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 (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
Triathlon made its official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. This sporting event was held at the Sydney Opera House. Forty-eight triathletes contested the female event on September 16, while fifty-two contested the male event on September 17, making up a total of 100 competitors. Each competitor starts the event with a 1500-metre swim course, followed by a 40 kilometre road bicycle race and finish with a 10 kilometre road run. Each consecutive event in triathlon runs in sequence, without any respite, so that the athlete who crossed the line in first place at the end of the run would be the winner.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the triathlon events were held at the Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre. Fifty triathletes contested the female event on August 25, and the same number contested the male event on August 26, making up a total of 100 competitors.
The Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre was the site of the men's and women's triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens, Greece. It also hosted the individual time trial cycling events. Located at Vouliagmeni, south Athens, the temporary facility seated up to 3,600, though only 2,200 seats were publicly available for the event.
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations. The ITU host the top level international race series the ITU World Triathlon Series and the ITU Triathlon World Cup. More recently, the ITU created a long distance race circuit with official world championships. Long Distance Triathlon races are closer in length to Ironman Triathlon races owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation.
Triathlon had its Summer Olympics debut at the 2000 Games, in Sydney, and has been contested since then. It is governed by the International Triathlon Union.
Michellie Yvonne Jones is an Australian triathlete. She has won two ITU Triathlon World Championships, an Olympic silver medal, and the 2006 Ironman World Championship. She won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics as a guide for Katie Kelly, when paratriathlon made its debut at the Paralympics.
Joelle Franzmann is an athlete from Germany, who competes in triathlon.
Vassilis Krommidas is a triathlete and coach from Greece best known for competing at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.
USA Triathlon (USAT) is the national governing body for the multisport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USA Triathlon is a member federation of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Triathlon Union. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
KUOTA is an international bicycle brand, owned by Kuota International Co. Ltd, founded in 2001. There are distributions in Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines.
Andrea Hewitt is a professional triathlete who placed third at the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships and competed at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics.
The ITU World Triathlon Series is the International Triathlon Union's annual series of triathlon events used to crown an annual world champion. 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 ITU world champion. The elite championship races are held over two distances the standard and the sprint distance.
Irini Mouchou is a Greek professional triathlete and Greek National Champion of the year 2009.
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.
Deniz Dimaki is a triathlete from Greece. She represented Greece in triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The triathlon competitions at the 2015 European Games, in Baku, will be held at 13–14 June 2015. A total of 130 athletes, 65 men and 65 women, will compete.
The European Championships is a multi-sport event which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, Germany and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom between 2 and 12 August. European Championships in these sports held outside this quadrennial framework are unaffected.
Triathlon at the 2018 Asian Games was held at the JSC Lake Jakabaring, Palembang, Indonesia, from 31 August to 2 September. Both men and women competed in individual events, plus a mixed-gendered relay event.
