What is aquathlon?

Aquathlon is an endurance sport which can be best described as a minified version of a triathlon. In Aquathlon, unlike triathlon, athletes after completing the swimming phase of the race, directly move on to the running phase. In aquathlon, the biking leg of the race in between swim and run, that takes place in a triathlon, is eliminated.

Aquathlon originated in the United States in the mid 20th century, with an intent to get away with bikes, as it posed logistical problems for organizers, in transportation of bikes and designing courses for the biking leg that are longer than the other two stages.

Aquathlon races vary based on distance, some of the formats used are, Olympic - 1 mile swim and 6.2 mile run, Half Ironman - 1.2 mile swim and 13.1 mile run, and Ironman - 2.4 mile swim and 26.2 mile run. Few local level time-based competitions are also conducted, where athletes swim for a fixed time (10 or 20 mins), and then run for a fixed time (30 or 45 mins).

ITU Aquathlon World Championships is the highest level annual international event that is held exclusively for aquathlon. All aquathlon races are conducted for both men and women.