Perth Tri Club

Triathlon is an exciting multi-discipline sport involving a continuous race over various distances in the three disciplines of swimming, cycling and running. A standard triathlon is made up of a swim, followed by a cycle ride, followed by a run.

Competitors race against the clock, which starts as they enter the swim and stops as they cross the finish line after the run.

For this reason, triathlon is often reported as having a 'fourth discipline' known as the transition. The transition is the point in the race when competitors change from swimming to cycling, and from cycling to running.

The origin of triathlon is anecdotally attributed to a race in France during the 1920s-1930s that was called "Les trois sports", "La Course des Débrouillards", and "La course des Touche à Tout".  In 1920, the French newspaper "L´Auto" reported on a competition called "Les Trois Sports" with a 3 km run, 12 km bike, and a swim across the channel Marne. Those three parts were completed without any break.

Modern Triathlon

The first known run/bike/swim triathlon was held at Mission Bay, San Diego, California on September 25, 1974. The race was conceived and directed by Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan, members of the San Diego Track Club. 46 brave participants entered this never-before held event. It is well-documented and was not based on the French events.

The first modern long-distance triathlon event was the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon which included a 2.4 mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112 mile (180.2 km) bike ride, and a 26.2 mi (42.195 km) run. It was launched following a 'discussion' in 1977 amongst athletes from all three disciplines as to which of them were the fittest. The instructions for that first Ironman were concluded with a final comment;

"Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!"