San Diego - Birthplace of Triathlon

In addition to its amazing year-round weather, beautiful scenery, and countless outdoor activities, San Diego can also boast that it is the birthplace of triathlon!

On September 25, 1974, The San Diego Track Club, led by Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan, hosted the first-ever triathlon on Fiesta Island in San Diego, CA. The “Mission Bay Triathlon” consisted of over 5 miles of running, 5 miles of cycling and 600 yards of swimming in a run-bike-swim-run format (compared to the standard swim-bike-run format of today).  The San Diego Track club hosted such events on summer evenings, which originally served merely as an unconventional break from the grind of marathon training.

An athlete named John Collins, a U.S. Naval Officer who raced in the first Mission Bay Triathlon, further played a crucial role in the development of the sport.  Collins took the triathlon concept to Oahu, Hawaii years later to combine three endurance events – the Waikiki Rough Water Swim, Around Oahu Bike Ride, and Honolulu Marathon.  He claimed that anyone who finished could truly call himself an “Iron Man”.

Evolution: Forty-six athletes competed in the first triathlon in 1974 . . . 12 competed the first Ironman® in 1978 . . . the first woman finished Ironman® one year later . . . Sydney, Australia hosted the first Olympic Triathlon race in 2000 . . . today hundreds of thousands of athletes compete annually in triathlons around the world.  The Ironman® triathlon in Kona, Hawaii, is arguable the most recognizable triathlon; however, the Olympic (aka International) distance of 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike and 10 km, is the sport’s most popular and the format used at the ITU Triathlon World Championship, Pan American and Olympic Games.

Coming Home: On May 12th, 2012 San Diego will host an ITU World Triathlon Series race.  The elite race will serve as the final qualifier to determine the 2012 U.S. Olympic men's and women's triathlon squad.  One-hundred and forty of the world's fastest triathletes (70 elite men and 70 elite women) will compete in the draft-legal, Olympic-distance race in Mission Bay (Bonita Cove – a few thousand meters from where the sport was pioneered 38 years ago).

In conjunction with the elite race, age-group athletes will participate in Olympic and sprint distance races in the same venue (albeit a non-draft legal race on a different course).

Schedule of Events:

Friday, May 11th:

-2:00pm – Elite Women’s Race

Saturday, May 12th:

-6:30am – Age Group Olympic Distance and Relay Races

-9:30am – Age Group Sprint Distance Race

-2:30pm – Elite Men’s Race

ITU World Triathlon San Diego Promo Video: http://bit.ly/I4RVAL

More Info: http://sandiego.triathlon.org/

Volunteer Opportunities (be part of history): http://sandiego.triathlon.org/volunteer/