Olympic Triathlon
Triathlon is an endurance event consisting of swimming, cycling and running performed back to back over various distances. It is an individual sport where each athlete is competing against the course and the clock for the best time. A competitor's official time includes the time required to transition between the individual legs of the race, including any time necessary for changing gear. Though the extended distance Ironman World Championship in Hawaii may be the triathlon’s most recognizable event, the 1.5K swim/40K bike/10K run is the sport’s international standard and the format used at the Olympic Games. The first known swim/bike/run triathlons were held at San Diego, California in 1974. Organized by members of the San Diego Track Club, early triathlons were held as off-beat training exercises for marathon runners.
The International Triathlon Union was founded in 1989 as the governing body of the sport, with the chief goal of putting Triathlon in the Olympic program. In 1994, the goal was achieved and Triathlon was slated for the 2000 Olympic program. Brigitte McMahon from Switzerland and Simon Whitfield from Canada won triathlon's first Olympic gold medals.The United States won its first Olympic triathlon medal at the 2004 Olympic Games when Susan Williams placed third in the women’s event in Athens.
At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, 55 women and 55 men will compete, the women scheduled for August 18 and the men planned for the following day. Triathlons are timed in sections: 1) from the start of the swim to the beginning of the first transition (swim time); 2) from the beginning of the first transition to the end of the first transition (T1 time); 3) from the start of the cycling to the end of the cycling leg (cycling time); 4) from the beginning of the second transition to the end of the second transition (T2 time); 5) and finally from the start of the run to the end of the run, at which time the triathlon is completed. Triathlon rules are extensive due to the multiple sports involved and the transitions required from one to the next. Depending on the severity of the infraction, variable time penalties are awarded and a collection of three offenses will get an athlete disqualified.
