Iron man triathlon for the toughest of the tough
Back in 1978, the iron man triathlon resulted out of an argument between top
athletes, “Which was better, a runner, a cyclist, or something else?” Navy
Commander John Collins came up with a test using three popular events that were
already scheduled in Kona, Hawaii – a marathon, an around-Oahu bike race, and a
Waikiki water swim. 12 people finished from the 15 that started in the race.
Triathlon in 1978 opens doors to other multiple sport events
Now, triathlons are held world-round. Their popularity is evidenced by how
quickly registration fills up for races now. Many different variations of the
triathlon have developed as well as other
multi-sport offshoots.
The original triathlon involved a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike race, and then
a 26.2 mile run, which was a marathon in and of itself. Now different race
lengths include the super sprint, sprint, international, long and the ultra
(same as the Ironman).
In addition to different race lengths, different flavors of multiple sport
events have cropped up as well:
• Dualthon – oldest variation of the triathlon, leaves the
swimming part out
• Aquathon – newer variation of the triathlon, leaves the running split out
• Winter Triathlon – Don’t worry, you don’t need your wetsuit for this. It
involves running, mountain biking, and skate skiing. World championship courses
usually include an 8K run, a 12K bike, and a 10K ski split.
For the toughest of the tough, the Ironman still stands over all other
triathlons. Triathletes all over the world train year round to keep themselves
in good enough shape to compete.
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Ironstar Triathlon
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