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 or treis (three) and ἆθλος or athlos (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 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.
The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) is a sports event promotion company owned by conglomerate Advance Publications, that produces the Ironman Triathlon, Ironman 70.3, the 5150 series of triathlon races, and other sports events.
The Alpine Ironman was first held on 21 October 1980 in New Zealand. It was a three-day race featuring skiing, trail running and kayaking. The idea for the event came from Robin Judkins, who became the race's director, and his friend and business partner Peter Tocker; they were running Motatapu Canoes in Wanaka. Judkins was skiing with the general manager of Radio Otago and asked for a job as a radio announcer. A few days later, Judkins was asked to do a voice test by talking about his idea for the Alpine Ironman. He made up a story as he went along, including that Peter Hillary would be competing, and that the first prize would be a trip around the world. When the radio station told him that they wanted to broadcast this recording, Judkins was dumbfounded: "You're joking." They didn't, and Judkins went to Christchurch to find a sponsor, and organised the event within five weeks.
Robin Austin Judkins is a New Zealand sports administrator. He created the Alpine Ironman and the Coast to Coast, races that are often credited for being the origin of adventure racing. He has published an autobiography, Mad Dogs: Life on the Edge.
Samantha Warriner is a retired triathlete who represented New Zealand in triathlons ranging from sprint distance up to the Ironman. She was born in Alton, Hampshire, England. She turned professional at the end of 2005 after competing internationally for 3 years while teaching full-time at Whangarei Girls High School.
Ironman 70.3 SuperFrog is a half-Ironman triathlon held annually and based on the Silver Strand State Beach, Coronado, California.
The Coast to Coast is a non-standard multisport competition held annually in New Zealand. It is run from the west coast to the east coast of the South Island, and features running, cycling and kayaking elements over a total of 243 kilometres (151 mi). It starts in Kumara Beach and traditionally finished in the Christchurch suburb of Sumner, but since 2015 finishes in New Brighton. The event was created in 1983 by Christchurch personality Robin Judkins, who sold the rights to Queenstown-based tourism company Trojan Holdings in 2013. Richard Ussher took over from Judkins as race director in 2015.
Stephen Bruce Gurney is a New Zealand multisport and triathlon athlete. He has won the Coast to Coast race a record nine times.
Christine Ann Wellington is an English former professional triathlete and four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion. She holds, or held, all three world and championship records relating to ironman-distance triathlon races: firstly, the overall world record, secondly, the Ironman World Championship course record, and thirdly, the official world record for all Ironman-branded triathlon races over the full Ironman distance.
Dirk Bockel is a professional triathlete originally from Schwaikheim, Germany. He holds Luxembourgish nationality and raced for Luxembourg in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge was an annual multi-sports endurance race during which co-ed teams of four made their way through a punishing six-day, 400 kilometre (average) route across Abu Dhabi - the largest of the seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates. The event was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Sports Council and had a prize purse of US$236,500, with the winning team receiving US$40,000.
The 2009 Ford Ironman World Championship was held on October 10, 2009, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. It was the 33rd such Ironman Triathlon World Championship, which has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978. The champions were Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington. The championship was organised by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).
Miriam Sheppard is a former New Zealand athlete. She was the 2009 ITU Paratriathlon World Champion in TRI3 classification. In addition, she represented New Zealand at the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games. in Athens, Greece, in swimming, as well as at the 2005 CPISRA World Games – in both swimming and track & field. Jenkins is affected by mild cerebral palsy in her left side.
Nicky Samuels is a New Zealand professional triathlete who has won the 2013 XTERRA Triathlon World Championship and the 2012 ITU Aquathlon World Championships. She is also the 2012 New Zealand cycling road race national champion. She represented—alongside Andrea Hewitt—New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Olympics in triathlon and came 13th.
Melanie Burke is an athlete from New Zealand. She has been a national champion or New Zealand representative in rowing, road running, cycling, duathlon, and Ironman triathlon.
Timothy Peter Van Berkel is an Australian professional triathlete who races primarily in long distance triathlon events.
David Findlay Currie is a New Zealand sports administrator who has been the chef de mission at many international sports events. In the 2009 New Year Honours, Currie was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sports administration.
Kathleen "Kathy" Lynch is a retired competitive cyclist from New Zealand who competed both on and off the road. With a talent for multiple sports disciplines, she won the canoeing events New Zealand White Water Downriver and Slalom Championships in 1987 and represented her country at the 1988 Canoe Slalom World Cup. Around the same time, she was also a successful triathlete, but did not continue with that sport. She bought her first mountain bike in 1988 at the age of 31 in order to compete in an adventure sport event, and within a year she had become the New Zealand national cross country champion. Around the same time, she also took up road cycling. She was included in the New Zealand team for the 1990 Commonwealth Games and was assigned as domestique for the top New Zealand road rider, Madonna Harris. Harris and Lynch finished in fourth and ninth places respectively. In September 1990, Lynch competed at the inaugural UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and finished tenth. In November 1990, she became a household name in New Zealand by winning a 22-day multi-sport race the length of the country that had prime time TV coverage every night.
New Zealand