Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Triathlon Australia

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Sport
  
Triathlon

Abbreviation
  
(TA)

Jurisdiction
  
National

Founded
  
1984

Triathlon Australia

Affiliation
  
International Triathlon Union (ITU)

Regional affiliation
  
Oceania Triathlon Union

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

Contents

Their vision is "To be the leading triathlon nation and grow the sport of triathlon in Australia"

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

Australian athletes had been making Australia proud from the very beginning of the ITC. Here are just some of the many successes.

  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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.

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

    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.

    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. They are:

  • Act
  • New South Wales
  • Northern Territory
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia

    • References

    Triathlon Australia Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA