TriaThlon 2013 · inside the itu 6 TriaThlon 2013 · inside the itu 6 7 inside the itu · TriaThlon 2013
iTU TriaThlon hiSTorY
The first recorded triathlon took place in San Diego,
California on 24 September 1974. It was organised
by the San Diego Track & Field Club as an alternative
to the rigours of training on the track. The race,
which took place in San Diego's Mission Bay, consis-
ted of a 5.3-mile run, followed by a 5-mile bike and
a 600-yard swim in the bay. A total of 46 athletes
finished the race. The International Triathlon Union
(ITU) was founded in 1989 in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada, as the world governing body for
triathlon and is now headquartered in Lausanne,
Switzerland. A total of 30 National Federations
attended the first ITU Congress in Avignon, France
in 1989. Today there are over 150 National Federa-
tions. The ITU Triathlon World Cup Series began in
1991, staging 11 races in eight countries. The ITU
World Triathlon Series was created as ITU's top tier
race series in 2009, staging multiple rounds in ico-
nic cities across the globe. Triathlon was awarded
full Olympic Games medal status by the IOC at its
Congress in Paris in 1994. Triathlon made its Olym-
pic debut at the 2000 Sydney Games. Switzerland's
Brigitte McMahon and Canada's Simon Whitfield
won the sport's first gold medals.
