# Is the Tricathalon new? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2000, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585 "2000-09-18T11:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/1 "2000-09-18T11:55:29Z")
The announcer for the Men’s Tricathalon implied it was a new event proclaiming the winning (gold) Canadian as the first man to have ever won. What did the announcer mean by this? I thought this event had always existed…maybe they just watered down the Decathalon? Not up on the history of Olympic events, but curious! ---
**Author:** ![dylan\_73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@dylan\_73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dylan_73)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/2 "2000-09-18T12:13:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jinx \* > \*\*The announcer for the Men’s Tricathalon implied it was a new event proclaiming the winning (gold) Canadian as the first man to have ever won. What did the announcer mean by this? I thought this event had always existed…maybe they just watered down the Decathalon? > > Not up on the history of Olympic events, but curious! > \*\* I always thought it was an old event too, but it seems the first ever triathlon was on September 25, 1974, at least according to [http://home.san.rr.com/johnstone/](http://home.san.rr.com/johnstone/) Checking on Yahoo it seems that this was indeed the first time the Triathlon was included in the Olympics, so I guess the announcer was correct. ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/3 "2000-09-18T12:28:54Z")
IIRC, the Decathalon is the oldest of the mixed event competitions (unless maybe if you count all-around gymnastics), followed by the Biathalon, and the Heptathalon. Perhaps you were thinking of one of those. Decathalon = 10 events: 100m run, 110m hurdles, 400m run, 1600m run, shot put, pole vault, discus throw, javelin throw, high jump, long jump. Biathalon = 2 events: cross country skiing and shooting. (obviously a winter event) I don’t recall what was all included in the Heptathalon, but it’s similar to the Decathalon with only 7 events. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/4 "2000-09-18T12:31:44Z")
Don’t forget the Marathon, with just one event (running), and a _lot_ of it. :D:D ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/5 "2000-09-18T12:32:41Z")
Oops… it’s Decathlon, Biathlon, Heptathlon, Triathlon. I guess a lot of people add the extra “a” sound for no reason. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/6 "2000-09-18T12:40:01Z")
I thought it was old because wasn’t/isn’t this also known as the “Iron Man” race? Maybe I’m mixed up with a different #-athlon??? Thanks to all for their thoughts! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/7 "2000-09-18T13:22:10Z")
The Ironman is also a triathlon–just of a different length. The Ironman is more than 2 miles swimming, 112 miles biking, and 26.2 miles running. The new Olympic triathlon is a whole lot shorter. The Olympic length is far more standard. The Ironman is just very well-known. Triathlon has been around for ages, but this is the first time it is an official Olympic event. ---
**Author:** ![LazarusLong42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@LazarusLong42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LazarusLong42)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/8 "2000-09-18T13:58:31Z")
Don’t forget the Modern Pentathlon, which includes running, swimming, riding, fencing, and (I think) shooting. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/9 "2000-09-18T14:03:57Z")
There is/was another mixed event competition, the modern pentathlon. That is (says my reference book) running, fencing, horse riding, swimming and shooting. Like the biathlon (aka the winter biathlon), it has military origins. Since it’s called the “modern” pentathlon I suppose there must have been some earlier pentathlon, but I can’t find any further details. ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/10 "2000-09-18T15:31:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Modern Pentathlon, which includes running, swimming, riding, fencing, and (I think) shooting. AKA the Escape from Alcatraz, no? ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/11 "2000-09-18T15:44:17Z")
Here’s the story behind the Modern Pentatalon. (Minor details may be rusty… it’s been years since I read the whole story.) The idea behind the MP is to mimic the heroic journey of an ancient Greek courrier. It goes something like this. (I’ve forgotten the exact event order, except I know that the riding precedes the running and swimming, and the shooting precedes the fencing.) The courrier sets off on his horse (riding); he encounters an enemy who kills the horse and engages him with projectile throwing weapons (shooting); he resumes on foot (running); then he encounters another enemy and engages him in hand-to-hand combat (fencing); he finishes the journey by swimming across a body of water to deliver his message. The “modern” aspect of MP is that it uses rifles and dueling swords (epees) in place of, say, slingshots and broadswords. The cool thing about MP is that the mythical journey determines the strict sequence in which the events are held. They are not mixed up for convenience, despite the fact that they are held on entirely different days. IIRC, Gen’l. George Patton was a MP Olympic medallist. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/12 "2000-09-18T15:47:03Z")
Ancient pentathlon: sprint, javelin throw, long jump, discus, wrestling Early modern pentathlon (for want of a better term): Broad jump, javelin throw, 200-meter run, 1500-meter run. Modern pentathlon: cross-country horseback riding, (1,000 meter course with 20 obstacles), Fencing with an épée, shooting with a .22 calibre pistol at 25 meters, 300-meter freestyle swim, 4,000-meter cross-country run. George Patton competed in this event in Stockholm in 1912 (the rules may have been slightly different then). He placed 5th overall. ---
**Author:** ![rundogrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@rundogrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rundogrun)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/13 "2000-09-18T15:50:25Z")
While the triathalon has been around for 25 years, this is the first year it is officially in the Olympics. Ironically enough, although this is the first year, this distance, 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run, has been referred to as Olympic Distance for a number of years. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/14 "2000-09-18T16:01:07Z")
Bibio, thanks for correcting the errors/omissions in my post, especially about Patton being a medallist. Are the events you list the order in which they are held (riding, fencing, shooting, swimming, running)? I know that the ancient courier scenario is the basis of the sequence, but, as I said, I was unsure of the exact order. The idea of the fencing preceeding the shooting strikes me as wrong. (But the running being the last event seems right, now that I think about it.) ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-tricathalon-new/33585/15 "2000-09-18T19:58:48Z")
Now the modern pentathlon goes: shooting, fencing, swimming, riding, and running. I believe the order is probably set up for logistical purposes since they run all the events on one day now.