Growth
- Membership in USA Triathlon, the sport’s governing body, has tripled over the past 10 years to more than 100,000.
- One-year USAT racing license purchases grew 311 percent over the same period.
- Single-day license purchases grew 297 percent.
Participants
- Age: average 35 to 40
- Household: 74 percent married
- Education: 4-year college degree, 86 percent
- Events: 3 to 6 per year
- Beginner, 7 percent
- Competitive, 49 percent
Triathletes Defined
Q: What is an “age group” triathlete?
An amateur who races within his or her age and gender group. Age groupers make up more than 90 percent of all triathletes.
Q: What is an “elite” triathlete?
Someone who trains to race for prize money against the best athletes in the world in competitions sponsored by national federations. Elite triathletes aspire to compete at the Olympic Games. The sport made its Olympic debut at the Sydney Games in 2000.
How do athletes qualify for the Olympics?
The International Triathlon Union determines qualification criteria for national federations and national Olympic committees.
How are the world champions decided?
There are three levels of races included in the ITU world championship rankings:
- World Championship Grand Final
- World Championship Series
- World Cup events (The Hy-Vee Triathlon is a World Cup event.)
Athletes are awarded points if they finish within cutoff times based on the winner’s time. They must score in at least two world championship series events to be eligible for the top 10 rankings.
