triathletes are not real athletes

i know several top athletes with backgrounds as diverse as swimming, track, triple jump and rugby who have turned to triathlon for something more challenging and interesting; some have gone on to do very well, some not; i agree with your comment on the gadgets but otherwise what you suggest is no different to saying most marathoners are mainly endurance freaks who didn't succeed at sprinting - so they are not real athletes

not always true. paul amey just ran 1:05:33 at the AFC 1/2-marathon

here in san diego.

/mdkail[

thoner, you are a moron. if you consider someone who could do ANYTHING as challenging as an Ironman a non-athlete, then you have s*** for brains. You couldn't complete one in a week if you got a ride.

Ding ding ding, we've found our dumbass on the week.

Hey Thoner. Take my tri bike, I'll take my mountain bike, we'll enter a triathlon together (you pick the distance) and we'll see who's the better athlete.

It's real hard to put one foot in front of the other. I guess you're real proud of being able to do that.

funny, b/c a week or so ago, there was an article about lance armstrong not being an athlete, and we all determined that guy was an ass. but lance started out as a triathlete!! so they must be athletes..dont you think? i also happen to know a really good triathlete around here, and he was a college swimmer. running is his worst event and he can still break 30 min for an 8k, which i think is great for someone who doesnt consider himself a hardcore runner.

Darn it, bike, run, or swim - but not all together. We do not combine baseball, football, and basketball together.

I guess you guys would rather be average at three things rather than be good at one.

p.s. real runners can't swim

Look at the elite marathon runners and the elite ironmen. Ironmen are much more muscular. Triathlons require strength as well as endurance. Just because one can crank out a sub 2:20 marathon doesn't mean he can do that after swimming (which whips your shoulders and chest) and then holding up a bike for hours (not to mention the toll it takes on the legs.) The transition from running to triathlons involves much more than just carrying over your running skills.

thoner,

While Freddie nailed it perfectly, I will add some more stuff.

There are many types of sports which have the ability to determine a great athlete. Obviously Michael Jordan can't play baseball, and Kansas City Chief's Tony Gonzales can't play basketball although for some reason he thinks he can, but they are great athletes, and their "good" sport helps determine that. Even if your contention is true that triathletes just couldn't make it in one of the individual sports (which I don't think is true), I say SO WHAT?! If someone is just a hair shy of being world class in running, swimming and cycling but can put them all together and then be world class in the triathlon, then that makes them world class in the triathlon. Some world class swimmers couldn't run a 5 minute mile to save their lives, and the same goes for some world class cyclists.

The reason there are so many different sports is because we all have our own strengths. I'm betting you won't be taking a Mensa test anytime soon for example, but you really just wanted to garner a reaction, and you really don't believe what you posted, so my minor insult is really not one at all. Enjoy your trolldom.

I think the fact that "real runners can't swim" is what makes the triathlon so cool. You have to play a balancing game between being big enough to swim 1-2 miles, and also run 10-20 miles. Not easy. Then throw in the technical skills on a bike, and you've got yourself a real sport.

I think that triathlon works as a blend of the three sports because all three require extreme endurance, but from different muscles in the body. Basically, it's the perfect test of overall endurance fitness.

I just did my first triathlon a few weeks ago. Ridiculously hard, but also really fun.

Don't criticize what you don't understand, boy.

Stepay wrote:

thoner,

Obviously Michael Jordan can't play baseball, and Kansas City Chief's Tony Gonzales can't play basketball although for some reason he thinks he can,

I know Jordan wasn't a quality major leaguer but I thought he held his own when he played baseball - much better than I thought he'd be considering the different skill requirements of the games.

Um, didn't somebody already create a post about this topic a week or so ago?

If someone wants to swim, bike, and run in the same competition and they can do all of those well, hell go for it. Triathletes, especially those who compete in Ironman, deserve appreciation and respect.

Oh, and by the way, saying real runners can't swim is bullshit. Some are excellent swimmers, and some can hardly make one length of the pool without running out of energy. Everyone here has various other skills or talents besides being able to run an insane amount of mileage. It's hard enough to be appreciated for distance running in this country, there's no need to criticize just to make yourself feel like a superior athlete.

This topic has been discussed to death already, time to move on.

big difference between a huge ass swim, marathon, and 100+ mile bike ride and a tri, not saying one is better than the other but don't get them confused. Also, although I don't totally agree with thoner, I think he means most triathletes, not all. If you are up there with the best of the world it's a different story. But why not concentrate on one sport as to not be mediocre in 3 and finish mid way in a triathalon?

Let me see if understand correctly--If you can't be world class at a sport or at least finish near the top in every race, you're mediocre and should move on. I guess by that standard, about 99% of the people on this board should change sports and take up lawn darts since we're not going to be running in the Golden League soon or getting single-digit race numbers at Chicago or NY. By further extension, every person who doesn't immediately win should hang up there equipment and do something else.

Whatever happened to doing the best you can do on a given day, enjoying what you do, and letting other people do whatever makes 'em happy?

Oops, I meant "their" equipment. I guess I should stop posting since I'm not the best speller on the board.

Using the same logic we could then say the decathlon is not a sport and decathletes are not athletes. Umm... WRONG.

thnor: Your a JERK!! Triathletes and duathletes are very much real athletes. Let me tell you from experience buddy that finishing a tri or a dua are much harder then any running race. If you have never done either then I suggest you shut your mouth because you don't know what the hell you are talking about!! Lance Armstrong was a triathlete. I bet he could kick your butt running any day!!

I would say they are better athletes, thoner I bet you can't even run a sub 32 10k fresh, you should check out the results of the last olympic international distance triatholon.