The answer to some of those questions you may have always wondered about

When did Triathlon start?

Triathlon first started in San Diego Track Club in 1974 as a form of cross training, completing 10k run, 8k cycle, 5k run. 4 years later saw the first Ironman race in Hawaii in 1978. US Navy commander John Collins invented it as a challenge between swimmers, cyclists and runners to see who the ultimate athlete was title the IRONMAN. However, it wasn’t until 1989 when we saw the first ITU World Championships in Avignon, France.

When was Triathlon introduced to the Olympics?

Triathlon made its first appearance in the Olympics in 2000 Sydney, Australia. The winners were Simon Whitfield (Canada) and Brigitte Mcmahon (Switzerland). This can be considered to have helped the sport to grow in popularity and continues to grow.

When is Triathlon season?

Traditionally the Triathlon season is from May to September in the UK. Continental Europe has a slight longer season from April to October for traditional Triathlon. But there are lots of other activity and events e.g. aquathlons, duathlons, cross-country Triathlon and other multisport activity throughout the year.

When is Triathlon next on?

To find the next Triathlon event on near you have a look at our event search engine https://www.britishtriathlon.org/events/search?region=11. There are plenty of events taking place for both adults and children, go along and take part, volunteer or be a spectator.

When to taper for a Triathlon?

This is a very individual question and depends on the individual, how much training they are doing, how important the race is etc. Typically, you reduce the volume from a week out, maybe more for higher volume athletes and/or longer training. However, it is important to keep some intensity in during the taper otherwise you will feel lethargic

When to wear a wetsuit?

Wetsuits are not allowed during pool-swim Triathlons and when to wear a wetsuit in open water events depends on the level that you are competing at. However, the final decision as to weather it is a wetsuit or no wetsuit swim ultimately comes down to the lead technical official of the event, and will be announced in the race briefing.

• Elite races – wetsuits are mandatory below 14⁰C and forbidden above 20⁰C
• Normal age group races – wetsuits are mandatory below 16⁰C and forbidden above 23⁰C
• Other race organisers e.g. Ironman and in Paratriathlon have different rules

When is Triathlon on TV?

The Welsh Super Series TV coverage from both 2018 and 2019 is currently available on https://watch.endurancesports.tv/welsh-triathlon-super-series-2019 as a box set so you can sit back and enjoy watching the series develop from start to end. It is also being shown on Fox Sport, Sky sport and Eurosport . BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/triathlon also covers a lot of the World Triathlon Series and Super league online and on the red button. Alternatively you can buy a https://www.triathlonlive.tv/  pass for around £20 for the year and this has almost every ITU race streamed live,