| Size: | 150 |
| Code: | TRI |
| Sport: | triathlon |
| Menevents: | 1 |
| Womenevents: | 1 |
| Mixedevents: | 1 |
Triathlon had its Summer Olympics debut at the 2000 Games, in Sydney, when men's and women's individual events were first held, and has been contested since then. In 2021, at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics a mixed team relay event was held for the first time. The sport, and its Olympic events, are governed by the International Triathlon Union, known since 2019 as World Triathlon.
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The 2000 Summer Olympics saw the first appearance of the triathlon. 48 women and 52 men competed in separate triathlons. The distances used were the "international" or "standard" ones, with a 1.5km (00.9miles) swim, 40km (30miles) cycle, and a 10km (10miles) run. The 2004 triathlon was identical to the first in distance, but the 100-athlete quota was evened between 50 women and 50 men. The quota was further increased to 55 women and 55 men for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and remained the same for London 2012 and Rio 2016.
The most successful triathlete in Olympic history is Alex Yee from Great Britain, with two gold medals, one silver and one bronze across two Games (2020 and 2024). he is the only triathlete with four Olympic medals, and the only triathlete to win multiple meals in multiple Games. Only one athlete, Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee, has ever won the individual Olympic triathlon twice (in 2012 and 2016), making him the most successful individual Olympic triathlete, while his brother Jonathan Brownlee uniquely won all three different medals in three consecutive Games, bronze in 2012 and silver in 2016 in the individual event behind brother Alistair, and finally a gold in the inaugural team relay in 2020, thus making him the joint most decorated Olympic triathlete, and the first three-time medalist, later joined by Yee (who then surpassed him with four medals) and Georgia Taylor-Brown, the most successful and most decorated female Olympic triathlete with three medals, one of each colour. Yee, Taylor Brown and Brownlee are the only triathletes to have a medal of each colour.
Several other athletes have also won two medals, including a silver and bronze for New Zealanders Bevan Docherty and Hayden Wilde, and two Olympic champions, Canada's Simon Whitfield and Switzerland's Nicola Spirig, who both won a gold, followed by a silver medal. Katie Zaferes, Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown became the first triathletes to win two medals in the same Games in 2021 with the introduction of the mixed relay, the latter two athletes becoming the most successful triathlete in a single Games with a gold (relay) and a silver (individual) medal.
Great Britain is the most successful nation as of 2024, with four gold, three silver and four bronze medals - the British have won at least one medal in every Olympic triathlon race since the women's individual race in 2012, a run that has included four individual men's races, three individual women's races and two mixed relays. New Zealand (2004) and Great Britain (2016) are the only nations to have completed a one-two finish in an individual event.
No nation has yet won both women's and men's individual events at the same Games, or indeed a gold in both races across any Games. Both Germany and Great Britain have won the men's individual and mixed relay events at least once.
| 2000 Sydney | ||||
| 2004 Athens | ||||
| 2008 Beijing | ||||
| 2012 London | ||||
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | ||||
| 2020 Tokyo | ||||
| 2024 Paris |
| 2000 Sydney | ||||
| 2004 Athens | ||||
| 2008 Beijing | ||||
| 2012 London | ||||
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | ||||
| 2020 Tokyo | ||||
| 2024 Paris |
16 nations have split the forty-eight medals awarded in the triathlon events, accurate as of the conclusion of the 2024 Olympic Games.[1]
As of 2024, the following triathletes have won two or more medals in Olympic triathlon.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Years | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Yee | 2020-2024 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 2 | Alistair Brownlee | 2008-2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 3 | Jonathan Brownlee | 2012-2020 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Georgia Taylor-Brown | 2020-2024 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | Simon Whitfield | 2000-2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||
| Nicola Spirig | 2012-2016 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| 7 | Cassandra Beaugrand | 2020-2024 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 8 | Morgan Pearson | 2020-2024 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||
| Taylor Knibb | 2020-2024 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| 10 | Hayden Wilde | 2020-2024 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Bevan Docherty | 2004-2008 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Katie Zafires | 2016-2020 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 13 | Beth Potter | 2024 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Qualification spots in the triathlon are allotted to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) rather than to individual athletes.
There are five ways for NOCs to earn spots in the triathlon. NOCs can earn a maximum of three spots, though only eight nations may earn that many. Nations beyond that may earn only two spots.[2]
The first five spots go to the winners of the five regional qualifying tournaments. Three more spots go to the top three triathletes of the most recent Triathlon World Championships, though any athlete that won a regional tournament is skipped in that determination. The next 39 places go to the NOCs of those athletes highest in the ITU ranking (again, skipping those athletes that have already qualified in the first two methods). A forty-eighth place is awarded to the host country if it has not already received a spot, or to the next highest ranked athlete if the host country has. Two places are awarded by the Tripartite Commission. In the end, further five places are distributed to the NOCs without any quota through the ITU Points List, with one place for each continent.[2]
The Olympic triathlon is composed of two medal events, one for men and the other for women. Both use the same distances of 1.5 km, 40 km, and 10 km. Mass starts are used and drafting is allowed during the cycling phase.
Because of the variability of courses and uncontrollable conditions, official time based records are not kept for the triathlon. This rule applies to Olympic games as well.
In the Olympic games, held in Tokyo, there was an inclusion of a mixed relay race. Teams of two men and two women competed on a course consisting of a 300m swim, 8 km cycle, and 2 km run before tagging a teammate.
The following nations have taken part in the triathlon competition.
| Nations | 34 | 34 | 37 | 39 | 41 | 38 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Competitors | 100 | 100 | 110 | 110 | 110 | 110 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||