Triathlon
Facts
| Discipline of | Triathlon |
|---|---|
| Participants | 355 |
| NOCs | 54 |
| Competitions held | 10 (Venues) |
| Distinct events | 5 |
| 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 first held in Hawai’i. Triathlon is governed by World Triathlon, 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 2020 World Triathlon has 140 member nations.
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 metre swim, 40 km cycling, and 10 km running.
Five athletes have won two Olympic triathlon medals: Alistair Brownlee (GBR), Jonny Brownlee (GBR), Nicola Spirig Hug (SUI), Simon Whitfield (CAN), and Bevan Docherty (NZL), with Alistair Brownlee uniquely winning two gold medals.
All-time medal table
Olympic Games
| NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain |  GBR |
2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Switzerland |  SUI |
2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Australia |  AUS |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| New Zealand |  NZL |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Canada |  CAN |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Germany |  GER |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| United States |  USA |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Austria |  AUT |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Portugal |  POR |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Spain |  ESP |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Sweden |  SWE |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Czech Republic |  CZE |
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 |
| Simon Whitfield | CAN |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Nicola Spirig Hug | SUI |
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 |
| Jan Frodeno | GER |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gwen Jorgensen | USA |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bevan Docherty | NZL |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jonny Brownlee | GBR |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
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 |
| 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 |
| Anja Weber | SUI |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Event types
| Name | Gender | Still contested? | Times held? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Distance | Men | 5 | |
| Olympic Distance | Women | 5 | |
| Sprint | Boys | 3 | |
| Sprint | Girls | 3 | |
| Relay | Mixed Youth | 3 |