Are you thinking about doing a triathlon? This is where you start. Learn the basics!
The Triathlon is an individual multi-discipline sport consisting of a swim, bike ride and run, performed one after the other.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
There are some doubts about the origins of the sport.
Legend has it that three Hawaiian swimming, cycling and running coaches wanted to find out which sport required the highest level of fitness, so they decided to organise one single race that did not favour any of them.
According to its official history though, the first people to take on this kind of multi-sport challenge were two coaches from San Diego University, who, back in 1974, battled out a race consisting of a 5.3 mile run, 5 mile bike ride and 600 yard swim.
COMPETITIONS
SWIM
It became an Olympic sport in 2000 over the following race distances: a 1.5 km swim followed by a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run to complete the race. The various official race distances are shown in the table above. The transition from swimming to cycling and from cycling to running takes place in an area called the “transition zone”.
The swim leg takes place in open water but can also be held in a swimming pool. The start can take place in the water, on the beach or diving off a…
