firstoffthebike.com - Features

The ITU mixed relay, the beginning of the end?

Call it the thin point of the wedge, the tip of the iceberg, or the straw that broke the camel's back but has the inclusion of the triathlon mixed relay into the Commonwealth Games program spelled the end of the traditional Olympic Distance triathlon in major events?

The Triathlon Mixed Relay consists of four athletes: two men and two women, who each complete a short, intense triathlon of a 250m swim, 5km bike and 1.2km run in the order woman, man, woman, man. And with that the face of triathlon has once again been changed. But this is nothing new. The innovators in triathlon have been tinkering with the sport for years. In Australia, the Tooheys Blue series started to mess with the traditional swim/bike/run format. It later graduated and the fix was in.

No longer was triathlon beholden to a template. It could be tweeked. And what's more it made interesting TV. Names like Welch and Bevan started to gain a foothold into the Australian sporting market. But then that fell over and Triathlon Australia imploded for the umpteenth time and the momentum was lost. But the idea wasn't.

But this is different. This time the concept of altering a straight up triathlon (swim/bike/run) has stuck. And not just with a domestic series that was struggling to find a niche next to an all conquering competitor (surf ironman). This time it has been hooked by the Commonwealth Games. And the format seems to gaining momentum all over the world with this year's world tittle attracting teams from all continents.

But what is the appeal of this new style of racing? The answer is simple. It is exciting and it changes pace and personalities often. Two things that are necessary to keep a TV audience engaged. And this may be the underlying catch to the new inclusion. Television, or more importantly the revenue gained from the broadcast rights and advertising, are the key drivers to the modern day world sporting showcases. From the World Cup (soccer) to the Superbowl (think price tags on Superbowl ads) to the Olympic Games, TV rules. Even the inclusion of triathlon to the Olympics was said to based on it being able to get it all done under two hours, hence draft legal.

The other side of this is that the mixed relay does make good TV. With the distances well and truly shaved down and the athletes changing all the time does this new kid on the block have the legs to usurp an event that has become a little predictable? Getting men and women to race together is also a unique proposition and not seen readily on the field of play in the Olympics. There is precedent too of sorts. The kilo (1km time trial on the track) fell victim to BMX at Beijing in 2008. Even the minute it took riders to complete the race was not enough as the more 'X gamed' BMX had shorter races, more characters and more space for ads with the turnover of races.

The ITU lobbied hard for the inclusion of this and now they have it it may be the tipping point for the full version of what is known as the Olympic Distance. And all of this is of course is simple speculation. At the very least the ITU need to be commended for their innovation. There is a viable option to what they have. There wouldn't be a single program in the world upset by the inclusion. More medals generally mean more funding for the sport. It will be an interesting test too to see if Glasgow pick up this event as they can, in 2014. Otherwise it is on to the Gold Coast Australia in 2018.