Triathlon has been an official Olympic sport since its debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.[1] Its inclusion in the Summer Olympic Games program was the quickest of any sport:[2] the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded in 1989 and five years later, on 4 September 1994, triathlon's Olympic status was approved by the 103rd International Olympic Committee Session, in Paris.[3] The variant contested at the Olympics (called Olympic distance) is composed of a 1,500-meter (4,921 ft) swim, followed by a 40-kilometer (25 mi) bicycle ride, and a final 10 km (6 mi) run leg. The distances were chosen based on the toughest events from each of the sports that constitute triathlon.[4]
Since 2000, the triathlon competition consists of an event for men and another for women.[5] The inaugural women's event was the first to be held during the Sydney Games, and crowned Swiss triathlete Brigitte McMahon as the first Olympic champion, over the heavy-favorite Australians.[6] The following day, Simon Whitfield of Canada, who was not considered one of the favorites, came from behind and took the men's gold medal with a 200-meter sprint finish.[7] In a similar fashion, long-distance specialist Kate Allen of Austria secured the women's Olympic title in 2004.[8] New Zealand's strength in the sport was demonstrated when the nation placed two men in the first positions: Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty won the gold and silver medals, respectively.[9] At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Whitfield was on the verge of repeating the 2000 outcome, but this time he could not keep his lead over Jan Frodeno of Germany in the final meters, and was pipped to the gold medal.[10] The Australian power in women's triathlon was finally consecrated at the Beijing Games, when three-time world champion and favorite Emma Snowsill clinched the gold medal and Emma Moffatt secured the bronze.[11]
After securing a second career Olympic medal in Beijing, Simon Whitfield (one gold and one silver) and Bevan Docherty (one silver and one bronze) are the only triathletes to have won more than one Olympic medal.[10]
Canadian Simon Whitfield was the first gold medalist in the men's Olympic triathlon, in 2000.
Kate Allen of Austria came from behind to win the 2004 women's Olympic triathlon event.
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[edit] Statistics
[edit] Multiple medalists
[edit] Medals by NOC
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- General
- Specific
- ^ "Triathlon Equipment and History". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Sports/All-Sports/Triathlon/Triathlon-Rules-Equipment-and-History/?Tab=1. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ^ "ITU Triathlon Facts & Figures". Triathlon.org. International Triathlon Union. http://archive.triathlon.org/?call=TVRZMw==&keep=sh. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ "Triathlon, taekwondo added to Olympics". The Sunday Argus-Press. Associated Press: p. 6. 4 September 1994. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rz8iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=46wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3417,416337&hl=en. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
- ^ Hobson, Wes; Clark Campbell and Michael F. Vickers (2001). "Chapter 18, Race Day: Olympic Distance". Swim, bike, run (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. p. 230. ISBN 0736032886. OCLC 45583386. http://books.google.pt/books?id=hxR6Tka9moIC&pg=PA230. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
- ^ "Triathlon". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Sports/All-Sports/Triathlon/. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
- ^ "Golden surprise – Swiss McMahon upsets Aussie for triathlon gold". CNN Sports Illustrated (CNN). September 28, 2000. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/2000/triathlon/news/2000/09/15/mcmahon_triathlon_ap/. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
- ^ "Simon Whitfield". The Official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. http://en.beijing2008.cn/spirit/pastgames/halloffame/w/n214047050.shtml. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
- ^ Michaelis, Vicki (August 25, 2004). "Australian-turned-Austrian Kate Allen wins triathlon with late surge". USA Today (Gannett Company). http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/athens/combined/2004-08-25-womens-triathlon_x.htm. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
- ^ "Hamish Carter wins men's triathlon". Xinhua Online (Xinhua News Agency). August 26, 2004. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-08/26/content_1890004.htm. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
- ^ a b "Germany's Frodeno Wins Triathlon at the Wire". The Seattle Times. Associated Press (The Seattle Times Company). August 18, 2008. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2008123160_apolytrimenstriathlon.html. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ Crutcher, Michael (August 18, 2008). "Emma Snowsill wins triathlon gold medal at Beijing Olympics". Herald Sun. The Daily Telegraph (The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd). http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/emma-snowsill-wins-triathlon-gold-medal-at-beijing-olympics/story-e6freyp0-1111117226567. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
Simon Whitfield (CAN)
Stephan Vuckovic (GER)
Jan Řehula (CZE)
Hamish Carter (NZL)
Sven Riederer (SUI)
Michellie Jones (AUS)
Kate Allen (AUT)
Susan Williams (USA)
Vanessa Fernandes (POR)
