cycling, 30 km walking race) was, together with the world championships in Kona, one of the two major races of each year with cash prizes and media attention. Mark Allen won here 10 consecutive times.
• Alcatraz Escape, San Francisco, California. This race has distances that are out of the common framework used, and begin with 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) swimming in the cold waters of San Francisco Bay from Alcatraz Island to the coast, followed by 18 miles (29 kilometers) of cycling and 8 miles (13 kilometers) of running on foot, on hard terrain of the bay area. The walking race includes the famous sand staircase, a 400-square-foot staircase that climbs along a cliff next to the beach.
• Challenge Roth, Roth, Germany. 3.7K SWIM 180K BIKE 42.2K RUN Roth (Germany) is one of those mythical races for all long-distance triathletes. It is known worldwide for being one of the fastest long distance triathlons in the world. Currently the record has it: Andreas Raelert 7.41. Chrissie Wellington 8.18.13 Possibly the most spectacular, is the large number of people who always gather around to encourage all cyclists.
• Triathlon Internacional de La Paz. in the province of Entre Ríos, Argentina. Competition has been underway since 1985. It is done in January, for 3 consecutive days. Friday is intended for the triathlon of children in the non-competitive modality; Saturday for amateurs with sprint and standard distance (olympic); and Sunday for the elite category with standard distance. It is a popular event that runs through the streets of the city that are set to celebrate the race, especially in the discipline of athleticism. He's known as the best Triathlon in America.
  

  Platoon at the International Triathlon of La Paz 2015, Elite female. Palace, Carvallo, Biagioli