Triathlon

Sport Overview

Triathlon at Paris 2024

Venue: Pont Alexandre III

Competition Dates: July 30-31, August 5 (Days 4-5, 10)

Events: 3 (1 men, 1 women, 1 mixed)

Both the men’s individual race and the women’s individual race are contested over the same course with a 1.5km swim, a 40km bike ride, and a 10km run.

The swimming leg begins with a mass start from either land or a pontoon. As athletes finish the swim, they proceed to the transition area to prepare for the cycling leg. To make the transition quicker, the athletes often have their bike shoes attached to the bike pedals.

As the athletes finish the bike ride, they go through the transition area again to prepare for the running leg. The clock continues to run throughout the transition phases, so it is vital to make the change from discipline to discipline as quickly as possible. The first athlete to cross the finish line is the winner.

The mixed team relay made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. Each team is composed of two men and two women (racing in the order of man, woman, man, woman). Each team member completes a super sprint triathlon (300m swim, 5.8km bike, 1.8km run) before tagging off to a teammate. The action is fast and often unpredictable with frequent overtaking, making it a thrilling event for spectators.

Canada’s Olympic Triathlon History (Pre-Paris 2024)

Both of Canada’s Olympic triathlon medals belong to Simon Whitfield. He won gold in the sport’s Olympic debut at Sydney 2000 and silver at Beijing 2008, both times relying on his sprint ability in the run to put him on the podium. He was only one of two men to compete in the first four Olympic triathlons.

Canadian Les McDonald was the first ever president of the International Triathlon Union, which was created in 1989 after the IOC expressed interest in including triathlon on the Olympic program but wanted an event shorter than the Ironman triathlon which began in the late 1970s.