How to qualify for the Olympics

This week, Kelly & Tim do an episode on a whole bunch of things: The rules around what constitutes an actual Ironman World Record — and why Magnus Ditlev’s 7:19:17 is the fastest time ever recorded but isn’t an “official” record.Plus, follow-ups from last week’s episode on Hyrox + World Triathlon, what it takes to get into the Olympics, the T100 races getting moved in the Middle East, and varsity college triathlon championships being turned into a duathlon. Will it ever be approved as a fully NCAA sport?Listen and follow Triathlonish on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch the show on Youtube.* (00:42) - Follow-ups from last week: What did we (or didn’t we) miss in our Hyrox episode and how sports actually get into the Olympics* (12:38) - One more follow-up on the New York Marathon: And a woman died during the race and was rhabdo to blame?* (18:45) - T100’s move to Dubai from Saudi Arabia* (25:49) - David Tilbury-Davis on the business decisions athletes should be making and how that may affect T100* (41:00) - Does T100 have a Mid East problem?* (45:32) - The NEW Ironman World Record at Ironman Florida, why doesn’t Ironman recognize official records — and what the hell is going on with all the records dropping??* (57:17) - Challenge Xiamen and the ever present debate over pacing and drafting from the camera motos * (1:03:07) - Bad Week/Good Week and NCAA championship triathlon This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com

Last week, World Triathlon announced its official partnership with Hyrox and the creation of “hybrid racing” as a discipline under World Tri. This puts hybrid racing on the pathway to inclusion in the Olympic & Paralympic movement, and puts governance of the new-ish sport under World Triathlon’s purview.What does that actually mean though? And why would World Tri make this move? Why would Hyrox?We dive into the context and history, look at the numbers, talk to people involved, and try to get more answers about the actual structure and motivations.Listen and follow Triathlonish on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch the show on Youtube.* (1:09) - First we have follow-ups from previous episodes: on the WNBA (for some reason), crash reports from races, and any 2028 70.3 Worlds rumors.* (10:15) - Hyrox and World Triathlon officially announced their partnership agreement this week. WE TOLD YOU THIS WAS COMING. Will Hyrox now be in the Olympics?* (20:08) - Understanding the guy behind Hyrox and his long history of ties in triathlon as a high-level operator — and why that progression makes this move make a little more sense.* (23:27) - A quick dive into the Hyrox numbers* (29:38) - What World Triathlon told us about how the partnership will work: What will change (national federations to operate “hybrid racing” national championships, regulatory structures, new distances) & what won’t change (Hyrox World Champs, Hyrox events)* (43:23) - A chat with Dan Plews — expert coach, record-setting age-group triathlon racer and now record-setting age-group Hyrox racer. What is the cross-over physiologically and among his athletes? Does it make sense?* (55:45) - Our takeaways: Placing this move within the larger context of shifts in the fitness and endurance sports markets* (1:04:47) - Bad Week/Good Week This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com

Is Olympic triathlon less competitive than World Triathlon Championship Series races? Is it getting even less competitive? Tim says yes, Kelly says no. Or, at least, that’s maybe the point of the Olympics.Today, we dive into absolutely everything you need (or don’t need) to know about earning LA28 points and rankings, how countries get their Olympic triathlon spots — it’s more complicated than you think — and why the mixed relay plus the new quota allocations has made the available rankings spots even tighter.And, then some speculation about countries’ potential qualification processes, what we expect to happen, and the history of thorny qualification situations.Did we get something wrong? Has there actually been a successful appeal of the discretionary selection process? Let us know at [email protected] and follow Triathlonish on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch the show on Youtube. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com

This week, Race Ranger CEO and co-founder James Elvery talks to Tim about how the blinking lights draft detection technology works and how it could work in the future.Then, we get into absolutely everything about the problem that plagues triathlon: drafting and draft packs. What are the drafting rules on the bike. Is it really a problem? Pro drafting v. age-group drafting. (One of those two is un-solveable.) And how Race Ranger works technologically and psychologically to maybe possibly potentially deter athletes from drafting.Listen and follow Triathlonish on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch the show on Youtube.* (1:59) - Just a few last follow-ups from Kona: the DNF rates, the age-group feedback, and how much money should pros be paid.* (16:48) - The drafting debate: Is drafting in non-draft triathlon that big a problem?* (22:14) - James Elvery on the details of Race Ranger in the pro fields* (43:23) - What the data shows, how the pros feel, and the Zajonc Model of Social Facilitation* (54:40) - James Elvery on bringing Race Ranger to age-groupers* (1:10:58) - Will it work?* (1:16:56) - Bad Week/Good Week This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com

The day after the race, Sid joins us for a behind-the-scenes broadcast perspective from here in Kona. We dissect:* The wild women’s race: Should Ironman have a procedure or policy for when athletes collapse? Did we learn nothing from last year?* Vince Luis’ epic retirement — first and final Kona. Drop the mic and leave.* All of your on-the-ground questions: * How the broadcast works from the motos* If Ironman’s operational changes were net positive* Drafting, drafting, drafting* And, then, the other part of Kona Week: the industry news, activations, and gossip* Plus, we talk to Salomon about why they’re getting into triathlon and if we think it will workDid you know this year’s theme was unity, togetherness? Now you know.Listen and follow Triathlonish on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch the show on Youtube. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com

Kelly reports from the ground in Kona — with interviews and insights from the brand press conferences. Why are there so many brand events and schedules this year?And after a quick update on the non-Kona news of the week — including Alistair Brownlee’s analysis of the accuracy of VO2 estimates on smart watches, for some reason — we dive into all the industry news from Kona.* Who is being overlooked in pre-race media* What are the actual race numbers — and why aren’t they as big as was originally promised* Why are there so few women and will Ironman’s new initiative solve that* Are there really jellyfish* Are athletes really banned from biking on certain roadsAlthough we’re not doing a preview (because you can get that so many other places), we know you have predictions. So enter our podium predictions contest.Listen and follow Triathlonish on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch the show on Youtube. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com

This week, Tim & Kelly cover two big topics:* Absolutely everything that happened at the World Triathlon annual meeting and racing in Pontevedra.* What you need to know about how anti-doping works — and what that means for whereabouts violations.See Ironman’s 2025 doping report here & World Triathlon’s 2025 report here.Listen and follow Triathlonish on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch the show on Youtube.* (1:08) - What happened at the World Triathlon Congress? A follow-up.* (5:11) - The latest updates about the World Triathlon Tour* (16:16) - The LA28 Olympic course — see it here * (19:20) - Hyathlon? Hybrid racing? The update* (23:37) - Tim’s final World Triathlon news from Pontevedra* (26:42) - The actual World Championship racing, a ramp collapses, and whether Kelly’s right to get confused* (39:30) - How the anti-doping system works — because it seems like no one understands* (42:08) - Why Ironman signed on as a WADA signatory* (45:18) - In-competition v. out-of-competition testing* (48:30) - “If they can’t find you, they can’t test you”* (50:58) - What the h*ll is whereabouts, how does an athlete get a whereabouts violation, and what information are they required to provide* (57:55) - How you could manipulate the system* (1:05:15) - Is there a better way?* (1:10:09) - Bad Week/Good Week This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com

Last week was all about 70.3 Worlds, so this week is all about World Triathlon: the WTCS Finals, the World Championship “festival” in Pontevedra, and most importantly the World Tri Congress.What the h*ll is a Congress? Why have there been two years of Congress drama and controversy? How has that all led up to this week’s big annual meeting? Good questions! Tim Heming read hundreds of pages of documents, talked to almost everyone involved, and is ready to explain it to us. The World Triathlon Congress meets on Wednesday (tomorrow) in Pontevedra, ahead of the World Championship racing, and will vote on proposed Constitutional changes + hear updates on the state of the sport.Episode #2 is all about World Triathlon. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch the show on Youtube.* (2:20) - One last thing about Nice: Listener feedback and insight from the 70.3 Worlds Championships episode* (10:14) - Now: World Triathlon! What is a World Triathlon Congress and why the big annual meeting matters for regular triathletes* (12:23) - How did we get here: Tim tries to explain the scandal over the World Triathlon presidential election and the fallout, and Kelly translates it for Americans* (23:08) - A quick chat with the Norwegian federation head* (27:00) - Which brings us to … the World Triathlon constitutional changes being proposed* (38:18) - Other important World Tri Congress things: budgets, broadcasts, and changes coming* (45:30) - World Triathlon claims Hyrox under its umbrella? Hybrid racing? Hyathlon? * (50:20) - The actual World Championship racing: Who could win and how* (1:00:58) - Good Week, Bad Week picks This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com

It’s our first podcast in the new Version 3.0 form — with our new co-host, intrepid triathlon reporter Tim Heming joining Kelly. Because what was missing in triathlon was an overly dense, overly detailed, overly long podcast. You need to really care about triathlon for this to be the show for you.For our first episode, with Tim back from the 70.3 World Championships in Nice, France (the last one in Nice. for now!) he shares his reporting, a few interviews, and everything from the biggest championship week in the sport.Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or what the show on Youtube.* (0:00) - Hi, welcome to the new Triathlonish podcast* (5:03) - Biggest takeaways from the ground in Nice + all the numbers (so many numbers): big, busy, fun — and does jet lag cause GI distress?* (17:02) - The history of 70.3 Worlds: How we went from a sad little race in Clearwater to 7,000 people next year* (26:12) - Does Ironman make money in Nice? Do the vendors? Will anyone ever actually answer our money questions?* (35:45) - The actual championship pro races: Surprises from us and complaints from the pros* (47:30) - How dangerous is that descent? That bike course?* (1:01:14) - The two big Ironman announcements out of Nice* (1:16:15) - Best guesses at where 70.3 Worlds will be in 2028?* (1:19:40) - Good Week, Bad Week picks This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com

We’ll be back with triathlon nerdiness and a super secret (not that secret) co-host bringing us all the industry insight from Nice.Listen on:* Apple Podcasts* Spotify* YoutubeFirst episode Sept. 15. Coming on Tuesdays. At least through championship season, and then maybe Tuesdays-ish.Content warning: You’ll need to really care about triathlon to want to listen to this podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.triathlonish.com