Epic duels, Olympic and Paralympic debuts, crawls across the line, Lance Armstrong’s return and Shirin’s hijab: 50 moments that shaped triathlon

It’s 50 years since the modern-day sport of triathlon was born.

To celebrate multisport’s birthday, here we reveal the 50 most seismic events since 1974, including legendary wins and mighty upsets, rule changes, spats, famous faces and more.

01. Modern tri is born

1974

There’s evidence of swim, bike and run multisport (not necessarily in that order) taking place in 1920s France.

But the first modern triathlon event was held in San Diego, California, on 25 September 1974. 

The race was conceived by two members of the San Diego Track Club, Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan, whose names would become etched in tri history.

02. Ironman debuts

1978

Organised by US Navy Commander John Collins and his wife Judy, Ironman Hawaii was first staged on 18 February 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Fifteen male athletes started, with US triathlete Gordon Haller becoming the first Ironman finisher after 11:46:58 of racing. 

A further 11 athletes would cross the finish line, each being rewarded with a handmade trophy. 

03. Wide world in motion

1980

American cable channel ABC recorded their first Wide World of Sports programme at Ironman Hawaii in 1980. 

A Californian named Dave Scott took his first of six Ironman world titles and thousands of aspiring triathletes were motivated to race in Hawaii. Including a student named Julie Moss…

04. Moss crawls

1982

Arguably Ironman’s most defining moment came in 1982, when college graduate Julie Moss crawled up the Kona finish line to claim second in front of the ABC cameras. 

Far from turning people away from the gruelling swim, bike and run format, Moss’s heroic efforts vividly captured the essence and attraction of endurance sport. 

05. Nice time

1982

Few races have been as influential as the Nice Triathlon on the course of tri in Europe. 

The race was due to be held in Monaco in 1982, but the death of the Princess of Monaco (actress Grace Kelly) saw an adapted event moved to Nice. 

The Nice Triathlon was born in November 1982 with the unique 1.5km swim, 100km bike and 42.2km run distances (it’d later become 4km/120km/30km). 

American legend Mark Allen won 10 consecutive titles, before the race became Ironman France in 2005.

06. UK tri comes of age

1983

A farm near Reading, Berkshire, may have lacked the glamour of Hawaii and Nice. But, after a smattering of local events, Kirton’s Farm on the fringes of the M4 was where the UK tri truly arrived. 

Modern pentathlete Mike Ellis and newsagent Aleck Hunter were the driving forces behind the 1,320-yard swim, 40-mile bike and 13-mile run race. 

Jim Wood and Julia Kendall were the victors and future tri luminaries Mike Harris, Mark Kleanthous and Sarah Springman all finished.

07. Raising the bar

1985

Four years before Greg Lemond’s famous Tour de France victory using tri-bars during the final time-trial, US triathlete Scott Tinley was seen sporting an early version of them in Hawaii during the 1985 showdown. 

The result was a record 8:50hr finish for one of triathlon’s original Big Four male athletes (the others being Mark Allen, Scott Molina and Dave Scott). 

Tri-specific wetsuits and bikes would arrive by the decade’s end.

08. Iron war 1.0

1989

Mark Allen and Dave Scott first introduced themselves on the bike course 50km into the 1982 edition of Hawaii. Scott won that race. 

Year after year, Allen failed to beat Scott. Cut to Hawaii ‘89 and the Kona title count read 6-0 to Scott, but the pair were inseparable. 

At 40km on the run, Allen made his move and crossed the line for his first Hawaii win in 8:09:15 (five more victories would follow). 

Journalist Bob Babbitt soon christened the race Iron War.

09. The Hoyt’s emotional finish

1989

Dad-and-son pair Dick and Rick Hoyt finished the 1989 Ironman together. 

What made their feat so special was that Dick towed his paralysed son in a boat in the swim, propelled him on a specially-made bike and pushed him in a wheelchair for the run before one of Kona’s most emotional finishes.

10. 220 arrives

1989

220: The Triathlon Magazine was launched by John Lillie and Duncan Robb in late 1989.

 In the pre-internet days, it was the only way to stay abreast of the UK tri scene. Its race-entry forms, listings, training and opinion pieces became essential reading for UK triathletes over the course of its 434-edition (and still counting) history.

11. The UK’s Iron debut

1990

The first triathlon with the exact Ironman race distances (3.8km swim/180km bike/42.2km run) to be held on UK shores was the 220 Marathon Triathlon. It was hosted at the Cotswold Water Park in Cirencester on 7 July 1990 and organised by the 220 team. 

The race cost just £2.20 for subscribers and influential tri figures Springman, John Lunt, Joe Beer and Jack Maitland raced.

12. Royal Welcome

1991

Launched in the summer of 1991 by John Lunt, The Windsor Triathlon swiftly became a rite of passage for UK triathletes… and the River Thames swim, Great Park bike leg and Castle Hill run course remains so in 2024.

 It’s attracted many of the UK’s best triathletes over time – including Spencer Smith, Tim Don and Helen Jenkins – as well as thousands of age-groupers.

13. Live on the Beeb

1992

An astonishing four million TV viewers tuned in to  watch the Bath Triathlon in 1992 on Grandstand. 

The race saw Dutch powerhouse Rob Barel get tangled in a lane rope on the swim, hit by a car on the bike, but battle back for the win. 

Other names in the field included future tri legends Ben Bright (and now 220 coach columnist), Robin Brew, Outlaw organiser Iain Hamilton and F50 AG winner Daphne Belt, who’s still racing strong at 85 years young.

14. The longest day

1993

After the 220 Marathon Triathlon, the second event that became a UK long-course institution was The Longest Day Triathlon. 

Organised by volunteers at the Black Country Triathletes club, the race began life in 1993. It gave a generation of UK triathletes their first experience of racing 226km of tri.

The race would last until 2006.

15. Smith reigns supreme

1993

A monumental Manchester day in British triathlon history saw Spencer Smith win the 1993 ITU World Championship after destroying his greatest rival, fellow Brit and reigning champion, Simon Lessing. 

“It was one of those days where you couldn’t hurt yourself enough,” said Smith. 

“I was floating.”

16. Tri joins the Olympic fold

1994

Led by the formidable Les McDonald, tri’s route to Olympic Games inclusion was a rocky one. 

It led to the formation of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) in 1989, and enough political manoeuvrings to rival Succession. 

Most controversially, it saw elite short-course tri abandon its non-drafting cycling roots, a decision that witnessed an exodus of athletes to Ironman. 

But in 1994, the news arrived that triathlon would join the Olympic Games at Sydney 2000. 

Multisport would never be the same again.

17. World-topping Smyers

1995

America’s Karen Smyers became the first woman to win both the Ironman World Championships and the ITU World Championships in the same year in 1995. 

It’s a feat yet to be repeated by any female triathlete.

18. PNF wins her eighth

1996

Zimbabwean-turned-American Paula Newby-Fraser became the most successful athlete in Hawaii history with her record eighth victory in 1996. 

Her Hawaiian adventures started with a win in 1986, and during this time she’d only be beaten by Smyers and Erin Baker.

19. Xterra launches

1996

Dave ‘The Big Kahuna’ Nicholas launched the off-road Xterra Triathlon series in Maui, Hawaii, in 1996. 

“Roadies need to come and try. No cars, no exhaust fumes and Mother Nature is your biggest competitor,” was Nicholas’ calling card. 

The series now spans the globe, with Xterra legends including Conrad Stoltz, Lesley Paterson and Flora Duffy.

20. The crawl-off

1997

At Kona ’97, pro racer Sian Welch started to stumble on Ali’i Drive just before the finish. 

Wendy Ingraham was close behind, but also in a depleted physical state. 

As they hit the finishing chute, they both fell. 

Trying to stand and run to the line only feet away, they both collapsed again. 

Ingraham and then Welch decided that crawling to the line was the best option, leading a commentator to remark: “Their bodies were obliterated but their spirit stayed firm.”

21. Tri’s Olympic debut

2000

On 16 September 2000, tri made its Olympic Games debut when 48 female triathletes dived into Sydney Harbour. 

Two hours later, Aussie hearts were broken when Swiss Brigitte McMahon edged local favourite Michellie Jones to take tri’s first Olympic gold. 

The favourite for the men’s title was Britain’s multi-ITU world champion Simon Lessing. But it would be another Simon – a 25-year-old Canadian named Whitfield – who’d take the headlines. 

Whitfield entered T2 in 24th place before passing Germany’s Stephan Vuckovic late on the run to secure gold. 

22. Lothar makes Roth

2003

The first Franconian Triathlon was held in Roth, Germany, in 1984. 

Within a year Roth was hosting the Bavarian Championships, becoming an Ironman-branded race in 1988 before Challenge Roth was born in 2002. 

The race’s future was uncertain, however, until a classic encounter between Lothar Leder and Chris McCormack in 2003 would cement Challenge Roth’s status. 

Roth would soon attract 200,000 spectators and become tri’s greatest spectator experience. 

23. X marks the spot

2003

In 2000, Paal Hårek Stranheim had a vision to create an event so unforgiving that it would lure triathletes from around the world to the daunting landscape of Western Norway. 

That event was Norseman and it’s since shaped the world of extreme triathlon, with the XTRI Series and countless imitators following in its wake.

24. Ironman’s UK debut

2005

Some 27 years after its Hawaii debut, Ironman finally arrived in Sherborne on 21 August 2005 (the world’s first 70.3 event was held in Llanberis in 2001). 

It became an instant M-Dot classic. 

Kiwi race winner Bryan Rhodes picked up a speeding ticket for going 55mph past a camera. Ed Paget received the most heartfelt cheer of the day after crossing the line in 17:01:4.

25. Men of steel

2007

Ten days after dropping out of the 2007 Powerman Zofingen with stomach problems on the run, eight-time world duathlon champ Benny Vansteelant was hit by a car during a ride in Belgium. 

He suffered a broken leg, a torn spleen and damage to his lungs and heart, and would die of a pulmonary embolism.

Duathlon had lost its leading light. Two years later – as duathlon’s biggest race celebrated its 20th birthday – Benny’s younger brother Joerie won Zofingen at his first attempt to secure the most emotional of victories.

26. Chrissie makes history

2007

The history of Kona is full of triathletes who suffered in the heat, headwinds and humidity on their maiden attempt. 

Not so an athlete from Norfolk by the name of Chrissie Wellington. 

The 30-year-old pulled out all the stops to win the title in 2007, having only turned pro that year and with one previous Ironman event six weeks before on her CV… which she, naturally, also won.

27. Pilot show

2008

From Stuart Hayes in 2012 to Sam Dickinson in Paris 2024, domestiques, or pilots, have become a regular sight in the GB Olympic tri squad. 

The pilot approach arguably all started at Beijing 2008.

Simon Whitfield was shepherded by his Canadian compatriot Colin Jenkins on the swim and bike. 

Then Whitfield powered to silver behind Jan Frodeno on the run.

28. On the button

2009

F1 star Jenson Button first featured in these pages back in 2009, the year he would win the world title with Brawn GP. 

Button was one of tri’s most famous supporters, extolling its training benefits for the gargantuan effort required to pilot an F1 car for a couple of hours and even launching an eponymous race. 

In 2017 he made headlines for being DSQ’d for speeding on the bike leg at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside in California! 

29. Maximal effect

2010

During the height of the post-Born to Run minimalist trend, Hoka shoes arrived to plenty of head-scratching and a little bit of giggling in 2010. 

Yet Hoka’s maximally cushioned rocker shoes and their influence on Nike et al would soon shake up tri. Carbon plates arrived in 2017 and Ironman records were soon being shredded. 

The Kona marathon run split now stands with Gustav Iden’s 2:36:15 and Anne Haug’s 2:48:23. 

30. Iron war 2.0

2010

After over seven hours of racing, Australia’s Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack and German Andreas Raelert were level on the Kona run course. 

In one of Ironman’s most iconic moments, Macca turned to Raelert and said: “Andreas, best of luck. 

“No matter what happens here, you’re a champion. May the best man win.” 

With 1km to go, Macca made the decisive break to win the greatest Kona battle of the 21st century.

31. Lance returns

2011

Boo, hiss! Okay, he’s still as divisive as the budgie smugglers he raced in.

But there’s no denying that Lance Armstrong’s post-cycling return to tri was major news in 2011. 

Having been a top youth triathlete before moving to cycling, the Texan returned at the Xterra USA Champs in 2011. He targeted the Ironman Worlds in 2012. 

Just days before Ironman France that year a suspension by USADA and an eventual ban by WADA prohibited Armstrong from racing his full Ironman debut.

32. Records tumble

2011

July 2011 saw Luc Van Lierde’s iron-distance record – the Holy Grail for 14 years – smashed by Marino Vanhoenacker at Ironman Austria. 

Andreas Raelert and Chrissie Wellington tore up the record books at Challenge Roth a week later. 

Raelert’s 2:40hr marathon run saw him set 7:41:33 as the new long-distance benchmark. 

Chrissie Wellington posted the day’s second-fastest marathon to finish fifth overall in a time of 8:18:13, some 38mins faster than her nearest female rival. 

The records currently sit with Magnus Ditlev (7:23:24) and Anne Haug (8:02:38), both set at Roth in 2024. 

33. Crowie’s greatest

2011

Two-time champ Craig Alexander finished fourth at Kona 2010. The Aussie used that result to come back stronger in 2011, the 38-year-old tearing up his bike contract and seeking advice from Dave Scott. 

He returned to Kona a stronger all-round athlete. After 8:03:56 of racing, he was leaping across the finish line as the oldest-ever winner of Hawaii and the first man to win full- and Ironman 70.3 titles in the same year. 

And with a course record to boot.

34. Pushed to the limit

2011

Ten days before the 2011 race, a bike crash saw Chrissie Wellington’s leg swell to double its size. 

Cut to T1 on race day and a bruised Wellington was 10mins behind the leaders. 

By T2 she was 22mins down on fellow Brit Julie Dibens. 

After three dominant Kona victories, here was Chrissie pushed to the limit. 

Yet a 2:52hr marathon split would see Wellie score her fourth, greatest and final Hawaii victory.

35. The greatest day

2012

After 12 years of hurt, dodgy guts and crashes on the Olympic stage for the various British squads, UK triathlon’s golden moment arrived on 7 August 2012. 

Hyde Park saw the Brownlees do battle with Javier Gomez in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators, 

Alistair’s gold and Jonny’s bronze confirmed their status as superstars of triathlon to both those watching live and at home. 

36. Photo finish

2012

After a wet bike course played havoc in the women’s race in London 2012, Swiss star Nicola Spirig dropped her rivals on the run.

But in the finishing straight Sweden’s Lisa Norden surged into contention. 

Both athletes broke the tape together. There was talk of a tie, before Spirig was named as the winner. 

After 1:59:48 and 51,499 metres of racing, it had come down to the final metre. 

Lawyer Spirig would win silver in Rio four years later and place sixth in Tokyo in her fifth and final Games. 

37. Mixed relay comes of age

2014

The 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow gave us victories for Ali Brownlee and Jodie Stimpson in the men’s and women’s races, respectively. 

But it was the thrilling mixed relay event that dominated the post-event conversation. 

Running dives and a proper battle for the podium spots between the Aussies, Canadians and South Africans were both in the mix as England took the title. 

Mixed Relay would join the ITU World Series in 2018 before Olympic acceptance – and a GB win – at Tokyo 2020.

38. The Ultimate Trilogy

2015

Germany’s Jan Frodeno became the first triathlete to do the Olympic Games (2008) and Ironman World Championship-winning combo after scoring victory in Kona in a time of 8:14:40 in 2015. 

What’s more, he’d already won the Ironman 70.3 World Champs that season. 

39. Run Gwen, Run

2015

The USA’s Gwen Jorgensen took a step back from a career as a tax accountant to try her hand at tri in 2010. 

Just four years later and the college track star had achieved her first world title. 

A year on and it was title No.2 following her 12th consecutive WTS race win, a record winning streak that still stands.

In 2016 she won the Olympic title to become the USA’s first, and still only, triathlete gold medallist. 

40. Shirin shines

2016

Age-grouper Shirin Gerami spent much of the build-up to the 2016 Ironman Worlds trying to gain approval from Iran’s sports ministry to take part. 

They finally relented. After 13:11hrs of racing, she became the first athlete wearing a hijab to cross the hallowed Hawaii finish line.

41. Brownlee repeats

2016

Against a backdrop of the world’s most famous stretch of beach, the Copacabana, the Brownlees dominated the 2016 Olympic tri in Brazil. 

They controlled the race on the swim and bike before ditching their rivals on the run. 

Ali would become the first man to win two Olympic tri golds; Jonny would follow his 2012 bronze with a silver. 

Vicky Holland would also bring home the first women’s triathlon medal, a bronze, for Team GB. 

42. History makers

2016

Sixteen years after triathlon made its Olympics debut in Sydney came paratriathlon’s Games bow in Brazil.

10 September 2016 will be a date forever etched into paratri history. 

The first event was the men’s PT4, which saw Germany’s reigning world champ Martin Schulz becoming the first-ever Paralympic paratri champion in front of Rio’s Copacabana grandstand. 

The Forest of Dean’s Andy Lewis took victory in the PT2 category to become the first-ever GB Paralympic paratri medallist. 

Lauren Steadman, Alison Patrick and Melissa Reid added to the British medal haul.

43. Brothers in arms

2016

The 2016 ITU World Champs in Cozumel spawned a thousand ‘He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’ headlines around the globe. 

The drama saw Jonny Brownlee leading into the final 1km for another ITU world title, before the Mexican heat hit home and he started weaving across the course. 

Alistair, who’d been in third, put his arm around Jonny and carried him along the final few hundred metres before pushing him across the line.

44. Clash of the titans

2018

Jan Frodeno’s 2018 battle with Alistair Brownlee and Javier Gomez at the Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, was the heavyweight showdown to end them all. 

The first Ironman Worlds to be held in Africa saw three of history’s greatest all-round triathletes swapping the lead on the run. 

With 5km to go Frodeno turned on the blasters to record another 70.3 world crown.

45. Around the World

2020

Triathletes are an innovative and determined bunch. So it was no surprise that during the race-free days of Covid some DIY action would ensue (but not of the B&Q variety). 

Topping the self-created feats was Jonas Deichmann’s around-the-world epic equivalent of 120 Iron-distance triathlons in just one year. 

It involved swimming 460km along the Croatian coast, facing a Siberian winter on the bike and a brutal 5,000km run across Mexico. 

Sean Conway would then produce 105 Irons in 105 days in 2023.

46. The hottest streak

2021

Norway barely figured as an elite triathlon nation before two boys from Bergen ripped up the history books.

Gustav Iden would take two 70.3 World golds (2019 and 2021) and the full Ironman title in 2022 (in a record 7:40:24). 

But Kristian Blummenfelt’s hot streak of the early 2020s is arguably unrivalled in tri history. 

First came Olympic gold in Tokyo before the 2021 ITU World and Ironman titles, and then the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2022. 

Not forgetting his Sub-7 finish of 6:44:25 in 2022 as well…

47. Dame Duffy of Bermuda

2021

No one has done more to put Bermuda on the map since Juan Bermúdez first discovered the archipelago in 1505. 

After winning the Olympic title in 2021, an entire day – and a hill – was named in Flora Duffy’s honour, having given the country its first-ever Olympic gold medal. 

A record fourth world title followed the same year before Duffy was made a Dame in 2022. 

She also holds a record six Xterra world and two Commonwealth titles. She took fifth in Paris in her fifth and final Games.

48. Tri disruptor

2021

Super League Tri has shaken up elite triathlon since its birth in 2017, its multi, multi-discipline format standing in contrast to some of the stale World Series bike legs (40km in Edmonton, anyone?). 

Arguably SLT’s greatest finish came in 2021 when Brit Alex Yee edged Belgium’s Marten Van Riel by just 0.2 seconds to take the 2021 SL World Series in Malibu, LA. Pure Hollywood.

49. Fifth time’s a charm

2023

After four consecutive second-place finishes on the Big Island (2017-2019 and 2022 – no races in Kona in 2020/21), GB’s Lucy Charles-Barclay finally mounted the top step at the 2023 Ironman Worlds. 

The Londoner lead from gun to tape and breaks the course record in 8:24:31. 

50. Yee-ha!

2024

With 2.5km of the men’s Olympic tri left to run, Tokyo silver medallist Alex Yee looked spent. 

The only question was whether he could hold onto silver with France’s Léo Bergere looming in third. 

The 26-year-old would turn on the afterburners with the finishing chute nearing, however. 

He obliterated Hayden Wilde’s 18sec advantage at the front to take the Olympic gold medal in the most dramatic fashion on the biggest stage of all. 

With four Olympic medals (including mixed relay gold and bronze in Tokyo and Paris, respectively), he became the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time.

His teammate Georgia Taylor-Brown is the most decorated female.