Triathlon was invented in the early 1970s by the San Diego Track Club, as an alternative workout to the rigours of track training. The club's first event consisted of a 10km run, an 8km cycle and a 500 metre swim.

Over the next decade, triathlon grew by leaps and bounds and soon gained recognition throughout the world. In early April 1989, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was founded at the first Congress in Avignon, France, the very city that hosted the first official world championships on August 6 later that year. ITU has maintained its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada since then. Triathlon was awarded full medal Olympic status in 1994.

The official distance for Olympic triathlon was set at a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 40-kilometer bike and a 10-kilometer run - taken from existing events in each discipline already on the Olympic programme. This standard distance is used for the ITU World Cup series and was also featured at the Sydney Olympic Games.

Since 1989, the sport has grown rapidly and now has over 120 affiliated National Federations around the world.

As at the conclusion of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games