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).
Triathlon had its Summer Olympics debut at the 2000 Games, in Sydney, when men's and women's individual events were first held, and has been contested since then. In 2021, at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics a mixed team relay event was held for the first time. The sport, and its Olympic events, are governed by the International Triathlon Union, known since 2019 as World Triathlon.
The Triathlon competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics, in Beijing, were held on Monday, August 18 (women) and Tuesday, August 19 (men), on the Triathlon Venue at the Ming Tomb Reservoir in Shisanling.
Alistair Edward Brownlee MBE is a British triathlete. He is the only male athlete to hold two Olympic titles in the individual triathlon event, winning gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He is also a four-time World Champion in triathlon being Triathlon World Champion twice and World Team Champion twice, a four-time European Champion, and the 2014 Commonwealth champion. Brownlee is the only athlete, male or female, to have completed a grand slam of Olympic, World, continental and Commonwealth championships. Brownlee is also a one-time world champion in aquathlon.
Francisco Javier Gómez Noya is a Spanish triathlete. He is the winner of five ITU Triathlon World Championships, he holds three ITU Triathlon World Cup titles, and won the Silver medal for Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in men's triathlon. He has also won world titles for Ironman 70.3 and XTERRA Triathlon.
Jonathan Callum Brownlee is a British professional duathlete and triathlete. He is a six-time World champion, and one-time Olympic champion in triathlon.
The Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series 2011 was a series of six World Championship Triathlon events leading to a Grand Final held in Beijing, China in September 2011. The Series was organised under the auspices of the world governing body of triathlon, the International Triathlon Union (ITU), and was sponsored by Dextro Energy.
The triathlon events at the 2012 Summer Olympics were held in Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom, with the women's triathlon held on 4 August and the men's on 7 August. 110 triathletes from 39 countries competed with 55 men and 55 women competing. The races were held over the "international distance" and consisted of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) swimming, 43 kilometres (27 mi) road cycling, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) road running.
Stuart Hayes is an English triathlete.
Vicky Holland is a British triathlete who is part of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic team, a 2-time World Mixed Team Champion and the 2018 ITU WTS champion. She was born in Gloucester. She is the first female triathlete to win an Olympic medal for Great Britain, a bronze in 2016. In 2021, she competed in the women's event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Lucy Hall is an English triathlete.
The women's triathlon was one of the triathlon events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. It took place on 4 August 2012, featuring 55 women from 31 countries. It was the fourth appearance of an Olympic women's triathlon event since the first at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The race was around Hyde Park, a 1.42 km2 park in central London. The race was held over the "international distance" and consisted of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) swimming, 43 kilometres (27 mi) road cycling, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) road running.
The triathlon competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 18 to 20 August 2016 at Fort Copacabana. Fifty-five athletes competed in each of the men's and women's events.
The triathlon competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured fifty-five athletes competing in each of the men's and women's events. The 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also added the new mixed team relay event.
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."
The men's triathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place at Fort Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro on 18 August.
The 2018 ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championship was the 10th edition of the mixed relay world championships and the 6th to be held in Hamburg, Germany. The race was hosted on 15 July 2018 to coincide with the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Series Hamburg race, and featured 40 men and 40 women representing 20 countries. The race was around the Binnenalster, an artificial lake in central Hamburg. The race followed the standard mixed relay format, where each athlete would swim 300m, cycle 7 km and run 1.7 km before tagging their next teammate to do the same, with the specified gender order of female—male—female—male.
Alexander Amos Yee is a British professional triathlete and distance runner. He won the silver medal in the Men's Triathlon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the gold medal in the Triathlon Mixed Relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Saturday 31 July 2021. He is also the 2022 Commonwealth Games triathlon champion in both the men's and mixed team events. He is a double World Championship medalist over the World Triathlon Championship Series, with silver in 2022, and bronze in 2021
The triathlon competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to run from 30 July to 5 August at Pont d'Iéna, featuring a total of 110 athletes who will compete in each of the men's and women's events. After a hugely successful Tokyo 2020, the mixed relay competition remains in the triathlon program for the second time at the Olympics.
