Triathlon Mixed Relay Officially Added to Tokyo 2020 Olympics
The ITU revealed today that the triathlon mixed relays have been officially included on the program for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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The ITU revealed today that the triathlon mixed relays have been officially included on the program for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee announced today, June 9, that triathlon mixed relays, basketball 3×3, archery mixed team event, 4×400 mixed relays in athletics, BMX freestyle Park, madison in cycling, team events in fencing, mixed team event in judo, mixed doubles in table tennis and 4x100m medley mixed relay in swimming have been added.
It is big news for the ITU, which has been pushing for the inclusion of the team format in the Olympics since the organization made it a world championship event in 2009.
In August 2020, the Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo will host the third triathlon event during the next Olympics, giving triathletes the possibility to earn another Olympic medal.
“We are absolutely delighted with this decision,” Marisol Casado, President of ITU and IOC Member, said in the press release. “We’ve been pushing for the mixed relays to be included in the program for quite a long time, as it is an event that gives the sport something very important: a sense of team building. But most important, is an event that demonstrates that women and men can compete together but both are equally important to the success of the team.”
“It will be amazing if we could have two opportunities to get a medal at the Olympic Games,” said American Gwen Jorgensen. An Olympic winner herself in Rio 2016, she was one of the first triathletes backing ITU’s proposal.
About Mixed Relays
The mixed relays is one of the most thrilling events in triathlon, with teams of two men and two women completing each a short-course triathlon (300m swim, 8km bike, 2km run) before tagging off to their teammate to take over. With its rapid and unpredictable format, athletes love it and spectators enjoy it both onsite and on television, making it one of the most spectacular formats of the circuit.
The excitement and drama of the mixed relay also makes it a marketable, spectator-friendly discipline that is dramatic viewing for television spectators and digital media.
Read the complete announcement at Triathlon.org