Triathlon Australia

Triathlon Australia is the governing body responsible for the management of sports such as duathlon, aquathlon and triathlon within Australia.

Triathlon Australia
SportTriathlon
JurisdictionNational
Abbreviation(TA)
Founded1984
AffiliationInternational Triathlon Union (ITU)
Regional affiliationOceania Triathlon Union
HeadquartersAlexandria, New South Wales
LocationAustralia
PresidentDavid Ferrier[1]
Official website
www.triathlon.org.au

History

Triathlon came to Australia in the early 1980s but the first state Associations arrived 4 year later. In 1986, the Triathlon Federation of Australia (what is now known as Triathlon Australia) was founded with the support of Dr. Jim Hazel from Sydney and Geoff Frost from Melbourne. In 1991, the name was changed to what is now known as Triathlon Australia.

In 1989, the first International Triathlon Union's Triathlon World Championships was (or ITU for short) held there in Australia. The distances for the short course triathlon was also selected that year. The distances for the short distance are (1.5 km swim 40 km cycle and 10 km run.)

Success
  • In 1990, just one year after the first World Triathlon Series, Greg Welch (born 1964) had won the Elite Male World Championship for Triathlon in Florida. The race was also called the Grand Slam[2]
  • Just following Greg Welch's success came Miles Stewart's success the following year again in the ITU. He had won gold and just 2 seconds faster than Rick Wells, another Australian Triathlete.[3]
  • Australia's first women success came again 1 year after in the women race. During the 1992 ITU Triathlon World Championships, Michellie Jones had won gold. She won gold again one year later in 1993.[4]

As of March 2014, Australia is the current leading nation in the sport of Triathlon. The nation currently has 19 senior World Champion Titles.[5]

AYTC (Australian Youth Triathlon Championships)

Despite Triathlon World Championships, there is also a championship for youth from years 13 to 18. To train or compete, they must have a valid membership. Memberships vary from $30(youth) to $500 (professional). The lengths vary for each age group.
13 and 14 years - 400m swim, 12 km bike and 3 km run
15 and 16 years - 600m swim, 16 km bike and 4 km run
17 and 18 years - 750m swim, 20 km bike and 5 km run.

The AYTC was created to let junior athletes develop the sport of Triathlon and to set up the best possible pathway to the Olympics and the Triathlon World Championships. “This event will provide excellent opportunities for our development coaches to identify young athletes with the talent to succeed as our future elite Australian triathletes.” Ms. Gripper reported.[6]

Events in the AYTC all include a draft legal cycling leg for bicycles. This way, junior athletes can compete under the same rules as the Olympics and Triathlon World Championships.

State associations

The national body has eight state member associations.[7]

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See also

References
  1. Board of Directors Archived 2014-04-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Australian Triathlon Honor roll
  3. 1991 ITU Championship
  4. Michellie Jones
  5. Australia's success
  6. AYTC
  7. State Association
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