List of Olympic medalists in triathlon

Three women wearing medals around their necks stand together on the highest step of a podium. The woman on the left wears dark blue shorts, a white jacket and raises a flower bouquet with her right arm. The other women wears the same turquoise pants and yellow jackets; the one on the right also holds high a flower bouquet with her left arm. Far behind them is a large water source and vegetation.
The medalists of the 2008 Summer Olympics women's triathlon. Left to right: Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal (silver), and Emma Snowsill (gold) and Emma Moffatt (bronze) of Australia.

Triathlon has been an Olympic sport since its debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.[1] Its inclusion in the Summer Olympic Games program was the quickest of any sport:[2] the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded in 1989 and five years later, on 4 September 1994, triathlon's Olympic status was approved by the 103rd International Olympic Committee Session, in Paris.[3] The variant contested at the Olympics (called Olympic distance) is composed of a 1,500-meter (4,921 ft) swim, followed by a 40-kilometer (25 mi) bicycle race, and a final 10 km (6 mi) run leg. The distances were chosen based on the resulting format to be a challenge for participants (sprint triathletes as well as endurance competitors) and entertaining for spectators all over the world.[4]

  1. ^ "Triathlon Equipment and History". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  2. ^ "ITU Triathlon Facts & Figures". Triathlon.org. International Triathlon Union. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  3. ^ "Triathlon, taekwondo added to Olympics". The Sunday Argus-Press. Associated Press. 4 September 1994. p. 6. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  4. ^ Hobson, Wes; Clark Campbell and Michael F. Vickers (2001). "Chapter 18, Race Day: Olympic Distance". Swim, bike, run (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. p. 230. ISBN 0-7360-3288-6. OCLC 45583386. Retrieved July 2, 2009.