Triathlon is an endurance race that combines competition in three distinct disciplines. The most typical form
of triathlon involves swimming, biking, and running
(usually in that order) for specified distances. Participants win by being the fastest over the entire racecourse.
History
The sport of triathlon emerged in California in the early
1970s; precisely how and why remain uncertain. It may
be that the sport emerged as an offshoot of a typical
beach situation. One boy in the water says to another,
“I’ll race you to the refreshment stand.” Quickly, they’re
off, first swimming to the shore and then running to the
food vendor, perhaps eventually even racing home on
their bikes. Slight formalization produced an informal
multisport event. In those early days, the sport has been
described as much more “happy go lucky.” Those participants might be amused at the current high-tech
sport that has focused on every aspect of triathlon with
a single overarching concern—to increase the speed at
which triathletes can complete an event.
Rules and Play
The best-known triathlon is the Hawaii Ironman
Triathlon (HIT). It is an ultradistance event that involves a 2.4-mile swim followed by 112 miles of cycling
and a 26.2-mile marathon run.As is true in virtually all
triathlons, a participant completes the events sequentially with only brief stoppages or slowdowns (known
as transitions) to change equipment and clothes. These
transitions count against the triathlete’s total race time.
Because brief seconds or minutes can separate competitors, many triathletes train for the transitions as
well as the three sports.
Most competition among triathletes occurs at
shorter distances than those in ironman contests (of
which the HIT is only one). Still, all triathlons are
clearly endurance events taking nearly an hour to complete for the best athletes in even the shortest races.
Several “levels” of distance can be specified. Approximately 75 percent of triathlons in recent years have occurred at the popular international distance. These
races involve 1.5-kilometer (0.93-mile) swims, 40-kilometer (24.86-mile) bike stages, and 10-kilometer (6.2-
mile) run courses. A triathlon at this distance will appear in the Olympic Games scheduled for 2000 in
Sydney. Finally, the grossly misnamed sprint-distance
triathlons range around 0.25 miles (400 meters) for the
swim, 10 to 20 miles (15–32 kilometers) on the bike,
and a 2–5-mile (3.2-kilometer) run.
The sport’s governing body, the International
Triathlon Union (ITU) has a membership that includes
nearly 120 national governing boards for triathlon, representing two million or more affiliated triathletes
worldwide. There is a viable professional tour for both
men and women competing in triathlons at various
distances throughout the world.
Triathlon Culture
Residual components of the earlier, less formal, sport
culture are visible in several aspects. One is resistance
by many triathletes to joining national governing
boards; instead they pay a one-day licensing fee to participate in events. Another is that triathlon is a somewhat expensive and time-consuming pursuit and thus,
it is primarily an activity of the middle class (and probably upper-middle class at that). In addition, triathlon
still has a strong commitment to its amateurs, with the
national amateur age-group championships televised
each year.
There is something primal about triathalon. Fit,
healthy, and vigorous individuals striving alone yet as
comrades against their personal demons, a grueling
course, and even possible (although rare) death. Unsurprisingly, sublime feelings may result from such
self-tests. More than just a “runner’s high,” the rapture
that some triathletes report is probably due to both
physical and psychological factors.
Despite the relative youth of this sport form, the
emergence of mountain bike and ultra-endurance
(e.g., double-ironman) triathlons may reflect a nostalgic search for authenticity in the sport. Many triathletes
believe strongly that the raison d’être of triathlon is the
intensely personal struggle to overcome the myriad
sources of self-doubt. It involves dedication and fortitude that places the greatest premium on individual effort. The increasing technological orientation, bureaucratization, and commercialization of the sport detract
from that focus.
Commercialization also underscores the major current controversy in the sport, drafting. Drafting occurs
when one triathlete follows another too closely. The
trailing athlete obtains an advantage in that the lead individual bears the brunt of the physical impact of the
fluids (air/wind and water/current) around them. In
the running and swimming phases, drafting’s impact is
not an issue. During the bike phase, however, the practice has been highly regulated by the national governing boards. Much of the effort of triathlon officials
(triathlon’s referees) is devoted to the prevention and
elimination of bike drafting.
Currently the ITU is battling to make drafting legal,
arguing primarily on the basis of commercial appeal.
For the triathletes who practice the primal struggle, the
ITU’s victory would be, for them, another loss.
—B. JAMES STARR
Bibliography Cook, Jeff S. (1992) The Triathletes: A Season in
the Life of Four Women in the Toughest Sport of All. New
York: St. Martin’s Press. Jonas, Steven. (1986) Triathloning
for Ordinary Mortals. New York: W.W. Norton. Plant, Mike.
(1987) Iron Will: The Heart and Soul of Triathlon’s Ultimate Challenge. Chicago: Contemporary Books. Tinley,
Scott, with Mike Plant. (1986) Winning Triathlon.
Chicago: Contemporary Books.