Fun Facts Friday: The History Of Triathlon

Triathlon is becoming a very popular endurance sport. From youth triathlons to Ironman events, more and more people are becoming addicts. The combination of swimming, cycling and running makes it appealing to people of every age. Following is a brief history of this interesting sport...

Triathlon began on September 25, 1974 in Mission Bay, California when Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan worked with the San Diego Track Club to host the event. It consisted of a 6 mile run, 5 mile bike ride, and 500 yard swim.

Interestingly, the sport these two created was given the name "triathlon" because it involved three combined sports. But when Don ordered trophies to give to the winners of the race, the trophy company called to say they didn't know how to spell 'triathlon' because it wasn't in the dictionary. So, Don decided on its spelling on the spot.

Four years after the first triathlon, the Ironman was conceived on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, 1978. It began as a debate about who was the most fit- swimmers, runners or other athletes. Navy Commander John Collins decided to find out and came up with the idea to combine three existing races together to be completed in succession: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 miles), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (112 miles, originally done over 2 days) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles).

"Whoever finishes first we'll call the 'Ironman,' " Collins said. Fifteen men participated in the event on February 18. Only 12 finished. Gordon Haller won in a time of 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds.

Gordon Haller, the first Ironman

The sport has grown and changed quite a lot since its inception almost 27 years ago. Here are some interesting facts about triathlon...

• The youngest person to ever do an Ironman was 14-year-old Rodkey Faust from Rathdru, Idaho. He completed the February 1982 Ironman Triathlon World Championship in 13:36:17
• Ironman Championships first appeared on television in 1980 on ABC's Wide World of Sports.
• Lyn Lemaire was the first female to become an Ironman in 1979. Her time was 12:55:38, placing her 5th overall.
• The slowest finish time ever recorded was 26:20:00 set by 73-year-old Walt Stack in 1981.
• The 17-hour-time limit was enacted in 1983.
• Dave Scott was the first Ironman to be inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame in 1993. Dave is also a great supporter of Team In Training having been one of our national spokespersons. He is often seen at triathlon events wearing a TNT tri suit!
• Triathlon made its Olympic debut at Sydney in 2000 with the distances of 1500 meter swim, 40 km bike, and 10 km run.
• Mike Reilly is the "voice of Ironman" and many triathletes long to hear his voice as they cross the finish line and he declares, "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN"
• In 1982, 23-year-old college student Julie Moss had one of the most famous Ironman finishes of all time and because it was filmed on ABC's Wide World of Sports, millions watched her as she literally crawled to the finish. Suddenly, the popularity of triathlon boomed.

For a little inspiration, watch this video of Julie crawling to the finish (WARNING: triathletes might shed a tear or two wathing this!):