7/19/07
Triathletes: who are they and why do they do it?
By Konstantin Vengerowsky

Submitted Photo

Lynden Anthony, Konstantin Vengerowsky, Anastasiya Vengerowsky and Oleg Vengerowsky showing off their age, written on everyone’s right leg. The triathletes recently participated in the ‘Tri The Pee Dee’ sprint triathlon, held in Florence on Saturday, July 14.

When people first hear the word triathlon, there are usually one of two responses: either they have never heard of it or they associate it with the Ironman, the longest distance of the sport.

So just what is a triathlon? It’s a multi-sport event that consists of swimming, cycling and running. Competitors perform in each of the following sports back-to-back, without stopping (unless you want to of course).

“It’s pleasing to many people because it allows them to change activities,” said Clarendon Memorial anesthesiologist, triathlete and this reporter’s father and co-competitor Dr. Oleg Vengerowsky. “It’s good cross-training for people who get bored with one activity.”

There is a so-called transition area where participants store their equipment, such as sneakers, bikes, shirts, water bottles and other necessary and sometimes unnecessary things. They use this area to “transition” from their swimming gear, to their bikes and helmets, and finally, to their running sneakers and caps. Every competitor is given a chip that straps around their ankle. This chip activates when an athlete crosses the start line at the swim, and deactivates only when he or she crosses the finish line at the run. That means that time spent in the transition area cannot be wasted, for the clock never stops.

The history of the sport is pretty short lived. The triathlon was relatively unheard of until the mid 1970s when a group of swimmers, cyclists and runners began training together in San Diego’s Mission Bay in Southern California. The first recorded race was held at the same location on September 25,1974, which marks the birthday of the sport.

A common misconception is that there is only one type of distance that exists in triathlon. This is not true, for there are four major types of triathlon competitions.

The longest and most grueling and most famous distance is the Ironman Triathlon. This race includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run. The first Ironman was held in 1978 in Hawaii, which now hosts the annual Ironman World Championship. It takes anywhere from 8 to 17 hours to complete this race. There’s a cutoff time at the 17-hour mark, meaning the distance has to be finished within that time frame.

The next largest distance is the half-Ironman, in which participants swim 1.2 miles, ride 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles.

Clarendon County Controller, Lynden Anthony, who has been competing in triathlons since the mid-1980s, has completed four half-Ironman competitions.

“They are lot of fun, but require much training and focus on nutrition,” he said. “You can’t just say ‘I’m going to do a half-Ironman’, there’s a lot that goes into it.”

A typical half-Ironman is usually completed between 4-7 hours, depending on the level and the experience of the athlete.

Another competitive distance that exists is the Olympic size triathlon, which is the standard distance at the Olympic games: 0.93 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run.

Finally, the shortest distance in the sport is the sprint triathlon. Although the distances in the swim and bike can vary in these competitions, usually the swim is about half a mile, the bike is 13 miles, and the run is 3.1 miles.

I bet your thinking why would anybody want to pay money to exert themselves?

“It seems like a complicated sport, but that’s what attracts many people,” Vengerowsky said. “The challenge is what makes it fun for many people. These are people who have achieved a high level in their career and personal lives and now need something else to put that energy into.”

At a typical triathlon one can see many kinds of interesting people, from CEOs, to doctors, to government officials, politicians, and teachers; the list is endless.

“I was at a triathlon in Virginia where the mayor of Washington D.C. was in participation,” said Vengerowsky. “He had his bodyguards with him the whole time.”

Participating in a sport like the triathlon helps keep a person focused on their goals, while maintaining a set schedule.

“The main reason I compete is I want to stay in shape,” said Anthony. “If I don’t schedule a race every month, I don’t workout. For me, it’s definitely a motivation factor.”

The best part about the sport is there is no age limit. Vengerowsky, 44, and Anthony, 46, are in two of the strongest and most competitive age groups that exist.

“I am not planning on stopping any time soon,” said Anthony.

At a recent competition, where Anthony, Vengerowsky and his family competed, a 77-year-old man posed a challenge to some of the other competitors.

This is definitely the sport that keeps you ageless.

Give it a try, you just might fall in love with it.