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The IOC have announced the competition schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, confirming the Men’s Triathlon event will take place on Monday 27th July and the Women’s race the following day. The highly anticipated Olympic debut of the Triathlon Mixed Relay will take place on Saturday 1st August.
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The individual races will be disputed over the standard Olympic distances (1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run), early morning in the fantastic setting of Odaiba Marine Park. The Mixed Relay teams will bring together two men and two women from the same country, each completing a mini-triathlon before tagging their team mate. The team event also takes place at Odaiba Marine Park, where each of the four athletes will complete a 300m swim, 7.5km bike and 1.5km run.
“We are extremely satisfied with the dates of our events, following months of hard work taking into consideration all the requirements of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and our Sport Department”, said ITU President and IOC member, Marisol Casado.
“We have agreed competition dates that will fit extremely well into global television schedules, and we are confident of incredible engagement with the spectators, both on-site and watching on TVs around the world. It is perfect that the Mixed Relay, one of the most thrilling and vibrant spectacles in sport, will make its Olympic debut on ‘Super Saturday’,” she added.
Triathlon was first included in the Olympic Games programme at Sydney 2000, but Tokyo 2020 will mark an exciting debut for the Mixed Relay, the added team dynamic certain to capture the imaginations of sports fans around the world. The global profile of triathlon has been increasing consistently year after year and, with one more gold medal ready to be contested, the competition in the land of the rising sun is set to be hotter than ever.
A total of 110 athletes – 55 men and 55 women – will compete in Tokyo 2020 triathlon events, with the relay teams being formed of countries with minimum 2 women and 2 men athletes qualified.
The 30 Olympic triathlon medals awarded to date have been split between 13 countries, emphasising the strength of the sport worldwide. The men’s gold has twice been won by Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and accompanying him on the podium on both occasions was his brother, Jonathan Brownlee. A bronze medallist in London, the younger of the Brownlee siblings then picked up silver in Rio to complete a famous family one-two.
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And of course British eyes in the lead up will be on the Brownlees with many wondering if Ali could make it three golds in a row…
Could Ali Brownlee win Olympic gold and Kona in 2020?
In the women’s event, Swiss athletes have twice taken home the gold, in 2000 and 2012. Of those, Nicola Spirig is the only female triathlete to have won two Olympic medals, taking the gold in an incredibly tight London 2012 finale ahead of Sweden’s Lisa Norden and then the silver at Rio 2016, finishing behind the USA’s Gwen Jorgensen.
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The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will use a total of 42 venues, including 24 existing, ten temporary and eight new permanent venues. These will include three venues in Fukushima, Ibaraki, and Miyagi prefectures, which were among those most affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Great Britain won nine medals at the ETU European Paratriathlon Championships in Tartu, Estonia, including Lauren Steadman winning a remarkable sixth career European title, and a debut gold for Hannah Moore.
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In case you missed it, GB Paratriathlon had a fantastic day at ETU European Champs today!
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On the 4th August one of the toughest iron-distance triathlons in the world takes place in Norway, the iconic Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon
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It all starts with a jump off a ferry into a dark and icy fjord, which has an average temperature of 14°C, and it doesn’t let up from there. Both the bike course, which has an elevation of nearly 3,000 metres, and the run course, with a climb of nearly 2,000 metres to the race finish at the top of a mountain, are designed to test the toughest of the tough, and with a 15:35hr median finish time, it really isn’t a race for the faint-hearted…
Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon race tips
The scenery is pretty stunning too, taking in some of Noways most beautiful parts including Hardangervidda mountain plateau, before finishing at the rocky peak of Gaustatoppen, Telemark’s highest mountain at 1,850m above sea level.
Norseman Xtreme Triathlon gallery
Above: Gaustatoppenn by iStock / Getty Images Plus /destillat
One of the founders Paal Hårek Stranheim says on Norseman’s website:
“I want to create a completely different race, make it a journey through the most beautiful nature of Norway, let the experience be more important than the finish time, and let the participants share their experience with family and friends, who will form their support. Let the race end on top of a mountain, to make it the hardest Ironman race on earth.”
Two-time Ironman world champion Tim DeBoom won the race in 2011. He says: “Norseman is like going back to the roots of triathlon. Events like this are why triathlon is so big today. The fact that events like Norseman exists gives me hope for the sport.”
British pros racing in 2018 include Emma Pooley and Harry Wiltshire – can they threaten, or come close to, the course records set by the Norweigians Lars Christian Vold (09:52:03) and Anne Nevin (12:04:18) last year?
Can’t make it there to watch or race? Don’t worry we will be streaming all the action live on our website, just go to the 220 home page
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If you want an adventure of a lifetime this race is it…
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Vicky Holland won gold and led a British charge at the ITU World Triathlon Edmonton to move up to second overall in the world rankings. Teams mates Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jess Learmonth and Jodie Stimpson finished third, fourth and fifth.
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Holland demonstrated with her win at the AJ Bell World Triathlon Leeds that she is in excellent form this season, and came to Edmonton fired up after an unfortunate crash on the bike leg in Hamburg two weeks ago. She made sure in Edmonton that she would be the one to beat, attacking the race throughout.
An early swim and bike lead was established by Learmonth, Summer Cook (USA) and Vittoria Lopes (BRA), but it was swallowed up by the leading pack on the climb during the first of five bike laps. At the start of the 5km run, all of the key contenders were there but Holland had by far the best transition and looked full of confidence.
Holland set the fastest run time to win in Edmonton for the second time in her career, the last time being in freezing conditions in 2015. In bright sunshine this time, she raised the finish tape ahead of Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle and a hugely impressive Georgia Taylor-Brown, who ran into the bronze medal position.
Jess Learmonth and Jodie Stimpson followed her home to achieve one of Britain’s best ever results at an ITU World Triathlon Series event.
Holland, who now moves up to second in the Series rankings behind Katie Zaferes (USA), said: “I was really riding high after Leeds, and I put in a really good block of training. It was unfortunate I had a crash in Hamburg, and I felt very angry and frustrated.”
She added: “I take a race at a time. I try not to think about leading the series too much. Katie has had such a strong season, she hasn’t messed up any races.”
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Taylor-Brown backed up her first ever podium finish in Leeds with another, commenting: “It’s amazing to be up here.”
The British women crushed it in @WTS_Edmonton, with @VixHolland claiming her second title of the season. You can watch again the full race on https://t.co/qNsCefRDxv! pic.twitter.com/S5FWpsYekm
— World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) July 28, 2018
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In an exciting early evening showdown in Edmonton Mario Mola (ESP) surged ahead of Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) in the final lap of the run to capture his fourth consecutive WTS podium. Blummenfelt showcased his tremendous power, twice surging ahead of Mola in the bell lap before dropping back for a second place finish.
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“Kristian gave me one of the toughest runs. Every time I go out I try to race my best, and he made me work. Maybe it was harder than it looked,” Mola said. “This race is another step forward. But until I cross the finish line in the Gold Coast in the next couple weeks, the race towards the World Championships is not over.”
Vincent Luis (FRA) and Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) lead out of the water with Marten Van Riel (BEL), Marco van der Stel (NED) and Tayler Reid (NZL) forming a lead pack on the six-lap bike course. Halfway through the bike, the chase pack caught the lead, with Blummenfelt and Ryan Fisher working hard to bridge the gap and a massive group converged together moving into transition.
“I thought I had a chance on the run. I couldn’t stay behind him (Mola) I had to try and kick up the pace,” said Blummenfelt.
Behind Blummenfelt was a cluster of runners including early leaders Luis and Brownlee. Fernando Alarza (ESP) and Aussie Jacob Birtwhistle ran with the group of men until the last 500 metres when Birtwhistle broke ahead to sprint himself into a third-place finish.
Birtwhistle said: “I knew it wasn’t over until I crossed that line. I wasn’t given a big gap at the end, but I had to try to use my kick. I would rather use it to challenge for the win, but today I had to try to use it to my advantage. There is so much that can happen, even in a sprint, it isn’t over until we cross that line.
“I wanted to swim and bike to the best of my ability. I am pretty happy with where things are sitting (in the overall standings). I missed a few points early on in Bermuda and Leeds, so I am trying to backend my season to finish off well. I need to perform in the last two events.”
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There are two races left in the 2018 season: WTS Montreal and WTS Gold Coast which also serves as the Grand Final.
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Fancy a trip to Oman and a chance to extend the 2018 tri season in style? Or perhaps mark the beginning of your 2019 season with a 70.3 triathlon in this beautiful country? With these two new races you can do both…
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The Sultanate of Oman will host two new triathlon events in the coming year; the inaugural 5i50 Oman in November 2018 and the new Ironman 70.3 Oman on March 9, 2019.
Oman will also host its first ever 5i50 triathlon on November 18. The 1.5 km swim, 40km and 10k run is perfect preparation for athletes and beginners in the lead up to the main event, Ironman 70.3 Oman.
“It is with great pride that we announce the launch of Ironman 70.3 triathlon race in Oman,” said Sayyid Adil bin Mirdas Al Busaidi, Advisor on Tourism Affairs, Ministry of Tourism.
“It is our mission to make the Sultanate an obvious choice for international sports, as we believe the country has a lot to offer with enthralling beauty. Perfect weather awaits athletes as the warm desert heat is at bay during the cool season, leaving idyllic racing conditions that will entice both new and experienced triathletes. The country is well suited for holding events such as running, cycling, and swimming competition,.”
For the 70.3 the athletes will pass through the beautiful capital city of Musca, as they complete a 1.9km (1.2-mile) swim, 90.1km (56-mile) bike ride and 21.1km (13.1-mile) run during the inaugural Ironman 70.3. The Arabian seas provide for a non-wetsuit swim, which will be held in the calm, clear waters beside the desirable suburb of Al Shatti in downtown Muscat.
Al Shatti is also the location of the bike transition, from which athletes will take on a bike route that passes through all major monuments of Muscat including the Royal Opera House, Muttrah Gate and Cornish, the Al Bustan Palace and the enticingly fast Wadi Al Kabir Road.
The single transition in Al Shatti provides convenience for athletes and a hot spot for spectators who will line the four-lap run course encircling the Royal Opera House and Intercontinental Hotel complex.
“We are more than honoured to host athletes from around the world to our beloved nation,” said Race Director and Chief Executive Officer of Triathlon Middle East, Mohamed Al Obaidani. “Triathlon is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic sports in the world, therefore, we want to bring the culture of triathlons and healthy lifestyle to Oman, aiming to make our nation prominent in this area,” he added.
Ironman 70.3 Oman will offer 30 qualifying slots for the 2019 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France.
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General registration is now available at www.ironman.com/oman70.3. Athlete inquiries may be directed to [email protected]. For accommodation and travel services, visit www. https://goo.gl/bxzZxG
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) and Tokyo 2020) have announced the triathlon courses for the Tokyo 2020 individual triathlon, mixed relay and Paratriathlon events.
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The races will start and finish in Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo Bay, an urban resort with white sandy beaches overlooked by Tokyo’s high-rise waterfront buildings. This area is well-established on the triathlon scene, having been used as the venue for the country’s National Triathlon Championships for more than 20 years.
The triathlon swimming legs will take place in Odaiba Bay (top photo). The bike riding and running courses will wind their way in and around the park, and will incorporate a number of technical features. The course for individual events will also pass through the West Promenade district of Odaiba, featuring waterfalls and greenery.
Triathletes will complete the 1.5km swim leg in two laps of Odaiba Marine Park, with the 40km bike section split into eight laps and the 10km run comprising four laps of 2.5km.
The mixed relay—added to the Olympic programme for the first time—involves teams of two men and two women completing a short-course triathlon; each team member completes a 300m swim, a 7.4km bike ride and a 2km run before handing off to a teammate to take over. The Paratriathlon will consist of a 750m swim, a 20km bike ride and a 5km run.
The men’s Olympic triathlon will take place on 27 July 2020, with the women’s event being staged on the following day. The mixed relay will be staged on “Super Saturday”, 1 August, an action-packed day featuring 23 sports on which a number of medal events are scheduled to be held. The mixed relay, a dynamic event that sees non-stop action until the last second, promotes gender-balance, and fully addresses the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations in this respect.
Marisol Casado, President of the ITU and IOC Member, said: “I am extremely proud of the courses that will stage the Tokyo 2020 Olympic individual Triathlon races, the mixed relay and the Paratriathlon races. We have been working hard with Tokyo 2020 to develop courses that will be exciting for the athletes and spectators alike. The location is perfect and it is incredibly exciting to be right in the heart of Tokyo at the Odaiba Bay. It is a great opportunity to showcase this amazing city to the whole world as the best triathletes and Paratriathletes on the planet compete among Tokyo’s iconic landmarks.”
“For ITU, it is key to provide courses that allow the best possible conditions for the athletes, the best viewing scenarios for spectators on site as well as watching on television, and that consider the sustainability and legacy after the Games, so we work closely with Tokyo 2020 to provide the best environment for the athletes, both now and in the near future. As it is always the case, we are extremely satisfied with the stages we have designed on which our athletes can shine in the summer of 2020, and we will work with Tokyo 2020 to improve those conditions further, where necessary and possible”, added the ITU president. “Tokyo 2020 will be unforgettable for triathlon with our new event added to the calendar. As the thrill and excitement of the mixed relay adds to that of the individual races, we are sure that, on these great circuits, we will all be able enjoy our best Olympic and Paralympic Games to date.”
Can the Brownlees medal again?
Download here the Mixed Relay Course map
Download here the Paratriathlon Course map
Download here the Individual Triathlon Elevation Map
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Download here the Mixed Relay Elevation Map
Download here the Paratriathlon Elevation Map
The race kicks off at 5am in Norway and the broadcast will be hosted by Philip O’Connor and our very own Helen Webster (220 Editor) who will be out on the race course following the race minute by minute. So sit back and enjoy the ride…
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Having trouble watching it? Click here for the Norseman You Tube channel and enjoy this epic race from start to finish
With an early rainstorm clearing to leave calm, mild conditions it would have been tempting to think the 250 triathletes on the start list for the 2018 Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon were in for a (relatively) kind day in the mountains – well, as kind as it can get at a race we ranked as 7th toughest Iron in the world. Norseman is a long day up some very big mountains though – so it’s never a good idea to try and second-guess what you might be about to experience…
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220 Triathlon were in Norway this year to follow the race, with Editor Helen Webster helping present the live coverage (if you missed it, watch the full 13 hour broadcast by following the link here) and in the days leading up to the event, most of the talk was about one thing – the unusually warm water conditions. Usually maxing out at a cold 14 degrees C on race day, a hot early summer added to a lack of melting snow around race time had meant the fjord was a balmy(ish) 16-17 degrees by race day.
Early Start
Boarding a car ferry at 4am in the pitch black is still a daunting experience though and as the athletes sat waiting for the ferry to reach the starting point 3.8km from Eidfjord, there was a quiet contemplation amongst the competitors who sat quietly stretching, meditating, or making last-minute adjustments to their wetsuits. Many were wearing thermal suits and full neoprene balaclavas and socks to help their bodies cope with up to two hours in the still less-than-warm black waters.
Taking that ferry jump this year were British athletes including 3x Kona finisher and 2018 Celtman champ Harry Wiltshire, 2017 Celtman winner Chris Sterling and Swissman 2018 winner Flora Colledge. They faced some of the toughest competition though, as in the men’s race two of the best Norseman athletes in the world were lining up: current record holder Lars Christian Vold and 2x previous winner Allan Hovda, both Norwegians familiar with the tough and technical course. In the women’s race, Norwegian pro triathlete Mette Pettersen Moe was sure to be competitive, alongside Finnish racer Heini Hartikainen and American pro and winner of Alaskaman Morgan Chaffin.
After a hosing down on the ferry to acclimatise to the water temperatures and avoid cold water shock, the athletes jumped into the pitch black water to swim to the race start line, marked by kayaks. Their goal? To follow the 3.8km course around the shore and spot a bonfire burning on the shore back in Eidfjord (a very Viking-esque course marker!) that would guide them to the solitary course buoy where they would turn left and come in to T2.
First out of the water was Norwegian Eirik Ravnan in 00:48:08. A former competitive swimmer with 13 gold medals under his belt he didn’t have a clear break though, as GB Pro Harry Wiltshire, also an extremely strong swimmer and winner of this year’s Celtman race was just seconds after him. Ravnan strengthened his advantage with a super-fast transition though and went on to open up a small gap from Wiltshire as they rode through the tunnels and on to the Old Road, up into misty rainy conditions on the wide Hardanger Plateau. In the women’s race Mette Petterson Moe exited first in 00:53:53, less than 5 minutes after the leaders.
Into the Mountains
Above image by Torgeir Storflor Moen / nxtri.com
The Norseman bike route is infamously tough though and as Wiltshire told us in a pre-race interview: “This isn’t a race won or lost in the swim. It’s all about who’s still got enough left in the tank at Zombie Hill”. There were plenty of hills to take in before the final run up Zombie Hill though (more on that later) as five mountains culminating in the toughest of them all – Immingfell – needed to be navigated first in conditions that were getting increasingly foggy and slippery.
Ravnan kept the lead for the first part of the course, but the expertise of previous champions Vold and Hovda soon came through as they broke through to the front of the course and started to show what makes them so utterly unbeatable on a bike course that can quickly chew you up and spit you out if you don’t pace it accurately. They describe this race as the one where you can ‘find yourself all alone on a small bike on top of a big mountain plateau’ and watching the athletes string out alongs the course in the mountain fog, it quickly became apparent why. The landscapes are just huge in this race, although the views probably weren’t enough to distract those at the front of the race chasing the win.
Anything is possible at Norseman though and the sun broke though on the bike course, leaving athletes who had prepared for typically windy, cold and wet Norseman conditions baking in the sweltering heat. With Vold in the lead, the two athletes arrived at the 500m climb to Immingfell looking focussed. In an interview before the race as part of a panel interview led by 220 [follow link here], Allan Hovda revealed that himself and Lars Christian Vold had trained together on the course a couple of weeks previously and he’d identified that Vold had the edge on the technical descent at Immingfell, so he’d spent some extra time training on those roads. It really showed during the race too, as both athletes swept down the descent tucked down on their tri-bikes’ crossbars, aiming to get as aero as possible as they navigated the technical hairpins and treacherous descent.
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Zombie Running
Vold entered T2 first, but with Hovda hot on his heels it was clear we were in for a tense finish in the mountains. The Norseman run route is famous for its brutality. The first 25km are flat and follow a tarmac road, then after that you start to gradually climb with the infamous Gaustatoppen mountain peak – ‘Zombie Hill’ – rising up into the distance ahead of you like some great monster, as if to taunt you with the distance you have left to climb.
THIS is where @nxtri finishes
With only two minutes’ gap between the professional men’s and women’s gunstarts, it wasn’t long before Ryf started overtaking the male field on the bike course with a 2:12:27 split. This put her in sixth overall off the bike and more than 17 minutes ahead of the nearest woman. But the Swiss speedster had still more to give and continued to increase her lead over the half marathon until she broke the tape in a new record of 3:57:47.
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Ryf said: “Today, again, I’m happy with everything. The swim was good and on the bike course I was surrounded by men and could push the pace from the beginning.
“The run also felt good without any problems so I’m happy to have invested a lot in running recently.”
At the end of 2017 we named Ryf the 5th greatest female triathlete ever – could she rise higher at the end of 2018? What do you think?
Daniela Ryf’s top 5 tips for racing and recovery
Daniela Ryf’s 3 key Ironman training sessions
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The men’s race
Meanwhile, Ben Hoffman returned to racing at his hometown race Ironman 70.3 Boulder. The American had taken a four-month hiatus to recover from back issues after competing at the eight-day ABSA Cape Epic mountain bike race in a team for Ironman Foundation, as well as walking to a 21st place finish at Ironman South Africa two weeks later.
Hoffman’s return to form was evident as he steadily crept up the leaderboard after emerging from the swim in seventh. By the end of the bike leg he was in third place and within striking distance of the win. First place came down to the wire in a finish-line sprint, where Callum Millward beat Hoffman out by a mere two seconds.
Only a week after winning Ironman Canada, Brent McMahon put in a valiant effort to take 14th place at Ironman 70.3 Philippines.