Triathlon

SPORTS FEAST IN NOWA HUTA – TRIATHLON AT THE III EUROPEAN GAMES

Fans of swimming, cycling and running will have the opportunity to admire the struggles of 120 best triathletes from all over Europe on June 27 (women) and June 28 (men) and July 1 (mixed relay) in the area of the Nowa Huta Lake in Kraków – the most picturesque place in this part of the city, which gained new life a few years ago, due to the renovation and addition of many interesting attractions. The competition at the Kraków-Małopolska 2023 European Games will be held as an event where athletes earn points for the Olympic ranking before 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Triathlon is a typical individual sport. The Olympic distance to be covered by athletes at the European Games includes 1.5 kilometres of swimming, 40 kilometres of cycling and 10 kilometres of running, but also includes change zones between each competition. The race will be won by whoever achieves the best time at the finish line. The only outside help athletes can use, is that offered by volunteers providing water along the route.

In addition, Kraków will host a mixed relay competition of 0.3 km swimming, 5 km cycling and 1.5 km running, in which the order of change is strictly: man – woman – man – woman, and each person will have a Super Sprint distance to cover.

At the finish line running or on all fours – the history of the discipline

The discipline has its roots in races of a similar type, which were held in France as early as the 1920s. However, the rules were not fully clarified until the 1970s in the sports clubs of Southern California. The first triathlon was held on September 25, 1974, in San Diego at a distance of 500 yards (457.2 meters) of swimming, 5 miles (8.047 kilometres) of cycling and 6 miles (9.656 kilometres) of running.

In the mid-1980s, the Olympic distance triathlon event made its debut, and since then it has been the most popular variation of the sport. In parallel, from 1978, the demanding Ironman distance race (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, 42.2 km run) became increasingly popular.

Another landmark moment in the history of triathlon was the establishment of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) in 1990, whose overarching goal was to bring the discipline to the Olympic Games. The organisation is responsible for the events with Olympic, Sprint and Super Sprint distance, the World Championships, World Cup and continental competitions.

Finally, triathlon made its debut at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, at a distance of 1.5 km / 40 km / 10 km.