Triathlon

Facts

Discipline of Triathlon
Participants 420
NOCs 58
Competitions held 13 (Venues)
Distinct events 6
IF World Triathlon

Description

Triathlon is a relatively new sport that consists of running, swimming, and cycling. Its origins date to the 1970s, when the first major triathlon, the Ironman Race, was held in Hawai’i. Triathlon is governed by World Triathlon (WT), which changed its name from the International Triathlon Union in October 2020. It was created in 1989, in Avignon, and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 3 September 1994, at the IOC Session in Paris. As of 2022, World Triathlon has 168 national member federations.

Triathlon first appeared on the Olympic Program at the 2000 Olympic Games, with two events – one for men and one for women. The Olympic triathletes race over what was already known as the Olympic Distance – 1,500 m swim, 40 km cycling, and 10 km running. At Tokyo 2020, a mixed relay was added, with the super-sprint distances of 300 m swim, 6.8 km cycling and 2 km running.

Great Britain tops the medal table in the sport. The Brownlee brothers have been the most successful triathletes in Olympic history: Alistair Brownlee is the only triathlete with two gold medals, while his brother Jonathan Brownlee completed a full set of medals with gold in the 2020 mixed relay. On the women’s competition, three athletes have won three Olympic medals: Nicola Spirig Hug (SUI), Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR), and Katie Zaferes (USA).

All-time medal table

Olympic Games

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Great Britain GBR 3 3 2 8
Switzerland SUI 2 1 2 5
Australia AUS 1 2 2 5
New Zealand NZL 1 1 2 4
United States USA 1 1 2 4
Canada CAN 1 1 0 2
Germany GER 1 1 0 2
Austria AUT 1 0 0 1
Bermuda BER 1 0 0 1
Norway NOR 1 0 0 1
Portugal POR 0 1 0 1
Spain ESP 0 1 0 1
Sweden SWE 0 1 0 1
Czechia CZE 0 0 1 1
France FRA 0 0 1 1
South Africa RSA 0 0 1 1

Youth Olympic Games

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Mixed team MIX 3 3 3 9
New Zealand NZL 2 1 0 3
Australia AUS 1 1 0 2
Great Britain GBR 1 0 0 1
Japan JPN 1 0 0 1
South Africa RSA 1 0 0 1
United States USA 0 2 1 3
Denmark DEN 0 1 1 2
Portugal POR 0 1 0 1
Austria AUT 0 0 1 1
France FRA 0 0 1 1
Italy ITA 0 0 1 1
Switzerland SUI 0 0 1 1

Most successful competitors

Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Alistair Brownlee GBR 2 0 0 2
Jonathan Brownlee GBR 1 1 1 3
Simon Whitfield CAN 1 1 0 2
Nicola Spirig Hug SUI 1 1 0 2
Georgia Taylor-Brown GBR 1 1 0 2
Alex Yee GBR 1 1 0 2
Hamish Carter NZL 1 0 0 1
Brigitte McMahon SUI 1 0 0 1
Kate Allen AUT 1 0 0 1
Emma Snowsill AUS 1 0 0 1
Flora Duffy BER 1 0 0 1
Jan Frodeno GER 1 0 0 1
Gwen Jorgensen USA 1 0 0 1
Kristian Blummenfelt NOR 1 0 0 1
Jess Learmonth GBR 1 0 0 1

Youth Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Ben Dijkstra GBR 2 0 0 2
Aaron Barclay NZL 1 1 0 2
Dylan McCullough NZL 1 1 0 2
Alexandre Montez POR 1 1 0 2
Sif Bendix Madsen DEN 1 1 0 2
Anja Weber SUI 1 0 1 2
Luis Knabl AUT 1 0 1 2
Brittany Dutton AUS 1 0 1 2
Émilie Morier FRA 1 0 1 2
Emil Hansen DEN 1 0 1 2
Alessio Crociani ITA 1 0 1 2

Event types

Name Gender Still contested? Times held?
Olympic Distance Men 6
Olympic Distance Women 6
Relay Mixed 1
Sprint Boys 3
Sprint Girls 3
Relay Mixed Youth 3