A Look At LA’s Potential 2024 Olympic Triathlon Course
Long Beach was chosen as an Olympic Venue Site due to its unique layout that would make for a great triathlon course.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
In late January, the city of Los Angeles submitted to the International Olympic Committee its third and final candidature file to host the 2024 Olympics. It is now narrowed down to the Southern California city and Paris. The 127 page file lays out how Los Angeles would deliver the games, explaining everything from venue cities and structures, to time between venues, ticket prices, cost to build and more. Of course prior to the submission, the city had to choose the nearby cities that would host many of the events, known as Olympic Venue Sites. Long Beach was one such city, and one of the reasons it was chosen was due to its unique layout that would make for a great triathlon course.
Influenced by the ITU’s desire to have a spectator friendly circuit style course similar to the one used in Rio, Long Beach fits the bill. The downtown waterfront, which would also hold sailing and open-water swimming events, is an easy place to start the race with its open venue, easy access to the Pacific ocean and ability to accommodate 2,500 people in stands. (Tickets would expected to be around $65. That’s about twice the going price in Rio, but still a good deal to watch the world’s best triathletes race for glory.)
But most interesting is Long Beach’s unique bike and run course proposal. Since 1975, the Long Beach Grand Prix car race has been held through the streets of the downtown. The 1.9-mile course passes by the waterfront and winds around the Long Beach Convention Center. The bike and run will be set along parts of this course, making it spectator friendly since an estimated 100,000 people will be able to stand and watch the event along various spots on the course. Even with the use of existing infrastructure, the venue is expected to cost 5.4 million dollars to build.
Another Long Beach bonus is the easy access from other key areas. The city is only a 40 minute ride from the airport and 45 minutes from the proposed Athlete Village in Los Angeles.
In September of this year, the winner will be announced. If the games come to Los Angeles, start planning your trip to watch the world’s best compete for the ultimate prize.