A quadrathlon (or quadriathlon, tetrathlon) is an endurance sports event composed of four individual disciplines. All four disciplines are completed in succession and the lowest overall time decides the winner.
The World Quadrathlon Federation defines that a quadrathlon consists of
Sprint Distance | Middle Distance | Long Distance | |
---|---|---|---|
swimming | 0.75 kilometers | 1.5 km | 4 km |
cycling | 20 km | 40 km | 100 km |
kayaking | 4 km | 8 km | 20 km |
running | 5 km | 10 km | 21 km |
in any order, though usually as above.
The distances, time duration and events depending on the organizing body, the location of the event and the time of year. During the winter months, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing may replace swimming and kayaking.
In Great Britain, the governing body is the British Quadrathlon Association (BQA).
The World Quadrathlon Federation has stated aim is to provide and promote International awareness for the sport of Quadrathlon. "Quadrathlon adds flatwater kayaking to the sport of triathlon to create a balanced test of fitness."
The event is extremely intense, and requires training before entering. People who have entered the event have commented on the strain it puts on the body after each interval, "My calves were so tight each step ricocheted through my body... By then I just wanted to be done" female competitor Domity Mcdowell wrote. [1] The competitors that complete the Quadrathlon are usually also involved in events such as the triathlon, biathlons and marathons. Danelle Ballengee, a professional female athlete who has competed in multiple events claims she "just loves a challenge". [2]
The World Quadrathlon Federation's World Cup has been running since 2001, and constitutes a series of races in multiple countries. The scoring method for the series takes the four best results for each athlete, awarding points based on position. Each athlete can enter as many races as they choose. This method allows participation for as large a number of people as possible, given the cup's geographic spread. The 2013 cup, which finished with the Bude Awesome Foursome, was won by Stefan Teichert in the men's category and Lisa Maria Hirschfelder in the women's, both of Germany.
The distribution of points per race decreases starting from 100 points. 1st-5th places are separated by 10 point increments, placings 5-11 are separated by 5 point increments, placements 11th-21st are separated by 2 point increments, from here the placement increments (21st-30th) are 1 point and any placements after that receive 0 points. International championship world cup races can be evaluated with more points that what was previously stated. Every place can be upgraded by 20 points, 1st place receives 120 instead of 100, 110 points instead of 90 for 2nd place, 21points instead of 1 point for 30th place. There are also bonus points for athletes who have finished more than four World Cup races in season. These athletes are awarded 10 points per every extra race completed.
After failed attempts at beginning the quadrathlon in the early 80's, a man by the name of 'Prince' Sergio Ferrero initiated the first quadrathlon, held in 1987 on the island, Ibiza. This same man established the World Quadrathlon Federation (WQF) in 1990. This first quadrathlon consisted of a 5 km open water swim, 20 km open water kayak, 100 km bike and 25 km run. It was won by Philip Gabel from Australia in a time of just under 7 hours. The second edition in 1991 was won by Nigel Reynolds a dual citizen of Australia and South African who revolutionised the event by using a surf life-saving 'Ski' in the paddle section which dramatically improved the speed and course time. Not much has changed from the first quadrathlon up until now, as only 1 km has been reduced from the swim. In 1997, under the guidance of Czech Vaclav Marek, the European Quadrathlon Federation (EQF) was formed. [3]
The 2013 European Championships was held in the UK in Lincolnshire and was won by Steve Clark from Great Britain and Lisa Maria Hirschfelder from Germany.
There are a number of rules and regulations that both the athletes and officials must follow on the day of the event. These rules, if not followed correctly can end in warnings, penalties and even disqualification. Some of the general guidelines that the athletes must abide by are as follows;
No outside assistance, No flippers or snorkels while swimming, No riding too close to the other cyclists, [4] No private food or drink, The competitor may not block, charge or make an abrupt motion so as to interfere with the forward progress of another competitor and the competitor is not allowed to give or receive physical help from external factors. [5]
General rules for each sport include: [6]
There are not any specific rules for swimming in general, simply the attire worn by the swimmers. No fluorescent bathers to be worn and bathers must cover sexual characteristics. Swim goggles and caps are allowed and the identification number must be displayed on either the arm or back of the leg.
In the bike section of the race a bike must ride individually and have a support either on foot or in a separate vehicle. No biker can enter a transition area and must follow traffic rules if the course isn't closed to the public.
The kayak must be ridden individually and non mechanical for any advantages. All kayaks/Canoes must be over 8 kg in weight.
The upper body must be covered and footwear must be worn at all times, excluding shoes with spikes. No electronic devices can be used and any competitors leaving the race course for an advantage will be disqualified.
There has been other versions of quadrathlon. In 1984, in Australia, a version called "Fosters' Quadrathlon" included a 3-km swim, a 50-km race walk, a 160-km cycle ride, and a 42-km marathon. [7]
In winter conditions, snowshoes and cross-country skiing usually replaces running and swimming. [8]
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not timed per se, but depending on the competition, missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant's total.
Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points. Originally a training exercise in land navigation for military officers, orienteering has developed many variations. Among these, the oldest and the most popular is foot orienteering. For the purposes of this article, foot orienteering serves as a point of departure for discussion of all other variations, but almost any sport that involves racing against a clock and requires navigation with a map is a type of orienteering.
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the disciplines included. The word is of Greek origin, from τρεῖς, 'three', and ἆθλος, 'competition'.
An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.2 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.2 km) run completed in that order, a total of 140.6 miles (226.3 km). It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating. In the Olympic Games, there are several types of relay races that are part of track and field, each consisting of a set number of stages (legs), each leg run by different members of a team. The runner finishing one leg is usually required to pass the next runner a stick-like object known as a "baton" while both are running in a marked exchange zone. In most relays, team members cover equal distances: Olympic events for both men and women are the 400-metre and 1,600-metre relays. Some non-Olympic relays are held at distances of 800 m, 3,200 m, and 6,000 m. In the less frequently run medley relays, however, the athletes cover different distances in a prescribed order—as in a sprint medley of 200, 200, 400, 800 metres or a distance medley of 1,200, 400, 800, 1,600 metres.
Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The World Triathlon governs the sport internationally.
XTERRA is a series of cross triathlon races, i.e. three-sport races which include swimming, mountain biking, and trail running. The XTERRA Global Tour is owned and produced by XTERRA Sports Limited. The XTERRA race series is the best-known series of cross triathlons, and is considered by most to be the de facto world championship of the sport.
A multisport competition is a family of athletic competitions in which athletes race in a continuous series of stages or "legs", and rapidly switch from one athletic discipline to another in order to achieve the best overall time. Most multisport events are endurance races, consisting of aerobic activities such as cycling, running, kayaking and cross-country skiing.
World Triathlon, previously known as the International Triathlon Union (ITU), is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations. It is recognised as the international federation for the sport of triathlon and its derivatives by the International Olympic Committee, and it organises Olympic triathlon events on behalf of the IOC.
Due to the nature of triathlons as a race consisting of multiple sports many pieces of technical equipment have been borrowed from other sports, or developed specifically in an effort to race faster and improve a competitors safety.
An aquathlon is a multisport race consisting of continuous run and swim elements. Competitors complete a swim immediately followed by a run over various distances. Athletes compete for fastest overall course completion, including the time transitioning between the disciplines.
Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers. Competitive open water swimming is governed by the International Swimming Federation, World Aquatics, except when it is part of multi-sport events, which are governed by the World Triathlon.
Mountain bike racing is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Durango, Colorado. The first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series took place in 1988. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North America—and was sponsored by Grundig. Cross-country racing was the only World Cup sport at this time. In 1993, a six-event downhill World Cup was introduced. In 1996, cross-country mountain biking events were added to the Olympic Games. In 2006, cross-country mountain biking events became part of the World Deaf Cycling Championships for the first time in San Francisco, USA.
The sport of Ironman was developed in 1964 in Australia by Valentine Trainor to combine the four main disciplines of surf lifesaving into a single race; swimming, board paddling, ski paddling and running. The sport should not be confused with Ironman triathlon. It is typically run as a single event as a part of a surf life saving carnival, although it can be run as a sport in its own right. Internationally it is sometimes called Oceanman.
The Ironman World Championship is a triathlon held annually in Hawaii, United States from 1978 to 2022, with no race in 2020 and an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification races held throughout the world. From 2023, the Men's and Women's Ironman World Championships were separated with one at Kona and the other hosted at another venue.
Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon, and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Paratriathlon classification is the classification system for athletes participating in paratriathlon. It is governed by the World Triathlon. The sport has been included in the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
The World Triathlon Championship Series is World Triathlon's annual series of triathlon events used to crown an annual world champion since 2008. There are multiple rounds of competitions culminating in a Grand Final race. Athletes compete head-to-head for points in these races that will determine the overall World Triathlon champion. The elite championship races are held, with one exception, over two distances, the standard or 'Olympic' distance and the sprint distance. The ITU world champion between 1989 and 2008 had been decided in a single annual championship race.
The Triathlon competitions at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow, were held in Strathclyde Country Park. The men's and women's individual events were held on Thursday 24 July and women's triathlon was the first medal event of the Games. Mixed team relay was held on Saturday 26 July for the first time ever in major multi-sport Games. Marisol Casado, ITU President and IOC member, commented: "We are delighted the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee has embraced the Triathlon Mixed Relay. Triathlon is on currently on a high in the United Kingdom, and the Mixed Relay will offer an extra opportunity for the people of Glasgow to watch another thrilling and unpredictable event live on their city streets."
Claire Michel is a Belgian professional triathlete. She is the 2013 Aquathlon vice-World Champion. She has been named Belgian Triathlon's Female Athlete of the Year twice, in 2014 and 2015, she's part of the National Team and represented Belgium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. She is also Belgian Champion on Sprint distance for 2016.
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