Q and A: The History of the Triathlon

Triathlon Swimmers

For you aspiring Triathletes out there, you’ve probably noticed that you seem to absorb more and more information about Triathlons. Chances are, you already know about the Ironman Triathlon, the training strategies involved, and where you can race a Triathlon in your local area.

But instead of looking to the future, let’s take a break from your training. In other words, let’s talk some history.

Question: Where did Triathlons originate?

Answer: Unlike a lot of endurance sports (think “Marathon”), the Triathlon is actually a relatively modern athletic event. As a matter of fact, according to Triathlon historian Scott Tinley, the first Triathlon was held sometime in the 1920s or 1930s in France, when it was dubbed something like “Les trois sports.”

Question: Where was the first official Triathlon?

Answer: Mission Bay, San Diego, California. If you’re asking “when,” as well, then the answer is September 25th, 1974. 46 Triathletes braved the new world and attempted to previously-unregulated and demanding event. The event must have gone better than the first marathon, in which Phidippides ran the 26 miles, delivered the news of the victory at Marathon to his fellow Greeks, and collapsed and died. It took the marathon about 2,300 years to recover its popularity.

Question: When did the “Ironman” come about?

Answer: The first one we really know about is the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon, originally conceived in 1977. The brutal endurance contest featured a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and one marathon (26.2 miles). The race officially happened on February 18th, 1978 and the winner was Gordon Haller, who became the world’s first Ironman. And, unlike Phidippides, he lived to tell the tale.

Question: Why the combination of running, swimming, and cycling? Why not juggling?

Answer: You can probably thank the French for keeping the event reasonable – cycling has long been popular in France, and swimming and running are popular just about everywhere. The French probably originally swam across the Marne channel during “Les trois sports,” which was reported in a French newspaper in about 1920.

Question: When did the Triathlon become an Olympic sport?

Answer: The Triathlon made its Olympic debut in Sydney, Australia, during the 2000 Summer Games. In its Olympic form, a Triathlon is a 1500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride, and a 10-kilometer run.

Since the Triathlon is still a young sport, there is plenty of more developing to be done – as we learn more about the human body and the potential for endurance, our expectations and standards continue to change. Still, the ever-increasing popularity of the Triathlon, including its addition to the Olympics in 2000, is bringing more people into a health-conscious lifestyle and giving them tangible goals to work forward to. Not a shabby history at all.

Photo Credits: Giorgio Montersino

Originally posted 2009-03-10 05:17:39.

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