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About Triathlon Triathlon is a sport with a long and proud history. Arguably, it can be traced back to a famous Viking warlord by the name of Nord Silver Axe. Nord swam the length of the Nurdbud Fjord before travelling across a dangerous mountain range on horseback (no bikes in those days) for several days. Starving and freezing in a savage Scandinavian blizzard, he slaughtered his horse, using the densely protein packed lean meat of the animal to fuel the rest of his journey which was on foot.  What Nord may have looked like if they had cameras in his day. Silver Axe as he was known (his weapon of choice was an axe with a silver handle tip) ran like his life depended on it. Indeed it may have. Unfortunately, history never recorded the reason for this epic athletic effort. Needless to say it must have been important because Nord was the subject of Viking legend and folk song for centuries since. It is also rumoured that it become fashionable in post Napoleonic France amongst the aristocracy, to replace duelling with a running, swimming and shooting challenge. Chaps would compete to resolve disputes peacefully. Unfortunately, it soon occurred to Thomas Volenerdeque, the son of a bottle manufacturer from Lille, that no matter how many times he bettered his rival in shooting, running and swimming, than the inconsiderate oaf would soon be back to slap his glove in Volenerdeque's face once more. He decided that a good old traditional shoot-out was the only way he was likely to avoid a being embarrassed by the nasty case of glove rash which was not becoming of a young French gent in the Paris of the day. Sadly, the tradition of the three sport duel died as easily as the glove happy buffoons who dared to mess with our Mr. Volenerdeque. In the 1904 Olympics an event is introduced called triathlon consisting of the long jump, shot put and 100-yard dash. In 1974 the San Diego Track club newsletter proclaimed “Run, Cycle, Swim - Triathlon set for 25th,” which is said to be the first time the word “triathlon” was used in the modern sense. The event was held in Mission Bay, San Diego and was the brainchild of Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan. An American Naval Officer John Collins, took the idea one stage further to combine three endurance events held in Hawaii creating the first “Ironman” triathlon in 1978. This was made up of the Waikiki Rough Water Swim (2.5 miles), the Around-Oahu Bike Ride (112 miles) finishing with the 26.2 mile Honolulu Marathon. The first Ironman had 15 competitors which was increased to 108 in 1979 following an article in Sports Illustrated about the event. Ironman was back in the public eye in the USA when Ironman Hawaii race was televised by ABC in 1982. Julie Moss who was leading for most of the event, was passed during the run leg but finally crawled across the line in second place on her hands and knees barely able to move. The drama of the race greatly increased public interest and participation in the sport in the US. In 1989 the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was formed In Avignon, France which also hosted the first world championships, held over a 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run course now known as the Olympic distance.
At the Sydney Olympics in 2000 the sport of triathlon made its debut with male and female categories competing over the Olympic distance. Famous
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