History of the Triathlon
A triathlon is a long-distance multisport competition that combines swimming, cycling, and running. The sport’s origins have been traced to early 19th-century France. In Joinville-le-Pont, Val-de-Marne, a competition known as Les Trois Sports, or The Three Sports, was conducted in 1901, making it the earliest event ever documented. It featured a run, bike, and canoe segment and was promoted as an activity for “the sportsmen of the moment.” By June 19th, 1921, the competition at Joinville-le-Pont had switched out the canoe segment for a swim, making it much like today’s triathlon.
On September 25th, 1974, the first contemporary triathlon was held at Mission Bay in San Diego, California. Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan, two San Diego Track Club members, came up with the idea and oversaw the event. When Jack Johnstone competed in the Dave Pain Birthday Biathlon, a 4.5-mile run accompanied by a quarter-mile swim, it served as the impetus for the event.
After that, he proposed the concept to his track club’s president, who agreed to place the event on the calendar but delegated full organizing responsibility to Jack Johnstone. They had settled on a name in no time, and planning was complete. Because it was a new event and the “first” of its kind, the organizers did not expect many participants but were shocked to see almost 50 athletes competing on the day of the event.
Four years later, in 1978, two of the competitors in the triathlon at Mission Bay in San Diego, Judy and John Collins, launched the Hawaii Ironman, a triathlon competition in Hawaii that helped to popularize the sport. The first European triathlon was held on August 30th, 1980, at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, marking the transatlantic spread of the triathlon to northern Europe. Also, West Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium each hosted an event in 1981, despite the events receiving little media attention.
In 1982, the decision to establish a triathlon in Europe on par with the one in Hawaii was reached. Originally scheduled to take place in Monaco, the event was moved to Nice, France, due to the passing of Princess Grace of Monaco in September 1982. A total of 57 contestants competed on November 20th, 1982. After the event in 1982, the Nice triathlon became one of the most significant long-distance events in the 1980s, alongside the Hawaii triathlon, garnering much media attention and growing in popularity.
Triathlon inclusion in the Olympics was under consideration by 1988 due to the sport’s rising popularity. Consequently, a single regulatory authority for the sport was required. The World Triathlon was founded at the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Congress in Avignon, France, a year later, on April 1st, 1989. At the first Congress, which 30 National Federations all attended, the ITU formed plans for the first World Championships in the sport, which would take place in Avignon in August 1989. By the time of the event, more than 800 athletes from over 40 nations took part, and Les McDonald of Canada was chosen as the ITU’s first president.
ITU launched the World Cup series in 1991, holding 11 events in eight nations. The IOC formally introduced the triathlon to the Olympic Program in 1994 at its Congress in Paris. The triathlon made its Olympic debut at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. The World Triathlon was originally based in Vancouver, Canada. On January 1st, 2014, it relocated its headquarters to Lausanne, Switzerland. Now, there are four different triathlon distances: sprint, Olympic, long course, and ultra, with the Olympic triathlon consisting of a 0.9 mile (1.5 km) swim, a 29 mile (40 km) cycle ride, and a 6-mile (10 km) run.
