COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee today announced the competition schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, confirming the dates for the men’s individual, women’s individual and mixed relay triathlon events. The men’s event will take place on Monday, July 27, the women will race the following day on Tuesday, July 28, and the mixed relay is set for Saturday, Aug. 1.
All triathlon events will take place at Odaiba Marine Park. The individual events are Olympic-distance, as athletes will cover a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run.
Mixed relay will feature as a medal event on the Olympic program for the first time, allowing triathletes the opportunity to earn two medals at a single Olympic Games. In this fast-paced, spectator-friendly format, teams are comprised of two men and two women from the same country. Each athlete will complete a 300m swim, 7.5k bike and 1.5k run before tagging off to the next teammate, with the fastest combined time winning the race.
The U.S. is the 2016 ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay world champion and the 2017 world silver medalist. Last weekend at the 2018 ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships, the U.S. team of Kirsten Kasper (North Andover, Mass.), Ben Kanute (Phoenix, Ariz.), Katie Zaferes (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Kevin McDowell (Phoenix, Ariz.) earned the bronze medal. For more about triathlon mixed relay's inclusion on the Olympic program, click here.
“Two years out from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, USA Triathlon’s Olympic hopefuls are well-positioned for success in the individual events. In addition, we expect to be in the hunt for medals in the new mixed relay event,” said John Farra, USA Triathlon’s High Performance General Manager. “As we gear up for 2020, USA Triathlon’s high performance coaches will work with our top-performing athletes to prepare them for the unique experience of competing both individually in Olympic-distance competition and as a team in the super-sprint relay format.”
Triathlon was first added to the Olympic program for the Sydney 2000 Games. The U.S. earned its first Olympic triathlon medal in 2004 in Athens, when Susan Williams won bronze in the women’s event. The first gold medal for a U.S. triathlete came at Rio 2016, when Gwen Jorgensen broke the tape with a 40-second margin of victory over Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig.
The 30 Olympic triathlon medals awarded to date have been split between 13 countries, emphasizing the strength of the sport worldwide. Jorgensen, Spirig and Great Britain’s Vicky Holland made up the women’s podium in 2016. On the men’s side, British brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee took gold and silver respectively, while South Africa’s Henri Schoeman earned bronze.
A total of 110 athletes — 55 men and 55 women — will compete at Tokyo 2020, with a maximum of three men and three women per country. Each country’s relay team will be comprised of two men and two women who are qualified for the individual events. The Olympic qualification period for individual athletes began on Saturday, May 12, while the team relay qualification period began with the first stop of the ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series in Nottingham, England, on June 7.
To view the complete schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, visit tokyo2020.org/en. The program will feature a record 33 sports and 339 events, and will run from July 24-Aug. 9. The competition schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will be announced at a later date.
About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 events and connects with more than 400,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches, and race directors on the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).