Triathlon At The Olympics

As a triathlete myself, I can’t wait to watch the Olympics. They are home to great battles and a fantastic opportunity to show the sport to a broader audience.

Triathlon has been present at the Olympic Games since 2000 in Sydney. The distance for the individual races is 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, and 10 km run. Since Tokyo 2020, a mixed relay is also present. 2 women and 2 men from the same country are each covering 0.3 km swim, 6.8 km bike, and 2 km run.

In most triathlon races, drafting on the bike is not allowed. However, for the Olympics (and the Elite races), drafting on the bike is allowed.

MEDALS PER COUNTRY

Great Britain is currently the nation with the most medals (8 in total: 3 Gold, 3 Silver, and 2 Bronze), followed by Switzerland and Australia with 5 medals.

As a French man, I really hope to see France higher in this ranking after the 2024 Olympics.

PARIS 2024 – TRIATHLON OLYMPIC GAMES

I am looking forward to seeing these triathlon races in my home country, France. Currently, there is not much information available about the events yet. According to the PARIS2024 website, we will have the two individual races and the mixed relay, which will start at the Pont d’Iéna in Paris.

TOKYO 2020 – TRIATHLON OLYMPIC GAMES

The 2020 Triathlon Olympic Games happened in Tokyo on July 26th and 27th, 2021, for the individuals and July 31st for the mixed relay.

INDIVIDUAL RACES

On the men’s field, Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) won the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Triathlon with a time of 1:45:04. On the women’s side, Flora Duffy (BER) took the gold medal with a time of 1:55:36.

The 1.5 km swim started at the Odaiba Marine Park. Triathletes swam two loops: 950 m for the first and 550 m for the second.

The bike course was eight laps of 5 km, quite technical with a lot of turns but relatively flat (213 m according to the Strava activity of Kristian Blummenfelt)

The run course was four 2.5 km laps which summed up to 43 m of elevation gain (Strava’s activity of Kristian Blummenfelt)

You can find below the podiums and the replay of each race.

MEN

Fun fact: The following video shows how important it is to be concentrated from the start 🙂

WOMEN

Fun fact: Nothing is happening for the first 23 min of the following video 🙂

MIXED RELAY

The mixed triathlon relay was part of the Olympics for the first time in Tokyo. Each nation had four triathletes (2 women and 2 men) who each needed to complete a 0.3 km swim, 6.8 km bike, and 2 km run. The order was female-male-female-male.

Team Great Britain won the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the Mixed Relay Triathlon with a time of 1:23:41. The team was composed of Jessica Learmonth, Jonathan Brownlee, Georgia Taylor-Brown, and Alex Yee.

The 0.3 km swim started at the Odaiba Marine Park.

The bike course was two laps of 3.4 km and completely flat (only 17 m of elevation gain according to the Strava activity of Katie Zaferes)

The run course was two 1 km laps.

You can find below the podium as well as the replay:

Team Great Britain: Jessica Learmonth, Jonathan Brownlee, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Alex Yee
Team United States: Katie Zaferes, Kevin McDowell, Taylor Knibb, Morgan Pearson
Team France: Leonie Periault, Dorian Coninx, Cassandre Beaugrand, Vincent Luis

RIO DE JANEIRO 2016 – TRIATHLON OLYMPIC GAMES

The 2016 Triathlon Olympic Games happened in Rio de Janeiro on August 18th, 2016, for the men and August 20th for the women.

On the men’s field, Alistair Brownlee (GBR) won the Rio 2016 Olympics in Triathlon with a time of 1:45:01. On the women’s side, Gwen Jorgensen (USA) took the gold medal with a time of 1:56:16.

You can find below the podiums and the replay of each race.

MEN

Here is the Youtube video.

WOMEN

Here is the Youtube video.

LONDON 2012 – TRIATHLON OLYMPIC GAMES

The 2012 Triathlon Olympic Games happened in London on August 4th, 2012, for the women and on August 7th for the men.

On the men’s field, Alistair Brownlee (GBR) won the London 2012 Olympics in Triathlon with a time of 1:46:25. On the women’s side, Nicola Spirig (SUI) took the gold medal with a time of 1:59:48.

You can find below the podiums and the replay of each race.

MEN

Here is the Youtube video.

WOMEN

Fun fact: Always smile at the finish of a race. There might be hundreds of replays and a photo finish.

Here is the Youtube video.

BEIJING 2008 – TRIATHLON OLYMPIC GAMES

The 2008 Triathlon Olympic Games happened in Beijing on August 18th, 2008, for the women and August 19th for the men.

On the men’s field, Jan Frodeno (GER) won the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Triathlon with a time of 1:48:52. On the women’s side, Emma Snowsill (AUS) took the gold medal with a time of 1:58:26.

You can find below the podiums and the replay of each race.

MEN

Here is the Youtube video.

WOMEN

Here is the Youtube video.

ATHENS 2004 – TRIATHLON OLYMPIC GAMES

The 2004 Triathlon Olympic Games happened in Athens on August 25th, 2004, for the women and August 26th for the men.

On the men’s field, Hamish Carter (NZL) won the Athens 2004 Olympics in Triathlon with a time of 1:51:06. On the women’s side, Kate Allen (AUT) took the gold medal with a time of 2:04:43.

You can find below the podiums and the replay of each race.

MEN

Here is the Youtube video.

WOMEN

Fun fact: One of the greatest comebacks I have ever seen.

Here is the Youtube video.

SYDNEY 2000 – TRIATHLON OLYMPIC GAMES

Triathlon made its Olympic debut in Sydney in 2000. The women’s race happened on September 16th, 2000, and the men’s race on September 17th.

On the men’s field, Simon Whitfield (CAN) won the Sydney 2000 Olympics in Triathlon with a time of 1:48:24. On the women’s side, Brigitte McMahon (SUI) took the gold medal with a time of 2:00:39.

You can find below the podiums and the replay of each race.

MEN

Here is the Youtube video.

WOMEN

You can find the replay directly on the Olympics.com website.

If you want to participate in a triathlon, learn more about the different distances that exist: A Quick Overview Of All Triathlon Distances

Credit photography: Wagner Araujo/triathlon.org