Singapore
Triathlon in Singapore goes back to (at least) 1984, when the Singapore Triathlon was organised by the National University. The venue was Changi Point and the distance consisted of a 2km swim, 60km bike and 15km run. In 1989 the top finishers of this event qualified for Kona. This was all well before the Triathlon Association of Singapore was registered in 1992.
Triathlon really caught on with the masses in the naughties with the OSIM Singapore Triathlon, which ran from 2003 to 2011. The two-day event, that incorporated an ITU Asia Cup race for the Elites, claims to have reached 3,700 participants at its peak.
Around this time it was also when Singapore had its first Ironman 70.3 in 2007. The course in 2007 was exciting as athletes, although starting the swim at East Coast Park,the athletes were allowed to ride around and finish at Marina Bay (before MBS and Gardens By The Bay!). 2012 was the last edition and by that time the event had lost a lot of its shine (and government support).
The MetaSprint Series, which is nowadays Singapore’s biggest triathlon and multi-sport series, started in 2008. Initially catering only to the Sprint distance it quickly added distances for all ages (kids & youth) and abilities (discovery distance).
Langkawi, Malaysia
The roots of Malaysian triathlon are actually stronger in places like Port Dickson, Malacca (which we both passed on the way) and Desaru. However it is Langkawi that drew/is drawing more attention internationally due to its affiliation to the Ironman brand. Langkawi lends itself very well for a holiday/destination triathlon.
Ironman Langkawi was first held in 2000, but discontinued after 2010. In 2014 Ironman Langkawi returned, backed up by a 70.3 in Putrajaya. Nowadays Ironman Langkawi is held in conjunction with a 70.3. Ironman Langkawi is considered one of the hardest Ironmans in the world due to its tropical climate and hilly bike course.
Triathlon legend Javier Gomez (SPA) and Maki Nishioka (JPN) are the reigning champions.
Phuket, Thailand
The Laguna Phuket Triathlon is probably the longest running triathlon in South East Asia. The “race of legends” started in 1994 and can boast a remarkable list of triathlon stars on their winners list. The November event was a welcome season closer cum holiday for the invited pro athletes.
| Quiz time! Which of these athletes do not feature in the Champions’ List: Men: Simon Lessing, Craig Alexander, Greg Bennett, Alastair Brownlee, Jan Frodeno |
Besides it’s unique 1.8km swim / 55km bike / 12km run distance and the challenging hilly start of the bike, it was the wild after-party that made it a must-do event on the regional race calendar.
From 2010 to 2012 Laguna Phuket also hosted an Ironman 70.3 and from 2013 to 2015 a Challenge Half. Since 2016 the Laguna Phuket Triathlon is the main event again. However, with nowadays so many events on the calendar it has lost its prominent status.
Nong Khai, Thailand
The Mekong River Triathlon was definitely (one of) the most adventurous triathlon in Asia. In the early 2000s athletes would get dropped upstream by a small car ferry in this massive murky river. One of the concerns for the swim safety team was athletes missing the landing point and being swept further downstream. The river current made for fast swim times and many a PB as the bike and run course were pan flat.
From 2007 to 2011 the Mekong River even hosted an ITU Asian Cup race with a few notable winners. In 2011 it was Radka Vodickova (now Khalefeldt) who won and in 2008 it was MetaSport’s ex-membership manager, Rosie Clarke!
2011 seems to have been the last edition of the event.
In recent years, it is the Thailand Tri-League around Bangkok that has built the triathlon community in Thailand.
Hainan, China
Because of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, triathlon got a foothold in China with a number of events following suit. One of them was Ironman China (and a 70.3).The first Ironman (2008) in China was not a success. Hot weather conditions and government issues hampered the event and brought it to a premature end in 2011. With temperatures reaching over 40C the run course was described in many a race report as a war scene with bodies littered along the route.
The likely forever reigning champions are Luke McKenzie (AUS) and Amy Marsh (USA)
Xiamen, China
Xiamen was the first Ironman event in China (in 2016) after Wanda had purchased Ironman in 2015. No, don’t believe the headlines, it was not the first Ironman in China, as you now know, because that was Hainan in 2008.
One of the few remarkable points about the Xiamen event was the ‘guards’ posted every 5-10m along the bike route. Only in China.
It’s too early to call a Xiamen an iconic triathlon destination, but it would have been a long haul to Beijing for our tour otherwise. 🙂
The reigning champions are Marten van Riel (BEL) and Ashley Gentle (AUS).
Fun fact: it was Gentle’s first race over the 70.3 distance!
Shanghai, China
Shanghai was added to the Ironman calendar in 2018. Well, in fact it is a 2 hours drive outside the city in Chongming. Shanghai and Beijing have the biggest triathlon communities (outside Hong Kong).
Shanghai is the most western city in China and therefore possibly the easiest to navigate to a race start in China. On our tour it is merely a stop towards Beijing.
The reigning champions are Filipe Azevedo (POR) and Kelsey Withrow (USA). Who? Enough said, let’s move on!
Weihai, China
Weihai started a triathlon in 2008, leveraging on the attention the sport was getting thanks to the Beijing Olympics. In 2010 it organised its first ITU Long Distance World Cup event and in 2014 even the ITU Long Distance World Championships, which was won by Bertrand Billard (FRA) and Camilla Pedersen (DEN). [PS. The men’s champion may not be a household name, but he did beat Cyril Viennot and Craig Alexander handily.]
Singapore’s resident triathlete Vicky Hill is the F40-44 age group World Champion from Weihai 2014. Unfortunately it was handed to her only quite some time later, after it was proven that the woman who beat her was a big cheat and had made a habit of cutting courses short.
Weihai is the longest running ITU event in China. The bike course is very scenic and has a lot of elevation. Since 2017 the ‘Standard’ (i.e. Olympic) distance is the main event. Looking at the finish times it must still be quite a challenging course. The reigning (2019) champions are super-swimmer Jao Silva (POR) and Julie Derron (SWI). The 2018 champions are a bit better known, as it was current IM 70.3 World Champion Gustav Iden (NOR) and Taylor Spivey (USA) from Super League fame, who took the titles that year.
Beijing, China
Going into the 2008 Beijing Olympics it was Emma Snowsill and Javier Gomez that were marked as the top-favourites to take the titles home. Gomez had won the ITU World Cup Series the past three years and Snowsill’s reign ran even further back. However, she had a big rival in Portugal’s Vanessa Fernandez. Where Snowsill delivered the goods in a steaming hot race, finishing well before Fernandez and Moffat (AUS), Gomez fell short in an exciting sprint (watch it here) and finished a devastating 4th (out of 4). The spoils went to Jan Frodeno (GER) – his first ever ITU win – 2000 Olympic Champion, Whitfield (CAN) and 2004 Olympics runner up, Bevan Docherty (NZL).
Fun Fact: Beijing Olympic Champions Frodeno and Snowsill are now life partners.
Well before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Beijing hosted ITU World Cup events in 1991 and 1992 and then again from 2005 in the lead up to the Games (till 2011). However, these were very much Elite only events, as the sport never got hold as an amateur sport until recently. The Beijing Triathlon is still organised annually by IMG.
Yokohama, Japan
A triathlon in Japan was first held in 1981 and Ironman followed in 1985. Japan hosted the second Ironman qualifier (after New Zealand) outside the USA. With champions like Dave Scott, Julie Moss, Greg Welch, Paula Newby-Fraser, Heather Fuhr, Mark Allen and Lothar Leder it has a pretty impressive champions list. The last Ironman Japan was held in 2015 and in between there have been some hiatus as the event was discontinued twice and re-started in a different location. A typhoon stopped the first series in 1997, foot & mouth disease the second in 2009 and the collapse of a bridge in 2015 killed it for a third time.
In 1999 Japan organised its first World Cup in Ishigaki (till 2013) and in 2009 Yokohama joined the ITU World Triathlon Series. Yokohama is the only event (with Hamburg) that has been part of the World Triathlon Series from the start. It is currently Japan’s most prestigious triathlon event. Vincent Luis (FRA) and Katie Zaferes (USA) are the reigning champions.
Japan is Asia’s strongest triathlon nation. Juri Ide (a 5th place at the Beijing Olympics) and Ai Ueda were their biggest stars.
Tokyo, Japan
The only reason Tokyo is on our list is because of the upcoming Olympic Games. Though there is already plenty of drama before the event has even started. The expected heat of the Tokyo summer has made the organisers change the start to 6:30am, extra filtering screens are being placed to improve the water quality and then there was the 2019 test event controversy. First the run of the women’s event was shortened to 5km, next Zaferes (USA) – the outright favourite – crashed on the bike and then two british athletes, Jessica Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown, were disqualified for not contesting the win and crossing the finish hand-in-hand. (watch it here). Flora Duffy (BER) thus won her first race back from a foot injury. Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN) won the men’s race.
New in Tokyo is a team event called the Mixed Relay. Each team consists of 2 women and 2 men that complete a short distance triathlon in a relay format. Mixed Relay World Championships have been held since 2009, but is only recently taken more seriously since it was added to the Olympic Program.
Muscat, Oman
Oman is a recent entrant to the triathlon scene. What it lacks in history it makes up for spectacular scenery and generous hospitality. Reasons enough for MetaSport to join hands with a local organiser to organise the Triathlon Festival Oman in 2019.
Recognising the need to diversify their revenue sources from oil and gas, the Oman government is betting on tourism, including sports tourism. As a result, Haute Route (cycling), UTMB (trail running) and Ironman (triathlon) have all started events in the sultanate in 2019. The Ironman in Oman is the least scenic event of the ones mentioned. It also did not have a pro race, but with Rafael Wyss (3rd) and Nathasha Badman (1st) it had some ex-professional triathletes adding a little prestige.
If you ever make it to Oman, make sure you add a few days to explore the country. Unlike most of the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula, Oman has dramatic mountain scenery.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
From 2006 to 2008 Tri-Dubai was the first major professional triathlon team with a host of triathlon stars like Craig Alexander, Lisa Bentley, Cameron Brown, Tim de Boom, Joanne Lawn, Norman Staddler, Simon Lessing, Peter Reid and Heather Fuhr. Together good for 13 world championships titles. The project was abandoned with a change of ruler in Dubai.
Dubai emerged on the long distance racing scene in 2015 as Challenge Dubai and the first act of the $1,000,000 Triple Crown trilogy of Middle Eastern races. The professional men’s race ended in controversy when 5 of the male pros inadvertently had taken a shortcut. Terrenzo Bozzone (NZL), one of them, was still declared the winner after he incurred a time penalty, but Tim Reed lost 2nd place to Michael Raelert.
This mess may well have been the onset of Challenge Family’s demise in the Middle East, because from 2016 onwards it has been an Ironman 70.3.
Ironman is not immune to mess ups either. In 2019 the start mat at the rolling start failed! They ended up with two sets of results and gave away double WC slots. Anything is Possible! 🙂
The reigning champions are Bart Aernouts (BEL) and Imogen Simmonds (SWI)
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
The first Abu Dhabi Triathlon took place in 2010. It was organised by IMG, consisted of a unique 3km swim, 200km bike and 20km run and featured a $250,000 prize purse. Eneko Llanos (SPA) and Julie Dibens (USA) were the first winners.
In 2011 they invited both recent World Champions Chris McCormack (2007, 2010) and Craig Alexander (2008, 2009) to the Emirate. However it was Fredrik van Lierde (BEL) and again Dibbens who won.
2012 caused a lot of drama when Starykowicz (USA) crashed into a volunteer. The volunteer was in critical condition and put in an induced coma. Starykowicz could not leave the country for six weeks during police investigations and till he paid some kind of bail, as he had left the scene of the incident (i.e. he continued his race).
In 2015 Abu Dhabi switched their attention to the ITU World Triathlon Series and discontinued the long distance event. Abu Dhabi has now become the traditional season opener for the series. Mario Mola (SPA) and Gwen Jorgenson (USA) claimed the first Abu Dhabi ITU crowns in 2015 and Mario Mola (SPA) and Katie Zaferes (USA) claimed the last ones in 2019.
Bahrain
Bahrain has put its weight behind Triathlon in recent years with the sheik an active participant. They started the Bahrain Endurance 13 triathlon team in 2015 with lots of the current greats in the sport; Jan Frodeno, Alistair Brownlee, Javier Gomez, Vincent Luis, Daniela Lawrence, Holly Lawrence, Vicky Holland and Ashley Gentle to just name a few.
…and The Triple Crown of Triathlon. The term was coined first in the US in the early 2000s. Nowadays the Triple Crown of triathlon is won in the Middle East. It was the Challenge Family who initiated the $1 million ‘Triple Crown’ with Dubai, Oman and Bahrain in 2015. Terrenzo Bozzone (NZL) and Daniela Ryf (SWI) won Challenge Dubai, but then the wheels came off the Challenge Family project. After issues with the men’s race in Dubai (see the Dubai section), Oman got cancelled and issues ensued with the Bahrain event.
Ironman was all too ready to take over from their industry rival, and replaced the Oman event with the Ironman 70.3 World Championships and Bahrain turned into a Ironman 70.3 as well.
The Triple Crown still continues in this format with the winners of all three events; Dubai, the World Champs and Bahrain receiving a $1,000,000 cheque.
Daniela Ryf is the only athlete to win the Triple Crown so far in 2015. In 2017, both Javier Gomez and Daniela Ryf arrived in Bahrain with two wins as well, but fell short of a third win.
Eilat, Israel
Israman is an iron distance triathlon in Eilat that took place from 1999 to 2001. It re-started again in 2006 and was given a boost by featuring in the top-10 best races of Triathlete magazine in 2009. It still carries this reputation of a well-organised event, with a stunning course and the friendly atmosphere of a community race. Don’t go there for a PB, because the1900m of elevation and wind make the undulating bike course hard going.
Although professional athletes do frequent the event – Nicola Spirig won the half distance last year – it has never boasted deep pro-fields with big names.
Athens, Greece
The Athens Olympics was held on a demanding course in searing summer heat. The hilly bike course blew the race apart in both the men’s and women’s race. As with all races elation and devastation are so close and this applies especially to the Olympics where the stakes are incredibly high.
Loretta Harrop (AUS) had the race of her life. She led the race from the start, but was taken over 150m before the finish line by a flying Kate Allen (AUT). Heartbreaking!
In the men’s race it was six men that finished the bike well ahead of the rest. The group included the slated favourite and current World Champion, Bevan Docherty (NZL). Three of them stayed away on the run, but Docherty got out-sprinted by his countryman Hamish Carter. Carter’s win was seen very much as a redemption for his failed campaign for the Sydney Olympics, when he was one of the favourites, but finished a disappointing 26th.
Samorin, Slovakia
Our stop at the X-bionic Spere is all about the recently announced Collins Cup by PTO (Professional Triathletes Organisation). The $2 million prize purse that grabbed headlines. The Collins Cup is set up as the triathlon equivalent of what is the Ryder Cup in golf. In this case there are three teams – Europe, USA and Internationals (i.e. rest of the world). 6 men and 6 women of each team will be matched up against the others, which results in 12 contests of 3 athletes. Points are earned and one of the teams will win. The athletes are racing for honour, because the prize money they receive is based on their qualifier ranking.
The event had a false start due to the corona-virus pandemic and is postponed till 2021. However the PTO paid out $2.5 million to triathletes regardless, recognising that many triathletes have lost most, if not all, of their sources of income.
Fun fact: The Collins Cup is named after John & Judy Collins. They took part in the first triathlon in San Diego in 1974 and were part of the early initiators of the first Ironman in Hawaii in 1978.
Roth, Germany
Roth’s long distance triathlon dates back to 1984 and was an immediate success. In 1985 it organised the Bayern Championships, in 1986 the German Championships and in 1987 the German Championships. In 1988 they obtained the exclusive rights to organise Ironmans in Europe. Ironman Roth was for many years the biggest triathlon in Europe.
In 2001 Ironman demanded a higher license fee, a lower limit to the number of participants (1,800 instead of 2,700) and did no longer agree to exclusivity for the Roth organisers to the Ironman brand in Europe. Also entry fees had to increase and only mass starts (no longer start waves) were allowed.
Relations between the Roth organiser and the WTC had already grown sour over the years. Roth accused the WTC of commercial skulduggery, decided to part ways and continue as Challenge Roth. Challenge Roth continued its success as an independent race and started the “Challenge Family” series in 2005 with Wanaka the first to sign on.
In 2003, Challenge Roth, saw the closest finish in Iron distance racing ever. Lothar Leder (GER) pulled away from Chris McCormack (AUS) in the final 400m to win by 3 seconds. (Watch it here – in German)
Besides its stacked field of triathletes vying for a big prize purse, Challenge Roth is known for its amazing atmosphere and (at some point) millions of spectators along the route.
The course, being slightly short, is also one of the fastest on the circuit. The current course records are held by Jan Frodeno (GER) 7:35:39 in 2016, and Chrissie Wellington (GBR) 8:18:13, 2011.
Nice, France
Everyone knows that Nice hosted a very successful Ironman 70.3 World Championships in 2019. However, Nice’s triathlon history goes way back, well before the emergence of Ironman 70.3.
In 1982 IMG launched the Nice Triathlon, an event made for TV with the purpose of competing with Ironman’s Hawaii event and broadcast. It gained immediate prominence when 7 out 57 entrants were hospitalised after the 1,500m swim in the 14C Mediteranean Sea. (The event was held in November.) With the biggest prize purse in the sport it secured the best athletes in the sport to take part in the event. Triathlon Legend Mark Allen won it 10 consecutive times! (Watch the 1983 edition here – in French)
During the 80s the distance changed from 1.5km swim, 100km bike, 42km run to a 4km swim, 120km swim and 30km run, which was adopted by ETU and later ITU as the official long course distance.
In 2002 the event changed into Ironman France.
Huez, France
The Triathlon Alpe d’Huez is unique, not only for its ascent of the epic Alp, but also for the amazing scenery, its unusual distance (2.2 km swim, a 115 km cycle and a 22 km run) and its independence from any triathlon body or brand. (There is a shorter distance available.)
Reigning Champions: Romain Guillaume and Daniela Ryf
Other notable champions: Chrissie Wellington, Nicola Spirig, Mary Beth Ellis, Emma Pooley, Frederik van Lierde and James Cunnama.
Lausanne, Switzerland
ITU moved its headquarters from Vancouver, Canada, where it had been based since its inception, to Lausanne in 2014. Lausanne is, significantly, also the base for the IOC (International Olympic Committee). …and maybe the friendly tax climate spoke for the move too.
Lausanne hosted the Grand Final of the ITU World Triathlon Series in 2019. Kristian Blumenfelt (NOR) and Katie Zaferes (USA) won the final. Zaferes and Vincent Luis (FRA) secured the overall World Championships series win.
In 2006 Lausanne hosted the old-style single-day ITU World Championships. Tim Don (GBR) and Emma Snowsill (AUS) claimed those crowns. Snowsill is the only woman to have won 3 world titles (2003, 2005 and 2006).
In the men’s competition there are more prolific winners:
…but the biggest Champion in ITU Triathlon racing is without a doubt Javier Gomez with 5 titles. He has won the World Championships in the old single-race format in 2008 and four times the World Triathlon Series (2010, 2013-2015). He also finished 4 times second (2007, 2009, 2012, 2017) and 2 times third (2011, 2019). The only two times he has not been on the podium since 2007 are 2016 and 2018!
Joinville-le-Pont, France
San Diego may be the birthplace of modern triathlon. Unbeknownst to the good people in San Diego half a century earlier triathlons were already being organised in France, albeit under a different name. The first reports of an swim-bike-run event called “Les Trois Sports” was in Joinville-le-Pont in 1921. For a short period this type of events were held in a few places in France, like Marseille.
France was also on the forefront when Triathlon returned to Europe in the 80s (See Nice.) The first ITU World Triathlon Championship was held in Avignon in 1989, after the creation of the International Triathlon Union in the same place earlier that year. Mark Allen (who else?) and Erin Baker from New Zealand took the first ITU World Championship crowns.
London, UK
The triathlon event at the London Olympics was one of the most popular events of the Games. Great Britain had a very strong team with the Brownlee brothers, and people didn’t need to buy a ticket to watch the event along the route.
The Brownlee brothers animated the race from the start and delivered on their stature to take the golden and bronze medal. Only Javier Gomez could keep up and redeemed himself from his 4th place in Athens. Jonathan Brownlee’s chances for silver were diminished by a 15-seconds penalty for mounting his bike before the mount line. He served during the penalty at the second lap of the run. Alistair Brownlee, was very critical of ITU for ruining his brother’s chances for a silver medal and accused them of ruining the sport with their rules.
For spectators outside the UK, the Olympic Triathlon in London will be mostly remembered for the closest finish in triathlon ever between Nicola Spirig (SWI) and Lida Norden (SWE). It was a thriller! A finish photo had to be studied to announce Nicola Spirig as the winner. Although the Swedish team appealed, both athletes were pretty pleased with the outcome. Lisa Norden had been struggling with injuries for the past year and a podium place was something she had only dreamt of.
What has been a little lost to the story is that Australia won its 5th medal in triathlon across all Olympic Games with Erin Densham taking the bronze 2 seconds behind Spirig and Norden. (Watch it here)
London is also the venue of the London Triathlon, another claimant of the world’s biggest triathlon for a few years. At its peak in 2015 it had over 13,000 participants. It started in 1987 in the Docklands.
London was part of the ITU World Triathlon Series from 2009 to 2015, after which the ITU event moved to Leeds. In 2013 they hosted the Grand Final. Javier Gomez (SPA) and Non Stanford (GBR) won the final and the series, claiming the World Champion titles.
Leeds, UK
Leeds is the home of the Brownlee Centre, British Triathlon’s purpose built training centre for their Elite triathlon squad. It also hosts a ITU World Triathlon Series event since 2016. The inaugural event did not pass without incident. Although the Elite events were a promotion for the sport, the age group races were ill-managed. The organiser, British Triathlon and Ironman, were flooded with complaints and issued a public apology.
Ironman, you ask? Yes, Ironman owned 6 out of the 9 ITU World Triathlon Series events in 2016 when it purchased the ‘endurance sport’ division from Lagardere. Although ITU and Ironman got on a lot better than during the peak of their feud around 2004, it was still seen as a sudden twist to their shared history and was followed with great interest. This changed quickly, though, when Cape Town and Stockholm events left the World Triathlon Series in 2017 and Ironman bungled and lost the Leeds event.
Fun Fact: Each of the Leeds events (2016-2019) has had 2 British podium placers:
2016 and 2017: Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee were 1st and 2nd
2018: Vicky Holland and Georgia Taylor-Brown 1st and 2nd
2019: Georgia Taylor-Brown and Jessica Learmonth took 1st and 3rd
British Triathlon is one of the oldest triathlon associations in the world. It was established after a group of athletes took part in the Nice Triathlon in 1982.
Almere, The Netherlands
Hamburg, Germany
With over 10,000 participants (and 250,000 spectators), the Hamburg Triathlon is the biggest triathlon in the world. The event started in 2002. From its inception it organised an ITU World Cup and in 2009 joined the ITU World Triathlon Series. Hamburg is with Yokohama the only city that was part of the Series from the start.
In 2007 Hamburg organised the ITU World Championships. To the delight of the home crowd it was Daniel Unger (GER) who won the men’s race and became the first (and only!) German ITU World Champion. Vanessa Hernandez (POR) was the women’s champion.
The reigning (2019) champions are:
Since 2013 Hamburg is also the home of the Mixed Relay World Championships, a relay team event of 2 male and 2 female athletes that is debuting at the Olympics in Tokyo. The past two years France has taken the title.
In contrast to the meagre results in ITU racing, German athletes have been very successful in the long distance events. The past six years German men have won the Ironman World Championships title and accumulated an amazing total 12 out of 18 podium places.
| Quiz time!
Which German Triathlete has not podiumed in Kona? Jan Frodeno, Patrick Lange, Sebastian Kienle, Andreas Raelert, Michael Raelert, Norman Staedtler, Faris Al-Sultan, Lothar Leder, Jurgen Zack Answer: Michael Raelert. Michael was twice Ironman 70.3 Champion (2009-2010), but never made it on the podium in Kona. |
Eidfjord, Norway
New York, USA
How about this for a triathlon course: swim in the Hudson river, cycle through Manhattan and the Bronx and run in Central Park. Four-times Olympian Hunter Kemper’s record of 1:41, helped by a favourable current in the Hudson River, was set in the inaugural event in 2001 and still stands to this date.
New York is still part of the (once famous and lucrative) Lifetime Triathlon Series, which it joined in 2007.
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
The Minneapolis Triathlon entered the scene with a bang in 2002, by offering the biggest prize purse in triathlon – $500,000. That was unheard of for an Olympic Distance triathlon! The biggest names in the sport flocked to the event.
In 2007 it joined hands with other urban races Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas and New York to form the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon series. Triathlon legend Greg Bennett won all races in 2007 to earn a bonus that resulted in a payout of over $500,000.
ITU used this series format to form the World Triathlon Series in 2009 on a global scale, albeit draft-legal.
Edmonton, Canada
Penticton, Canada
San Francisco, California, USA
Wildflower, California, USA
San Diego, California, USA
Maui, Hawaii, USA
The Big Island, Hawaii, USA
Taupo, New Zealand
When talking about Taupo, the mention of Cameron Brown is never far away. This triathlon legend has won Ironman New Zealand an incredible 12 times! The 48-year old has not given up on another title yet and claims he is running better than he did in his early twenties. There was no measure on Joe Skipper (GBR) in 2020 though. The conditions were perfect, which resulted in very fast times. Skipper won in 7:54. Brown finished 6th in 8:14. Teresa Adam (NZL) crushed the women’s competition in 8:40.
Ironman New Zealand is the oldest Ironman in the world after Kona. It was, with the Japan Long Distance triathlon at Lake Biwa, the first qualifiers for the event in Hawaii. It was not always held in Taupo though. From 1985 to 1998 it was held in Auckland. Taupo became the port of call from 1999 onwards. Besides its heritage, the success of Ironman New Zealand is very much thanks to the support that the small tourist town throws behind the event. Overwhelmingly athletes come back with stories of the welcoming and friendly ambience.
Although New Zealand has cautiously started to return to normality, triathletes qualified for the 2020 World Championships Ironman 70.3 in Taupo are anxiously wondering whether the event will actually take place.
Wanaka, New Zealand
Challenge Wanaka has been held here since 2007 and is the second oldest Challenge event after Challenge Roth (since 2002). The event is known as an honest course i.e. quite tough. However, the rewards are there in stunning scenery. Lake Wanaka is surrounded by mountains and considered the quieter (and prettier) alternative to the capital of outdoor sports, Queenstown. It is a popular ski resort in winter and frequented in summer for its wide range of summer outdoor activities (hiking, biking, paragliding, rock climbing, fishing, etc.)
The 2020 champions are Braden Currie and Radka Khalefeldt, but the queen of Challenge Wanaka is still Gina Crawford with a total of 6 wins.
Fun fact: Crawford was also a classical violinist. Gina Crawford won twice in Bintan as well; MetaMan Bintan 2014 and Ironman 70.3 Bintan in 2015.
Sydney, Australia
Triathlon was introduced to the Olympic Games at the 2000 Games in Sydney. The triathlon-mad country fancied their chances with triathlon stars Peter Robertson, Miles Stewart, Loretta Harrop and especially Michellie Jones – who had won both test events – in the team. Also New Zealand had an ace in play with Hamish Carter, ranked no.1 going into the Olympics. However, it was Canadian Whitfield and Swiss McMahon that peaked at the right moment and wrote triathlon history.
Trying to get Triathlon instated at the Olympic Games created two major shifts in triathlon: 1) the creation of the International Triathlon Union in 1989 and 2) the change to draft-legal racing for Olympic Distance triathlon.
Forster, Australia
Forster-Tuncurry is the birthplace of Long Course Triathlon in Australia and was the destination of the annual pilgrimage for long course triathletes in Australia, until Ironman Australia moved to Port Macquarie in 2006. Remarkably, from 2002 to 2006 the event had the same champions for both the men’s and women’s race. The record of 5 wins at Ironman Australia still stands for Chris McCormack and Canadian Lisa Bentley.
The most recent winners of the event are uber-biker Cameron Wurf and Laura Sidall (her 3rd consecutive win).
Fun Fact: Forster is a quiet surfing town, a three-hours drive north of Sydney, and famous for its oysters. The first oyster lease was granted in 1884 and today, Forster is the largest producer of Sydney Rock Oysters in Australia.
Mooloolaba, Australia
40km south of Noosa, Mooloolaba has made a name for itself on the ITU circuit. The triathlon festival that started in 1992, has since 2007 hosted an ITU World Cup. In 2009 and 2018 it hosted the Grand Final of the World Triathlon Series.
Some results for the geeks:
Fun fact: The name Mooloolaba is thought to have derived from either the Aboriginal word ‘mulu’ for snapper fish or from ‘mullu’ meaning red-bellied black snake
Noosa, Australia
The Noosa Triathlon evolved from a one-day race in 1983 to a 5-day multi-sport festival nowadays. Pro and amateur athletes come to race, and stay to party afterwards in the glamorous seaside town. It rivals Hamburg for the title of the World’s Largest Triathlon.
Nowadays the Noosa Triathlon is quite unique for its non-drafting format pro race. It’s a remainder from the early years when the Olympic Distance triathlon was raced in a non-drafting format everywhere. Since 2019 Ashley Gentle is the triathlete with the most wins in Noosa (7), leaving other prolific champions (and couple at the time) Craig Walton (6) and Emma Snowsill (5) behind her.
Cairns, Australia
1982 saw the first triathlon in Cairns. Triathlon legend Brad “the Croc” Beven started triathlon because of it and earned a spot in Triathlon’s hall of fame, winning the ITU World Cup Series four times from 1992 to 1995. He was nicknamed “the Croc” because he would train in crocodile infested swamps around his parent’s cane farm in Miriwinni, 65km south of Cairns.
Fun Fact: Brad Beven took part in the Bintan Triathlon pro race in 2005 and 2006.
Cairns’ recent history started with the Challenge brand in 2011. (Chris McCormack and Rebekah Keat won). However, with the purchase of organiser USM by Ironman in 2012, the Cairns event consequently turned into an Ironman. The 2011 Challenge Cairns event was ambitious with a relatively high prize purse of $100,000 on offer. For the past few years Cairns has hosted the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships with currently a $150,000 prize purse. The 2019 champions are Kiwi’s Braden Currie and Teresa Adam.
Freaky Fact: There’s a reason the race is held in June. It’s because blue bottle jellyfish inhabit the waters from November to May.
Bintan, Indonesia
Bintan has something that Singapore doesn’t, which is crystal clear blue waters and quiet roads. Tribob (now MetaSport) saw its potential as a triathlon destination and launched the Bintan Triathlon in 2005. MetaMan Bintan followed in 2012, when there was a sudden demand for long distance in the region after the demise of the China, Malaysia and Singapore Ironman events. MetaMan Bintan consisted of an iron-, half-iron- and ‘blitz’-distance and boasted the second biggest prize purse in the world after Kona of $300,000. In 2015 the full distance was discontinued when MetaSport took a license to turn the event into an Ironman 70.3.
Over the years Bintan has hosted a number of triathlon legends with Cameron Brown, Caroline Steffen, Courtney Atkinson, Brad Beven, Tim Reed, Chris McCormack and of course, Kate Bevilaqua.
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Then in 2008 the day after the 2008 men’s Olympic triathlon race the ITU announced starting next year it would be replacing the single race world championship with a six-race World Championship points super series culminating in a Grand Final, it was to be called the World Championship Series (WCS).[2] The ITU believed it would help grow the sport and increase the reach to the level of major sports whilst gaining a bigger TV audience.[3] Most athletes and professional coaches were happy at the announcement believing it would help the sport become more popular and increase professionalism and pay for the top level athletes. However, there were major monetary concerns one week after the announcement as the ITUs main sponsor BG had pulled out of its nine-year sponsorship deal after only two years.[4][5]
By its start in 2009 the series had gained a title sponsor in Dextro Energy[6][7][8] in a $2 million deal allowing for each World Championship event to feature a $150,000 prize purse and for the Grand final to have $250,000, this also meant that $700,000 was available at the end of the series. This influx of cash meant that athletes would be to earn almost triple what they had previously helping to draw more into the sport. In 2011 the sprint distance world championship was incorporated into the series giving the same points and prize money as any other event, from this point on sprint distance events would make up a part of the series.[9] In 2012 Dextro Energy ended their title sponsorship in tandem with the series rebranding itself as the World Triathlon Series.[10] Then in 2013 the prize pool saw an increase to $2.25 million certifying the world triathlon series as the richest series in triathlon.[10] In 2018 with the growing popularity of the ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships and the disciplines’ addition to the Olympic program [11] it was decided that at three of the events on the 2018 calendar a mixed relay event would be held alongside the men’s and women’s competition; these three events would grant points towards Olympic qualification and constitute the new ITU mixed relay series.[1]
