Triathlon history dates back to the early 1970s and originated with the San Diego Track Club. The triathlon was designed to be an alternative to hard track training. The first triathlon event was held on September 25th 1974 on Mission Bay in San Diego. It was directed and conceived by Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan and sponsored by the San Diego Track Club. It welcomed 46 athletes. The triathlon then comprised a 10 km run, 8 km cycle and 500 meter swim. Triathlon’s foundations had been set!

In 1978, during the awards ceremony for a Hawaii running race, a debate ensued among competitors about who is more fit -- swimmers, runners or other athletes. One of the participants, Navy Commander John Collins and his wife Judy, dreamed up a race to settle the argument. They proposed combining three existing races together, to be completed in succession: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 miles), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (112 miles, originally a two-day event) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles). "Whoever finishes first we’ll call the Ironman," said Collins. Fifteen men participated in the initial event held on February 18; 12 completed the race, led by the first Ironman, Gordon Haller. His winning time: 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds.

Only 12 men completed the first race held in January of 1978. In 1979, 13 men and one woman crossed the finish line. But a sports illustrated article by Barry McDermott in May 1979 increased the 1980 field into hundreds. In 1982, the dramatic footage of Julie Moss crawling on her hands and knees to a second-place finish at Ironman, triggered an explosion of interest. The same year also witnessed the birth of Triathlon Magazine, the sport’s first national publication; the founding of the U.S. Triathlon Association (later named USA Triathlon), triathlon’s national governing body; and the U.S. triathlon Series, the first national racing series.

In 1989, after several failed attempts, triathlon formed an international governing body. Twenty-five nations were represented at the founding congress of the International Triathlon Union in April in Avignon, France. The Ironman World Championship in Hawaii may be triathlon’s most recognizable event, but the international distance is the sport’s most popular. The 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, and 10 km run is triathlon’s international standard and the format used at the triathlon world championship and eventually the Olympics. The 1980s also saw the development of the "sprint distance" triathlon, which is about half the distance of an international distance race.

In 1991, the International Olympics Committee recognized the ITU as the sole governing body for the sport of triathlon at its 97th session in Birmingham, England. In 1993 the Pan American Games approved triathlon for competition at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The first Goodwill Games Triathlon was held in St. Petersburg, Russia on July 23, 1994. Then in September of 1994, triathlon was named to the Olympic program as a medal sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. The first Olympic triathlons were held on Sept. 16-17, 2000 in Sydney, Australia. Switzerland's Brigitte McMahon won the women's race and Canada's Simon Whitfield won the men's race.

This sport has spread and become popular all over the world. Many triathlons are held all over the world.

And this is for the first time that an International Triathlon event is being held in India.