Wednesday, September 25, 1974 – the day Triathlon could have died!

The organic myth of early triathletes as hard-charging, devil-may-care, beach bums may have some merit, but four years before Ironman was even conceived two men Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan; sponsored by the San Diego Track Club held the first ever triathlon at Mission Bay in San Diego, USA, on Wednesday, September 25, 1974 at 5.45pm. The race consisted of a 500 yard swim; 5 mile bike ride and a 6 mile run and it was 46 eager contenders paid the $1 entry fee and toed the line with the race being won by Bill Phillips in a time of 55.44. Prior to the race the trophy-maker called Jack Johnson and asked him how to spell TRIATHLON as he could find no such word in any dictionary.

So how did the first ever triathlon come about?

In 1971 at the age of 35, Jack Johnson was an avid participant in the ‘Jogging Craze’ which swept across American soil at the time. Growing increasingly disgusted with his ever-expanding waistline and general physical deterioration he took to competing in road races with little success. Then in 1973 he heard about a Biathlon being staged with a 200m swim and a 4.5 mile run. With a college swimming background he thought that was his type of race and after completing the race made it into the top ten. Thinking there should be more of these races but with a longer swim he toyed with the idea of a organising a run-swim biathlon with equal emphasis on the two disciplines thinking he would have more success in this type of event. He designed a course, and approached  Bill Stock, Chairman of the San Diego Track Club who put in touch with Don Shanahan who also had some similar event in mind in order for them to combine ideas – in reality it was to reduce the number of ‘wacky; race ideas springing up. Don Shanahan wanted a bike leg and even though Jack Johnson did not own a bike let alone ride one, he thought what the heck – lets go for it!  Both agreed on the format of the race and called the three discipline event, ‘Mission Bay Triathlon’.

One has to marvel at those 46 eager contenders who raced in Mission Bay Triathlon in 1974. They were not triathletes, there was no such thing at the time. None were into cross-training as that term was not yet coined. Most did not own a racing bikes and on the day used whatever they could lay their hands on, racing on 3 speed beach cruisers to top end – yet primitive – 10 speed Volkcycles. Most were marginal swimmers at best, yet they had the adventurous spirit to come out after a hard days work and with only two weeks notice participate in a new athletic event. If it weren’t for those brave 46 amateur enthusiasts the new sport of Triathlon may have died on that cloudy evening on Mission Bay.

What follows is the story of the beginnings of a new sport that has risen to Olympic sport status featuring for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in Australia. Since then the sport has grown in popularity. In fact no other sport achieved Olympic status in such a short time. Since it inception at Mission Bay, triathlon has grown by leaps and bounds and has gained recognition worldwide. 

In 1989, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded in Avignon, France and the first official world championships were held. The official distance for triathlon was set at 1500m swim, a 40k cycle and a 10km run – taken from existing events in each discipline already on the Olympic programme. The International Triathlon Union (ITU) is structured into 5 continental regions, through which the national federations (the governing body of triathlon in each country) are affiliated to the ITU:

ASTC – Asian Triathlon Confederation representing 35 national federations

ATU –  African Triathlon Union representing 37 national federations

ETUA – European Triathlon Union representing 35 national federations 

PATCO – Pan American Triathlon Confederation representing 40 national federations 

OTU – Oceania Triathlon Union representing 13 national national federations.

And to think that less than 50 years ago a trophy-maker was asking ‘ how do you spell TRIATHLON’ as he could find no such word in any dictionary.