Culture

Now that we’re about halfway through the triathlon season, we asked the editors of Triathlete and Inside Triathlon magazines: What has been your favorite moment in triathlon so far this season?

Monday’s announcement of the new HITS Triathlon race series instantly introduced athletes to 12 new race options starting in December.

The man they call Macca still has work to do if he's going to qualify for Australia's 2012 London Olympic team.

The world’s largest iron distance triathlon, Challenge Roth, has sold out in record time since entries opened this week.

Germany's Michael Raelert will not race in this weekend's Ironman European Championships, due to a hip injury that has plagued him on and off throughout the year.

When Australian Melissa Rollison won Muncie 70.3 two weeks ago, we thought, “hmm, interesting.” But when she went 4:09 at Vineman 70.3 to beat a stacked field including Leanda Cave and Mirinda Carfrae we thought, “wait, who the hell is this girl?”

Senior editor Jené Shaw recently drove across the U.S. to explore the thriving communities of triathletes in all parts of the country. If you ever plan to take a road trip, there are a few things she recommends for the drive.

Danish pro Rasmus Henning, a two-time Olympian and the winner of the 2010 Challenge Roth, will now be coached by San Francisco-based Matt Dixon of Purplepatch Fitness. Henning and his coach of 12 years Michael Krüger parted ways amicably.

After her threepeat win at the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis on Saturday, American Sarah Haskins, one of the top ITU racers gunning for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team shares why she likes racing non-drafting races, how things are different in an Olympic-qualifying year and how she’s preparing for racing at the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series race in London on Aug. 6.

Emma Moffatt, Snowsill and Jackson put Australia back on the map in a breakthrough race for the country.

Josiah Middaugh and Shonny Vanlandingham lived up to their reputations as great climbers in the thin air of the Rockies by winning the XTERRA Mountain Championship on a beautiful blue sky day at Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, Colo.

WCS Hamburg is marked by a day of breakthroughs, including that of Chris McCormack

Check out Kurt Hoy's author page.

The Xterra Mountain Championship takes place this Saturday at Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, the last of six regionals in the Xterra America Tour. Up for grabs: $10,500 in prize money for pros and 41 amateur qualifying spots into October’s Xterra World Championship in Maui.

You can expect the return of some familiar 70.3 series faces for the 2011 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, but don’t count out some Ironman-focused pros who will race this year’s 70.3 worlds in lead up to Kona.

Canada's Melanie McQuaid is taking the challenge to a unique level by competing in two very difficult races: the XTERRA Mountain Championships in Colorado on Saturday (July 16) and the Vineman Ironman 70.3 triathlon in California on Sunday (July 17).

The ITU’s premier Dextro Energy World Championship Series could see some shakeups in its rankings this weekend, as some of the biggest names in the sport are choosing to sit Hamburg out.

Two-time Ironman world champion Normann Stadler underwent heart surgery on July 4 in Heidelberg, Germany, according to a press release from Team Commerzbank.

Next weekend’s Avia Vineman Ironman 70.3 race has a stellar lineup of pros—with world champions among them.

A participant passed away while competing in Sunday's Challenge Roth Triathlon in Roth, Germany.

In today's Triathlete.com Poll we want to know: who is your favorite to qualify for an Olympic spot in London next month?

Cape Town's Love Water Love is the ooh-la-la boutique brand for Bond girls everywhere. Inspired by colors, patterns, and textures, LWL designers have rolled out a flirtatious 2011 line that's meant to mix and match; choose from trendy prints, one-shoulder designs, mono-kinis, and suits with cut-outs to put together the perfect suit to show it off this summer.

Being a professional triathlete is truly a dream job—but it’s still a job.

Third place finisher at the 2010 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, Magali Tisseyre, cinched her fourth 70.3 win while dentist and pro triathlete, David Kahn, took the men’s title, despite having added the race to his schedule only a few weeks ago.

Swiss athletes Ronnie Schildknecht and Karin Thürig turned in fast marathons to take the victories at their home race of Ironman Switzerland.

Since Roth, Germany, started hosting iron-distance events in 1988, both male and female pros have broken eight hours nine times on Roth’s course. Make that ten; both Andreas Raelert and Chrissie Wellington set new world records today, at 7:41:33 and 8:18:13 respectively.

Germany's Andreas Raelert made his Challenge Roth debut by breaking the world record for fastest iron-distance race. His time of 7:41:33 came thanks to a 46:18 swim, a 4:11:43 bike and a 2:40:52 run.

Americans Ben Hoffman and Melissa Rollison took the titles at today’s Ironman 70.3 Muncie race in Muncie, Ind.

Americans Matt Reed and Sarah Haskins win in Minneapolis for the third year in a row.

A short list of some of the potential medal contenders for 2012—and those who could upset the status quo.

CNN Fit Nation 6 Pack team member Kas Seerla joins Dr. Sanjay Gupta on his show to talk about the challenges of tackling open-water swimming.

Belgium’s Marino Vanhoenacker crushed the record for fastest Ironman by going 7:45:58 to take his sixth-straight Ironman Austria victory on Sunday, July 3. The former record of 7:50:27 was set by fellow Belgian Luc Van Lierde back in 1997. Triathlete.com chatted with Vanhoenacker after his record-breaking performance to find out how he felt heading into the race and the plan as heads into the 2011 Ironman World Championship.

Chris McCormack appeared on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” last month to discuss the notion of pushing the body to the limits with Dr. Oz. In the interview, host Bob Ley asks Macca about the mindset of “if you’re not injured, you’re not training hard enough.”

Meet the CNN Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge 6-Pack—a group of six newbie triathletes currently training for the Nautica New York City Triathlon held August 7.

Canada’s Simon Whitfield has a gold medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics and a silver from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

At Agua Bendita, the difference is in the details … lots of details. Handmade in Colombia (of Spanish materials), Agua Bendita's line of boutique swimwear has flare to spare. Highlights for 2011 include animal prints, Earth tones, and embellishments galore. Consider it recovery wear for the week after Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico or, in this case, Ironman South Africa.

A memorial 5K is taking place in Tempe, Ariz. on Saturday, Dec. 10. All proceeds will benefit the Sally Meyerhoff Foundation—an organization dedicated to providing shoes and clothing for the less fortunate.

"The world’s largest iron-distance triathlon” is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. Challenge Roth will take place on July 10th, 2011 with over 3,300 athletes and 600 relay teams from 61 countries.

Set your DVRs to record these Ironman events this month.

With the recent additions of Ironman Mont-Tremblant and Ironman U.S. Championship (aka IMNYC) to the northeast area, rumors have been circulating that the close-by Ironman Lake Placid may cease to exist after 2012.

Rasmus Petraeus pulled off a small upset at the inaugural KMD Challenge Aarhus today.

Belgium’s Marino Vanhoenacker crushed the record for fastest Ironman by going 7:56:58 at today’s Ironman Austria triathlon.

Lukas Verzbicas to compete in the Junior World Championships in honor of his good friend, elite triathlete Kevin McDowell, who is battling Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Flying to a triathlon next month? Good news: In celebration of the 2011 Tour de France, all bike fees will be waived on JetBlue flights for the month of July.

Almost halfway through the Series, professional triathletes Alicia Kaye (USA) and Andy Potts (USA) are the current points leaders.

Was Harry Wiltshire working to deter Javier Gomez's race in order to benefit his British teammates, Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee?

More than 1,000 competitors will take part in the event.

Tomorrow’s Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon, an Olympic-distance race in the Life Time Fitness Series, features the strongest pro field in the race’s seven-year history.

Nothing could keep Alistair Brownlee (GBR) from retaining the European Championship, not even technical difficulties.

Emmie Charayron (FRA) once again reigned supreme as a European champion, this time in the women's elite division at the 2011 ETU European Triathlon Championships.

The Philadelphia Insurance is adding extra safety measures after an athlete drowned at last year's event.

Today at the offices of Philadelphia Insurance, the 100 company employees who are racing the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon this weekend were treated to a lunchtime panel Q&A with pros Andy Potts and Tyler Butterfield, and challenged athletes Willie Stewart and Scout Bassett.

Colorado's Peak-to-Peak Highway bike ride is a popular route for triathlon celebrities such as Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington.

Chicago's Leon's Triathlon will be broadcast for viewers on Comcast channels throughout the country.

It depends who you ask.

ACHIEVE Kids Tri Inc. has launched a 2011 summer program that allows kids to experience the swim/bike/run lifestyle.

Triathlon was one of the first London 2012 events to sell out in the public ticket allocation process, however there are still many free to view areas along the course for spectators, ensuring the event will be one of the most memorable of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

On Sunday, Sarah Groff of Hanover, N.H., became the first American woman to ever podium at an ITU Dextro Energy World Championship Series event by coming in third at the series’ race in Kitzbühel, Austria.

WTC has announced a partnership with the United States Marine Corps. As part of the deal, September's 70.3 world championship race in Henderson, Nev. will now be known as the Marine Corps Ironman World Championship 70.3.

Enjoy the following gallery of Tim O’Donnell, which features some outtakes from our photo shoot with him in Tucson, Ariz.