|
|
USA Triathlon is for you
USA Triathlon (USAT) is the national body that governs the triathlon sport in
the United States. As such, one of their responsibilities is to help market the
triathlon to people. Their most exciting and challenging task is to help select
the American team that will go to world tournaments such as the Olympics. There
are more than 60,000 members of the USAT. A record!
Learn more about the Ironman and qualifying races
The USAT doesn’t actually coordinate triathlons, so you would never see the
staff managing an Ironman. What they do is sanction Ironman; this helps make the
sport more consistent no matter who is hosting a triathlon. The USAT doesn’t
just deal with the traditional Ironman; they also sanction duathlons and
aquathons. You can find a master schedule of all events that have been
sanctioned by the USAT on their website.
The USAT differs from the WTA. The WTA is the World Triathlon Association and
they’re the ones who host Ironman's all over the world. The USAT doesn’t call
them Ironman's and instead refers to them as ultra length triathlons. As such,
you may not find that many Ironman races listed in the USAT calendar. Their
calendar is a good way for you to find out about
triathlons that are scheduled for the next year. You can also find out about
training sessions and camps that have been
sanctioned with USAT.
Some triathlon trivia...
.9, 24.8, 6.2 -- Miles of swimming, biking and running that comprise an
Olympic distance triathlon.
1.5, 40, 10 -- Kilometer equivalent of swimming, biking and running that
comprise an Olympic distance triathlon.
2 -- The average number of hours it takes elite competitors to complete an
Olympic distance triathlon.
2.4, 112, 26.2 -- Miles of swimming, biking and running that comprise the
Ironman.
4.2, 180.2, 42.2 -- Kilometer equivalent of swimming, biking and running that
comprise the Ironman.
6 -- The number of Emmy awards the Ironman Triathlon NBC broadcast has won since
it began covering the event in 1992.
8 -- Elite triathlete Hunter Kemper’s age when fellow National Team member Karen
Smyers competed in her first triathlon in 1984.
11:46:58 -- The time it took Gordon Haller to win the first Ironman competition
in 1978.
16 -- The day in September 2000 when the first women’s triathlon was contested
in the Olympics.
17 -- Number of hours competitors have to finish Ironman; also the day in
September 2000 when the men’s triathlon was contested for the first time in the
Olympics.
25.6 -- Degrees Celsius (78 degrees F) that the water has to equal (or below) in
which wetsuits are allowed in a triathlon swim.
51.5 -- Total amount, in kilometers, that an Olympic-distance triathlon covers.
This was the answer that prompted, “What is triathlon, Alex?” on a Fall 1999
broadcast of Jeopardy. That distance equals 32 miles.
130 -- Number of national federations on five continents that comprise the
International Triathlon Union, the world governing body of the sport.
600 -- Number of bottles of sunscreen that are used during the course of the
Ironman. Other supplies include 12,825 bananas, 140,000 lbs. of ice, 8,400
safety pins and 40 tiki torches!
1974 -- The year that the word “triathlon” was used in the modern sense for the
first time. It was in the San Diego Track Club’s newsletter publicizing the
Mission Bay Triathlon.
1982 -- The year that Julie Moss crawled to the Ironman finish line, inspiring
the mantra that just finishing the Ironman is a victory. At the time, Moss was a
college student competing to gather research for her exercise physiology thesis.
1989 -- ITU hosted the first Triathlon World Championship, in Avignon, France.
1,500 -- Number of competitors that compete in Ironman annually.
21,500 -- Number of annual members in USA Triathlon in 2000.
50,000,000 -- Number of people worldwide that annually watch the Ironman on
television.
2004 Annual memberships by state: (Top 10)
1. California 7,231
2. Texas 6,107
3. Florida 6,037
4. Illinois 2,654
5. New York 2,486
6. Colorado 2,054
7. Massachusetts 1,929
8. North Carolina 1,835
9. Virginia 1,770
10. Georgia 1,699
2004 Female Members of USA Triathlon
Total members: 53,254
Females: 16,409 (34%)
Total number of elites: 310
Female elites: 121 (39%)
Total Under23 members: 2,474
Females Under23: 961 (39%)
Total number of age-group members: 44,554
Female age-groupers: 14,124 (32%)
Top 20 USA Triathlon-Sanctioned Races in 2004 by Age Group Participation
Please note that these are participant TOTALS for the entire event. Some events
have more than one race. These events have an asterisk
Event Participants
Accenture Chicago Triathlon (Ill.)* 4,953
Wildflower Triathlon (California)* 4,786
St. Anthony's Triathlon (Florida)* 2,999
Danskin-Wisconsin 2,825
Danskin-Seattle 2,627
Danskin-Austin 2,576
Danskin-Denver 2,504
Half Vineman (California) 2,171
Ironman Wisconsin 1,976
Florida Half Ironman 1,911
Ironman USA (New York) 1,883
America's Triathlon/Capital of Texas Tri* 1,701
Timberman Triathlon* 1,679
Life Time Fitness Triathlon (Wisconsin)* 1,664
Reebok Women's Tri-Naperville (Illinois) 1,636
Ironman USA (Idaho) 1,628
Ironman Triathlon World Championship (Hawaii) 1,579
Gulf Coast Triathlon (Florida) 1,352
Blackwater Eagleman (Maryland) 1,352
Approximate Education Range of Multi-sport Athletes
(based on a 2000 survey of 925 members and non-members)
Completed high school only 7%
Two-year school 7%
Four-year school 40%
Graduate school 28%
Post graduate 18%
Approximate Household Income of Multi-sport Athletes
(based on a 2000 survey of 925 members and non- members)
Under-$20,000 3%
$20-$40,000 18%
$40-$60,000 21%
$60-$80,000 16%
$80-$100,000 13%
$100-$150,000 16%
$150,000-plus 12%
The Nike Torino Fleece Hoody is a pullover fleece hood with a kangaroo pocket, tipping at rib cuff, raglan sleeves, USA chenille embroidery at center front, Torino logoat center back and Swoosh design trademark on left arm. 80% cotton/20% polyester. Click to look at the Nike Men's Torino 2006 Fleece Hoody
  Train for your Triathlon at Home...Treadmill Selector
Click here
Related Article(s)
see also
water
sports
|
|
