Kate Allen (AUT) wins the Athens 2004 women's triathlon.
According to triathlete Scott Tinley, author of the athlete memoir "Racing the Sunset," the triathlon began as a French event called "Les Trois Sports" in the 1920's. In the city of La Rochelle, athletes would swim the local channel, bike around town, then run laps in the stadium.
It never quite caught on. But a half-century later, the modern version of the sport had its birthday on September 25, 1974 when 46 athletes swam, biked and ran in the inaugural Mission Bay Triathlon at San Diego. It had nothing to do with "Les Trois Sports," it was just a way for health-conscious Southern Californians to mix up their workouts.
It didn't take long for the sport to be pushed to amazing extremes. John Collins, a U.S. Navy commander and an early adopter of the cross-training sport, organized the first Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. That race -- a grueling 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and topped off with a full 26.2-mile marathon run -- was completed by 12 of the 15 participants. Gordon Haller, a communications specialist with the American Navy, won in 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds.
Very few athletes on earth can accomplish anything close to that, much less finish such a race, so the sport grew by tapering its distances a bit. The Ironman 70.3 came later, a race that halves the original Ironman distances and holds its championships in Florida each year. In the 1980's, a more accessible 1500 meter swim, 25 mile (40km) bike leg and 6.2 mile (10km) run became popular in the United States. That combination would become known as the "short course," or alternately, the "Olympic Distance."
Triathlon made its debut at the Games at Sydney 2000 after 11 years of lobbying by the International Triathlon Union. On September 16th, Brigitte McMahon became the first Olympic triathlon champion. The Swiss athlete completed the distance in two hours and 40 seconds, over a course lined by 300,000 sports-mad Australians, arriving at a finish-line spectacle featuring a rock D.J. and a "crazy" hype man blaring over a P.A. system.
The sport was just under 26 years that day... ah, unbridled youth.
Triathlon Fun Facts:
- We have yet to see a country win two Olympic gold medals in triathlon. Simon Whitfield (CAN) and Hamish Carter (NZL) are the two men's winners, while McMahon and Kate Allen of Austria have claimed championships on the women's side. Here's Whitfield bringing home the gold for Canada at Sydney.
- Some athletes are better at some things than others, that's just fact. Both Whitfield and Carter were in 28th place after the swimming portion at their respective Olympics, and both registered snappy times in the other two legs. But Allen was 44th coming out of the water at Athens with a 20:38 time, and came roaring back with an event-best 34:13 in the 10,000-meter run to win gold.
- "Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!" was the call to the Ironman Triathlon penned by Commander Collins, and is now a registered trademark. If you want to brag even louder, try the Ultraman -- 6.2 miles in the water, 90 miles on a mountain bike over rough terrain, then a 171 mile road cycle, with a 52.4-mile double marathon as the cherry on top. Thankfully, competitors have three days to complete this particular challenge.
- Triathlon for children? You bet! The ITU sponsors competitions known as "Ironkids" or "Kids of Steel," with various age-group distances capping at 750 meter swims, 15km bike legs, and 5km runs.
In 2008:
The Beijing triathlons, the third Olympic events for each gender, will occur at the Ming Tomb Reservoir. The men will compete on August 18 (Day 10), and the women will race the following day (Day 11).
Both start lists were capped at 55 entrants. Each nation may enter a trio of triathletes in each, but individuals must qualify [PDF] by winning one of the five world regional qualifiers or receiving enough Olympic qualifying points or achieving high placements in the ITU's continental rankings. In January, a tripartite commission chose one male and female athlete to round out the field -- Syrian Omar Tayara and Flora Duffy of Bermuda, respectively.
All-Time Medal Standings:
| Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
(Photos via 2004 and 2000 Official Reports)
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Sportswriter 
