World Triathlon facts for kids
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| Sport | Triathlon |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | TRI |
| Founded | 1 April 1989 in Avignon, France |
| Headquarters | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| President | Antonio Fernández Arimany |
| Official website | |
World Triathlon is the main organization for the sport of triathlon around the world. It used to be called the International Triathlon Union (ITU).
This group is in charge of several multi-sport races. These include triathlon, duathlon, and aquathlon. They also oversee other types of triathlon races. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sees World Triathlon as the official group for these sports. This means World Triathlon helps organize triathlon events for the Olympic Games.
Besides setting the rules, World Triathlon also puts on big international races. These include the World Triathlon Championship Series and the ITU Triathlon World Cup. Since 2024, they also approve a World Championship Tour for long-distance triathlon. This tour is run by the Professional Triathletes Organisation. World Triathlon does not officially work with other big triathlon groups like Ironman Triathlon, XTERRA Triathlon, or Super League Triathlon.
World Triathlon also organizes championships for sprint distance and team relay triathlons. They manage championships for Aquathlon (which is running, then swimming, then running again). They also oversee Duathlon (running, then biking, then running again) and Winter triathlon championships.
The main office for World Triathlon is in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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How World Triathlon Started
People were doing swim-bike-run races even in the 1920s. But the word "triathlon" was first used in 1974 in San Diego. After that, the sport became very popular, very quickly.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) noticed how popular triathlon was. In 1988, they started talking about adding it to the Olympic Games. The IOC President at the time, Juan Antonio Samaranch, wanted triathlon to be an Olympic sport soon. He held a meeting in Stockholm, Sweden. At this meeting, Les McDonald from Canada was chosen to lead a group for triathlon. Sture Jonasson from Sweden became the secretary.
World Triathlon was officially started on April 1, 1989. It was first called the International Triathlon Union (ITU). This happened at the first ITU Congress in Avignon, France. Thirty national sports groups attended this first meeting. They started planning for the first World Championships. This event took place in Avignon in August 1989.
At this meeting, they set the "Olympic distance" for triathlon. This distance was later called the "standard" distance. It included a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride, and a 10-kilometer run. These distances were chosen because they were already used in individual Olympic sports. More than 800 athletes from 40 countries raced in the first World Championships. Les McDonald from Canada was elected as the first president of ITU in 1989.
The ITU started the World Cup series in 1991. They held 11 races in eight different countries that year. In 1994, the IOC officially added triathlon to the Olympic program. Triathlon made its first appearance at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
World Triathlon's main office was in Vancouver, Canada, for many years. On January 1, 2014, it moved to Lausanne, Switzerland. This city is also home to the IOC and many other international sports organizations.
Marisol Casado from Spain became the second president of World Triathlon in November 2008. She also became an IOC member in February 2010. She was re-elected as president in October 2012 and again in December 2016.
In 2009, the International Triathlon Federation changed its top competitions. The World Championship became the World Triathlon Series. This was a series of eight races in different countries. The ITU Triathlon World Cup became a second-tier series. It offered less prize money and fewer world ranking points. World Triathlon also organizes world competitions for other sports. These include duathlon, aquathlon, cross-triathlon, winter triathlon, and paratriathlon.
In June 2017, the International Olympic Committee added a third triathlon event. This was the mixed team relay for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Now, with the men's and women's short-distance races, there are three Olympic triathlon events. This mixed event helps promote equality between male and female athletes.
In September 2017, World Triathlon announced that Les McDonald had passed away. He was 84 years old. He was the founding and honorary president of the organization. He received the Order of Canada in 2013 for his service. He was also added to Canada's "Hall of Fame" in 2014 for his work in triathlon.
In October 2020, the ITU officially changed its name to World Triathlon.
How World Triathlon is Organized
World Triathlon is divided into five large regions around the world. These regions include 172 national federations. A national federation is the main triathlon group in each country. Each region holds its own Continental Championship and Continental Cup Series.
- Asia Triathlon represents 35 national groups.
- Africa Triathlon represents 37 national groups.
- Europe Triathlon represents 46 national groups.
- Americas Triathlon represents 40 national groups.
- Oceania Triathlon represents 14 national groups.
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe Triathlon made a statement. They supported the IOC and World Triathlon's decision. This decision was to stop Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in European events. It also meant no international events would be held in Russia or Belarus.
Growing the Sport
World Triathlon works to help the sport grow. They especially focus on areas outside of Europe and English-speaking countries. One way they do this is by offering grants. For example, they gave money to the African Triathlon Union. This money helps national groups organize events. It also helps fund training for athletes, coaches, and officials.
Another way they help is through athlete scholarships. These are for young athletes who show talent but need more support. Their home country's sports group might not be able to give them enough help. These scholarships allow them to compete at an international level. The main goal is for these athletes to represent their country at the Olympic Games.
World Triathlon also has global certifications for coaches and officials. This means that important events will be run at a high level.
Athlete Rankings
World Triathlon keeps track of how athletes perform. They publish World Rankings for men and women. These rankings cover short and long-distance triathlon and duathlon. They also include aquathlon and winter triathlon races. There is also a ranking for national teams in the mixed relay.
Each ranking system is a bit different. But they all use a "rolling calendar." This means they look at an athlete's best scores from the past 52 weeks. They also add some of the best scores from 53 to 104 weeks before that. The maximum score for each race is set by World Triathlon. The athlete who finishes first gets the most points. Each athlete after them gets 7.5% fewer points than the one before them.
Major Championships
In its first year, World Triathlon only held the World Triathlon Championship. The next year, they also started the Duathlon World Championship. In 1991, the ITU began hosting a series of triathlon races called the Triathlon World Cup.
The distances for the World Championship and World Cup races were set. They were a 1,500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride, and a 10-kilometer run. These distances were chosen because they were already used in individual Olympic sports. This triathlon distance is now known as the "standard distance."
In 1994, the Long Distance Triathlon World Championships began. This was similar to Ironman Triathlon events but run by the official sports group. In 1997, the Long Distance Duathlon World Championships started. Also in 1997, the first Winter Triathlon World Championships were held. This gave winter triathlons their own world championship.
In 1998, the Aquathlon World Championships were created. This gave aquathlon its own world championship. In 2009, the Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships started. This was for elite-level international relay races. The newest championship is the Cross Triathlon World Championships. This was created so the sport's main group could have a world championship for cross triathlon. This is similar to how the long-distance world championships were created to be like the well-known Ironman Triathlon events. Both Ironman and XTERRA also have their own "world championship" events.
The world championship events organized by World Triathlon include:
- For triathlon:
- World Triathlon Championship Series
- World Triathlon Long Distance Championships
- World Triathlon Sprint Distance Championships
- World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships
- World Triathlon Cup
- For duathlon:
- World Triathlon Duathlon Championships
- World Triathlon Long Distance Duathlon Championships
- For aquathlon:
- World Triathlon Aquathlon Championships
- For winter triathlon:
- World Triathlon Winter Championships
- For cross triathlon:
- World Triathlon Cross Championships
See also
In Spanish: Unión Internacional de Triatlón para niños
