The three sport competition-triathlon, is considered by many as the king’s discipline of endurance sports. A combination of swimming, cycling and running combined directly together, offers a challenging sport which is far from being boring. Since 1977 triathlon competitions with different distances have been held. In Sydney, the triathlon was added to the Olympic disciplines for the first time.

Besides competing in Olympic distances consisting of, 1500m swimming, 40 km cycling, and 10,000m running, the best athletes compete in the legendary Iron Man competition. The Iron Man competition consisting of unbelievable distances (3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling, and a complete marathon distance of 42 km) is in part for normal and top athletes a challenge. But there are athletes that complete the gruelling competition in under eight hours. Competing in the Iron Man contest in Hawaii is the dream of every triathlete. The there hold events such as swimming in the ocean, cycling and running with almost no protection against nature (e.g. sun, rain), are often misjudged. The hard conditions in Hawaii has caused many athletes to give up, because of total exhaustion. All the athlete’s that complete the competition in Hawaii are considered “Winners”, irregardless if they place. Athletes who compete in Hawaii must qualify in qualification matches - Only the best athletes are allowed to compete in Hawaii. The fascination of the triathlon is not only for the competition arena. There are also competitions with different distances for club and non-club members. The non-club athletes compete in an open category which gives them the opportunity to participate and compete in this fascinating sport.

Many are fascinated with the triathlon, but there is also a lot of scepticism. The question often asked is: what is so fascinating about putting three endurance sports together? Others state that the triathlon is a competition for athletes not good enough in a specific sport area. Also, the fact that the triathlon has become a part of the Olympics in Sydney creates mixed emotions. Most prefer to watch a more attractive or less boring sport.