12 A2 three in one

CHAPTER 1 Three Sports in One Event THE WORD TRIATHLON IS FROM GREEK. TRI MEANS "THREE" AND ATHLOS IS SOMETHING BIG AND IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED. A triathlon is a very difficult sports competition. A triathlon is three events in one: swimming, cycling, and running. The athletes, called triathletes, compete against each other in each part, or leg, of the competition and in two transition times. The first transition time is when the triathletes go from the water to the bike. The second transition time is from cycling to running. How long is a triathlon? Well, in an Olympic triathlon, competitors swim 1500 meters, cycle 43 kilometers, and run 10 kilometers. That may sound hard, but the famous Ironman triathlons are longer: a 3.8-kilometer swim, 180 kilometers on the bike, and then a full 42-kilometer marathon! The longest triathlon in the world is called the Ultraman World Championship. It is a three-day, 515-kilometer race held on the Big Island of Hawaii.

It takes a lot of strength and endurance to do the Ultraman. Only 35 triathletes are invited to compete each year. The Xterra is a famous off-road triathlon. In off-road triathlons, the cycling and running legs are more difficult than usual. Competitors go through trees, over rocks, logs, and rivers, and up and down mountains. They are never on a road. The competitors need special bikes, and they can't go fast because the course is so difficult.

Triathlons take place all over the world: deserts, mountains, small towns, big cities. One of the most difficult triathlons is the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon in Hardangerfjord, Norway. The triathletes in this competition swim 3.8 kilometers in water that is 15.5 Celsius. After that, they cycle 180 kilometers and then run 42.2 kilometers up a mountain. The last 17.2 kilometers of the mountain run is an extreme climb up to 1,850 meters! The race is so difficult and so dangerous that the competitors cannot go on the mountain alone. They must have helpers follow them in a car with food, water, and clothes. In 2012, Henrik Oftedal of Norway won this competition with the best time in the race's history: 10 hours, 23 minutes, and 24 seconds.

Triathletes compete in age groups. Each man or woman competes against the other athletes in his or her group. Because the competitors are amateurs, they are not in it for money. They practice and compete for many different reasons: to get stronger, to test their endurance, to be healthy, or just to have fun. Some triathletes compete for special reasons. When Jenn Sommermann was 41, her doctor told her she was very sick. Jenn was lucky: she didn't die. But she wanted to get money to help other people who were sick like her. She decided to compete in 50 triathlons in all 50 states in the United States in 2013. She wants to raise $100,000.

CHAPTER 2 The Ironman THE IRONMAN IS THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS TRIATHLON. The first Ironman race took place in 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii. There were 12 competitors, and the winner finished in 11 hours, 46 minutes, and 58 seconds. Today, there are 28 Ironman Triathlons in different places around the world, but the World Ironman Championships are held in Kona, Hawaii. Who first had the idea for an Ironman triathlon? There was already a long bike race, a long swim race, and a marathon in Hawaii, but not all three events together on the same day. In 1977, US Navy Commander John Collins decided to test the strength and endurance of the athletes from these races. He said that a person who can win all three races a 3.8-kilometer swim, a 180-kilometer bike ride, and a 42-kilometer run— is an "Iron Man." In 1982, the Ironman competition became famous. Julie Moss was in first place in the women's race.

A few meters before the end of the race, she fell down, exhausted. Kathleen McCartney won the race, but Moss crawled over the finish line on her hands and knees. There are many other inspiring stories about Ironman competitors. One example is father and son, Dick and Rick Hoyt. Rick has a medical problem, and he can't use his legs or arms. His father pulls Rick in a special boat for the swimming leg. For the biking leg, he carries Rick in a special seat in front of the bicycle. Finally, Dick runs and pushes Rick in a wheelchair in the last leg. They have completed six Ironman Triathlons together.