What is triathlon? (Aka history lesson)

Triathlon is a multi-sports competition that includes swimming, biking and running at different distances (in this order).

Popular match distances include:

from

Sprint: (750m swimming, 20k bicycle, 10k running)

from

Olympic Games: (1.5k swimming, 40k bicycle, 10k running)

from

Long-distance running (half-iron): (1.9k swimming, 90k riding, 21.1k running)

from

Super Distance (Iron Man): (3.8k swimming, 180k riding, 42.2k running)

There is a transition between the Swim and Bike segments, and then there is a transition between the Bike and Run segments, which are called Transition 1 (T1) and Transition 2 (T2). The time spent on T1 and T2 is included in your total match time.

Most historians believe that the first triathlon took place in France in the 1920s, and a magazine called "L' Auto" reported a game called "Les Trois Sports". (Also known as "La Course des Debrouillards" and "La Course des Touche a Tout"") includes a 3km run, 12km bicycle and swimming Marne. A version of this game still takes place in Meulan and Poissy Near Joinvill-le-Pont.

The first "modern"…

What is triathlon? (Aka history lesson) was originally published on Spring

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