Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics
| Triathlon at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | |
 | |
| Venue | Hyde Park |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4 August 2012, 7 August 2012 |
| Competitors | 110 from 37 nations |
| Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics |
|---|
| Events |
| men women |
The Triathlon competitions at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London, were held in Hyde Park. The women's was on Saturday 4 August and the men's on Tuesday 7 August. A total of 110 athletes, 55 men and 55 women, competed.[1] Triathlon made its debut at the Summer Olympics during the 2000 Games in Sydney; the six gold medallists to date have come from six different nations.[1]
Format and venue
The Olympic triathlon contains three components; a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) swim, 43 km (27 mi) cycle, and a 10 km (6.2 mi) run.[2] The competitions take the form of a single event between all competitors with no heats.[1]
Both the men's and women's events took place in Hyde Park, one of the eight Royal Parks of London.[1][3] The swim took place in the Serpentine which had a pontoon constructed to act as the start.[4] The cycle involved athletes leaving the park via Queen Mother's Gate, travelling through Wellington Arch, down Constitution Hill and on to Birdcage Walk in front of Buckingham Palace before returning to the park to complete the event with a four lap run around the Serpentine.[4]
A temporary 3,000-capacity seating area was constructed in the park in June 2012 and a three-metre-high temporary fence surrounded the events.[4] It was the first games where triathletes had to serve penalties in a box, having previously just had the time added on at the end of the race. The time in the penalty box was taken at some point on the run section.[5]
Qualification
The qualification period ran from 1 June 2010 to 31 May 2012. Triathletes for each gender qualified at the end of this period. Points were awarded based on finishes in a range of international events and athletes could use their best 14 results for their Olympic qualification – six from the first year and eight from the second.[6][7]
Qualification events had four different levels with points awarded on a sliding scale. Level one events carried 1000 points for the winner and were the World Championship grand finals in 2010 and 2011 as well as the Olympic qualification event in 2011. There were 800 points available to the winner of the ten World Championship series events held over the qualifying period, 500 points for the level three World Cups and 400 points for the level four Continental Championships. In all races athletes must finish in the top 50 and within 5% of the winner's time, for men's races, and 8% for women's races.[6]
Thirty-nine athletes qualified via the ranking, next to the 5 continental champions and the top 3 in the International Qualifying Event, held in London on 6–7 August 2011. In the end, a further 5 places were distributed to countries without any quota.[8]
Schedule
All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1). All event times are subject to change.[9]
| Event | Date | Start Time |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Triathlon | 4 August | 9:00 |
| Men's Triathlon | 7 August | 11:30 |
Medal summary
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's individual |
 Alistair BrownleeGreat Britain (GBR) |
 Javier Gómez NoyaSpain (ESP) |
Jonathan Brownlee Great Britain (GBR) |
| Women's individual |
 Nicola SpirigSwitzerland (SUI) |
 Lisa NordénSweden (SWE) |
 Erin DenshamAustralia (AUS) |
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Spain | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Sweden | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Australia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Triathlon". London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ↑ "London 2012 Olympics: triathlon guide". The Daily Telegraph. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ↑ "Hyde Park". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "London Olympic events approved for Hyde Park Serpentine". BBC Sport. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ↑ Sherwood, Merryn (8 April 2011). "One year to go until Triathlon at the London 2012 Olympic Games". Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "London 2012 Olympics qualifying: Triathlon". BBC Sport. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ↑ "ITU Olympic Qualification List Criteria 2010–2012". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ↑ "2012 London Tri NZ Triathlon Olympics Elite Selection Policy". Triathlon New Zealand Inc. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
- ↑ "Olympic sport competition schedule – London 2012". london2012.com. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
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