Format

Last edited on 05/01/13 at 6:44 pm

The official team format adopted for ITU for its World Championships is the Mixed Relay. Each team comprises of two men and two women. Each athlete completes a super-sprint triathlon of swimming, biking and running, before tagging off to their next team mate.

Format
1st Women: swim, bike, run
2nd Man: swim, bike, run
3rd Women: swim, bike, run
4th Man: swim, bike, run

The relay exchange from one team member to another is completed inside the ‘Relay Zone’, which is 15 meters long. The relay exchange is completed by the in-coming athlete, using their hand to contact the body of the out-going athlete within the relay zone.

The order of the team members is fixed, with the first and third team members being women, while the second and fourth members are the men. Each nation is free to decide the make-up of its team.

The distances of the course may vary slightly depending on the exact layout, but they are usually between a 200 to 250 meter swim, a 5 to 6.6 km bike and a 1.2 to 1.6km run, for each athlete.

The entire duration of the race usually lasts about 75 minutes depending on the exact course layout, with an athlete’s individual triathlon lasting approximately 18-20 minutes