Triathlon was invented in the early 1970’s by the San Diego Track club, as an alternative workout to the rigors of track training. The club's first event consisted of a 10km run, an 8km cycle and a 500m swim.

Over the next decade, triathlon grew by leaps and bounds and soon gained recognition throughout the world. In 1989, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded in Avignon, France and the first official world championships were held. The official distance for triathlon was set at a 1500m swim, a 40km cycle and a 10km run ­taking from existing events in each discipline already on the Olympic programme. This standard distance is used for the ITU World Cup series and also featured at the Olympic Games.

Since 1989, the sport has grown rapidly and now has over a hundred affiliated national federations around the world. It was not until 1994 that triathlon was awarded full medal status on the Olympic programme and made its debut at the 2000 summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Athletes with a Disability (AWAD) are separated depending on the level or region of impairment.

Every competitor wears a timing device attached to their ankle. Timing begins for each athlete when their wave begins. Furthermore, as each competitor enters the transition area, their ankle timing device registers with sensors under the transition floor mats. This enables judges to record the competitor’s times in 3 different groups;

1. Race Start to beginning of Transition 1 (Swim Leg)
2. End of Transition 1 to beginning of Transition 2 (Bike Leg)
3. End of Transition 2 to Race Finish (Run Leg)

The timing results are then available to competitors, so they can view their times for each leg and the time they took in transition.

The 1500 meter swim distance is borrowed from the longest Olympic Aquatic pool race. In every race except the Elite division, competitors are dispersed in ‘waves’ or groups to minimize course congestion and insure participant safety.

The style of triathlon swimming is far more strategic and different from typical pool competition. Triathletes will use their legs less vigorously to conserve their energy for the cycle and run to follow, many triathletes use altered swim strokes to compensate for turbulent, aerated water and most importantly, with no lane markers, it is very difficult to navigate without looking up for the turn buoys. As a result triathletes in the swim stage must jockey for position, and can gain some advantage by following the slipstream of the competitor ahead of them.

Unlike some other competition locations, the Gold Coast enjoys a water temperature of approximately 23 to 25 Degrees Celsius, which, while being incredibly comfortable for competitors, may also result in the disallowance of wetsuits. Many competitors wear specialized triathlon wetsuits which speed up their transition process and heighten swimmer buoyancy, providing a competitive edge. The ITU regulations attempt to prevent competitors from wearing wetsuits unless it is absolutely necessary.  

The Olympic distance 40km cycle leg of a triathlon is an adaptation of the longest Olympic cycling race – the 40km Road Race. It is said that success in the cycling leg is determined by endurance, but also speed through the swim to cycle transition.

In Elite Olympic distance races, cyclists may ‘draft’ and work together to expand a gap between themselves and the chasing packs thus, if athletes are left behind the leading pack when exiting transition, they may find it very difficult to catch up. However, for safety reasons Age group competitors can not cycle in packs or close together. Thus racing resembles more of an individual time trial style, and may allow strong riders, (who have fallen behind on the swim leg), to make up that distance on the bike leg.

Taken from another sister sport – athletics – the final act of the three part exhibition is the 10km road race (Olympic distance).

The primary distinguishing feature of running in a triathlon is that it occurs after the athlete has already been exercising in two other disciplines for an extended period of time and is extremely exhausted! If the competitor has not conserved their energy throughout the event, they can quickly move from the front of the race to the back!

Furthermore, the effect of switching from cycling to running can be profound; first-time triathletes are often astonished at the bizarre, sometimes painful sensation in their thighs a few hundred yards into the run, and discover that they run at a much slower pace than they are accustomed to in training.

Modern day triathletes usually stay with the front packs on the swim, bike and for the first 5kms of the run leg. It is not until the second 5kms that the real race begins at the front, where triathletes push their limits and use all energy reserves in a punishing yet exciting sprint to the finish.