Published August 9, 2010 04:20PM
A total of 64 athletes representing 42 nations from five continents are set to compete at the first-ever Youth Olympic Games, which will open in Singapore on August 14. Among the nations competing, 12 countries have never participated in triathlon in the Olympic Games, demonstrating the growing diversity of the sport among youth across the world.
The number of countries representing each continent are as follows: 16 from Europe, 13 from America, 8 from Asia, 3 from Africa and 2 from Oceania. The 12 countries with athletes racing in Singapore that have never participated in the past three editions of the Olympic Games are: Namibia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand, Croatia, Israel, and Slovenia. Click here to see the complete men’s start list, and here to see the women’s.
Marisol Casado, President of ITU and IOC Member said:
“Global sport development has long been a priority of ITU and the list of countries competing at the Youth Olympic Games demonstrates ITU’s success at bringing the sport to emerging nations. The Team ITU Elite Athlete Development Program and ITU Sport Development Camps have been vital to bringing triathlon to more places than ever before and we’re very excited about the continued success of these programs in the future.”
The triathlon events at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games will be held in Singapore’s East Coast Park, the largest and most popular of Singapore’s public beaches. The women’s event will take place on the first day of the Games, at 9am on 15 August. As the opening event of the games, the winner of the women’s contest will be awarded the first-ever Youth Olympic Games gold medal. The men’s race will take place on the following day, 16 August. Athletes competing in both the men’s and women’s races will complete a sprint-distance triathlon (750-meter swim, 20K bike, 5K run).
A 4 x mixed relay triathlon will take place on 19 August, marking the first time the format has been featured at a Major Games. Teams will be made up of two women and two men, with each Continental Federation fielding at least one team. Each of the four participants in the relay will compete a 250-meter swim, 7K bike and 1.7K run before tagging a team member to begin the next segment.