An article in the January/February 1984 issue of IPR Magazine called attention to the new sport of Triathloning. As authors Gerard Byrne and Janet Frantzreb pointed out, this type of competition for athletes is on the increase throughout the Midwest. "The Triathlon Newsletter," tells what is happening in Illinois and neighboring states.

Triathlons in the United States mainland received their birth from the leader of them all, known as the Ironman in Hawaii, which is definitely not a sporting event for the average athlete but for the year round professionally tuned endurance athlete.

The history of Triathlons harks back to 1973 in the "Great Race" when Sacramento, California hosted the first multi-sport events with a bike - kayak - run relay. Also in the early 1970's, the first "Levis Ride - And - Tide" combined running with horseback riding which is still active today. As the interest in multi-sport races grew, the "Survival of the Fittest" was devised for national television with a series of competitions for specially selected athletes including rappelling, swimming in rapids, dueling with pugil sticks while on a narrow log and rope climbing.

As the interest in multi-sport races grew, different combinations of sports were tried. In the end, the three most popular single-sport events, when combined, won out. Today, the United States Triathlon Association has had to narrowly define the sport as follows:

"The sport of Triathlon shall be defined as any event combining swimming, bicycling and running."
U.S. Triathlon Assoc. Bylaws
Section 15.1

Hawaii's Ironman started in 1978 as the result of a joke-turned-bet. Navy Commander John Collins and his buddies, while sipping a few beers, speculated what would happen if they combined, in uninterrupted sequence, three local Hawaiian events: the 2.4 mile Waikiki Rough Water Swim, the 112-mile around-the-island of Oahu Bicycle Race and the Honolulu Marathon. In 1979, Barry McDermott wrote a Sports Illustrated article that caught the attention of "ABC Wide World of Sports. " It has been televised ever since, and watched by record audiences. Both the article and TV footage attracted the pioneer triathletes and triathlon organizers.

In the late 1970's it was believed that those who turned to the triathlon were either crazy or lacked ability in one of the single sports, and that they had turned to triathlons as either a refuge or a new challenge. Today the tri-athlete commands the respect of all athletes. The single-sport specialist is able to capitalize on a single strength. Triathletes cannot afford to do this. They must train equally hard in three sports, and thus they become "triple fit."

In its short history, the triathlon has experienced phenomenal growth. What has taken the sport of running 20 years to develop in America has happened in five years for the triathlon. One of the reasons for this groundswell of mass participation is the triathlon's broad appeal. The sport has three separate events from which to draw advocates. Shorter triathlons are also easy enough to complete to draw participants from both the superjocks and the recreational athlete.

To date, the triathlon has been primarily an American phenomenon. One theory attributes this phenomenon to a belief in the "rebirth" of the American frontier. The American approach to the multi-sport event is very different from the spiritual, reverent view of athletes taken in other countries. The appearance in American events of talented non-Americans and of government-sponsored national triathlon teams, however, indicates the direction of the sport's global growth.

The future of triathlons appears to be excellent. With the growing United States Triathlon Association at the forefront representing the athlete's needs and concerns, the hope is that the development of the sport will avoid the turbulent times of other sports.

The triathlon has a rare opportunity for longterm evolution: It can learn from the experience of its predecessors, such as the running boom. Triathlons need to develop a strong contingent of participatory athletes to inspire both competitive and recreational athletes with their commitment to total fitness. If the sport is determined not to fade in popularity, the commitment of the athletes, race promoters, sponsors and associations must be one of absolute concern for the welfare of the athletes.

There are inherent dangers and difficulties as the sport of triathlon develops. Greed and commercialization are two of the cancers that could slowly strangle the growth and best interests of the sport. Self-serving athletes and race promoters that are interested exclusively in their commercial concerns can cause tremendous dissension and dissipation of strength and solidarity in the sport. In this time of rapid expansion, events may be held that are disorganized and dangerous—life and limb could be lost. The resolution to these dangers rests with responsible triathletes and race organizers.

With Illinois being the land of the Special Districts we have the opportunity to see the sport of Triathloning grow in its rightful direction to keep it a challenge that remains highly organized and safe for athletes.

The Crystal Lake Park District introduced the first Triathlon to Illinois in June 1980 as a cooperative venture with our neighboring Woodstock (Continued on p. 46)

Illinois Parks and Recreation 33 May/June 1984

(Cont. from p. 33)

Park District. In our pilot year 190 athletes took part in what grew to be Illinois' largest Triathlon with 500 competitors until last fall when the United States Triathlon Series race at ChicagoFest drew more than 600 enthusiasts.

The Triathlon in Crystal Lake is expected to attract more than 500 athletes this year. It's a unique and exhilarating experience to see this much competition. To date in our event (1/2 mile lake swim, 15 mile bike ride, 5.4 mile run), we've seen Olympic Pentathlon members, winners of our event, go on to the Ironman. It is even more inspiring to see athletes compete just for the sake of proving to themselves that they can make a great effort in the grueling event.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Terry Clarke is a graduate of Western Illinois University with a Bachelor's Degree in Parks and Recreation Administration. He has held the position of Superintendent of Recreation since 1978 with the Crystal Lake Park District.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 46 May/June 1984