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Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference?
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From what I have seen Olympic and 5150 is the same distance, and International can be the same distance, although sometimes it's between sprint and Olympic. So what's the official differences between these three terms and where did the terms come from? Olympic I know, it's the distance used in the Olympics, but what is 5150 and International? Is 5150 just an Ironman brand thing?
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [SPL Tech] [ In reply to ]
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SPL Tech wrote:
From what I have seen Olympic and 5150 is the same distance, and International can be the same distance, although sometimes it's between sprint and Olympic. So what's the official differences between these three terms and where did the terms come from? Olympic I know, it's the distance used in the Olympics, but what is 5150 and International?
Is 5150 just an Ironman brand thing?

yes.

ALL of these *should* be 1.5k S, 40k B, 10k R.


float , hammer , and jog

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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [SPL Tech] [ In reply to ]
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5150 is an Ironman branded OLY. There are 51.5 KMs in an OLY, hence 5150.

They're all 1.5/40/10 (or should be).
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [SPL Tech] [ In reply to ]
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Don't forget Standard distance and Intermediate distance which are also terms for 1.5K/40K/10K triathlons :)


Rodney
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [SPL Tech] [ In reply to ]
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Just remember, the 2012 London Olympic triathlon was not Olympic distance.

Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [japarker24] [ In reply to ]
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This is confusing for me here too. Lifetime tri uses "international distance" as wording for a legit olympic distance race. While here we have a race san diego international which is 1k/30k/10k . Could it be something with paying extra to usat for the label olympic distance??
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [japarker24] [ In reply to ]
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japarker24 wrote:
Just remember, the 2012 London Olympic triathlon was not Olympic distance.

The ITU Grand finals in Edmonton this year wasn't Olympic distance either
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [Fooshee] [ In reply to ]
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Fooshee wrote:
5150 is an Ironman branded OLY. There are 51.5 KMs in an OLY, hence 5150.

They're all 1.5/40/10 (or should be).

I've been wondering about this myself for a while; thanks for clarifying. Figures that WTC would brand these instead of just going with "Olympic" in the name.

Anyone seen am M-Dot "5150" tattoo yet? Imagine trying to explain that one to the non-triathletes you know: "No, Mom, I didn't join a gang."

- John
"Have courage, and be kind."
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [SPL Tech] [ In reply to ]
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At least in the U.S., there are 4 general race distances:
- Short
- Intermediate
- Long
-Ultra

These are general ranges, usually based on bike distances, with ranges for swim, bike, and run. Each of the legs can vary, and sometimes are relatively short or long compared to the others. Depends on what you have for roads and trails to work with.

Short is also called Sprint. Intermediate used to be known as International.

A half-iron or 70.3 is a specific set of distances within a Long. An iron-distance or Ironman is a specific set of distances within an Ultra. (And yes, even if Chattanooga has a 116-mile bike loop, it will still be an Ironman, much to the chagrin of all the Garmin owners!)

Similarly, an Olympic is supposed to be one and only one set of distances within an Intermediate. Exactly 1.5k, 40k, 10k. If you have a bike loop that is 40.2k, it's not supposed to be an Olympic.

There may also be licensing issues with calling it an Olympic course without the approval of ITU, just like calling it an Ironman or Ironman 70.3.

Finally, different races may call themselves one thing but be something else.
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [Peanut] [ In reply to ]
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Peanut wrote:
At least in the U.S., there are 4 general race distances:
- Short
- Intermediate
- Long
-Ultra

These are general ranges, usually based on bike distances, with ranges for swim, bike, and run. Each of the legs can vary, and sometimes are relatively short or long compared to the others. Depends on what you have for roads and trails to work with.

Short is also called Sprint. Intermediate used to be known as International.

A half-iron or 70.3 is a specific set of distances within a Long. An iron-distance or Ironman is a specific set of distances within an Ultra. (And yes, even if Chattanooga has a 116-mile bike loop, it will still be an Ironman, much to the chagrin of all the Garmin owners!)

Similarly, an Olympic is supposed to be one and only one set of distances within an Intermediate. Exactly 1.5k, 40k, 10k. If you have a bike loop that is 40.2k, it's not supposed to be an Olympic.

There may also be licensing issues with calling it an Olympic course without the approval of ITU, just like calling it an Ironman or Ironman 70.3.

Finally, different races may call themselves one thing but be something else.

I wonder if this is why at Edmonton worlds they called it a standard since the bike was a little short from 40K?

.

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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [h2ofun] [ In reply to ]
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I think standard/international/intermediate is the actual name(s) as I am pretty sure the IOC has the lock down on anything called Olympic just as WTC has the lockdown on calling anything a 5150

There is also a buffer to the distances, I can't recall what the % is but there is some leeway as to the actual distances so it doesn't have to be exactly 1.5/40/10


Rodney
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [fitknight] [ In reply to ]
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Anyone seen am M-Dot "5150" tattoo yet? Imagine trying to explain that one to the non-triathletes you know: "No, Mom, I didn't join a gang."[/quote]


LMAO.... !


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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [SPL Tech] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
Is 5150 just an Ironman brand thing?

Currently it is, but Oct 1 will tell us more.

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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [rbuike] [ In reply to ]
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rbuike wrote:
I think standard/international/intermediate is the actual name(s) as I am pretty sure the IOC has the lock down on anything called Olympic just as WTC has the lockdown on calling anything a 5150

There is also a buffer to the distances, I can't recall what the % is but there is some leeway as to the actual distances so it doesn't have to be exactly 1.5/40/10

It's within 5 or 10% I think. Definitely not more.
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [SPL Tech] [ In reply to ]
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The standardized distance goes back a pretty long ways. The original standard distance was set by the USTS in 1982. It was 2k/45k/15k. They held this for two years and realized they would get much bigger numbers and easier to manage races if they shortened the distances. So it made sense then to go to the traditional distances in each sport, 1500m swim/ 40k tt bike/ 10k run. This happened in about 1984 and was called international distance soon after. There were no olympics yet, and not even on the horizon. But at some point, and i don't know by whom(maybe Less McDonald) it became Olympic distance too. Then just a few years ago Ironman just used the combined totals for the 5150.

So to answer they are all the same distance theoretically speaking. Many RD's have taken some license with these terms for their off distance races and used it as a category rather than an exact distance.

And before any of this, and before Ironman became the Ironman Triathlon, the first Kona Triathlon was called the International Triathlon. Guess once they took the Ironman name they did not care to protect the name International Triathlon anymore, but they did have that first back in 1981.
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [desert dude] [ In reply to ]
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What's on October 1st? A lawsuit against WTC? A meeting between WTC and ITU?
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [japarker24] [ In reply to ]
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japarker24 wrote:
Just remember, the 2012 London Olympic triathlon was not Olympic distance.

Didn't know this. How long was it?

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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]
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Someone can probably give more details, but the bike was not 40k. I believe it was longer than that.

Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [monty] [ In reply to ]
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Monty was the NICE course ever called anythin else but Long course, and was there ever really more than a couple that distance. For me, I liked that distance the best. Grand Columbia had it awhile
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [fitknight] [ In reply to ]
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fitknight wrote:
Anyone seen am M-Dot "5150" tattoo yet? Imagine trying to explain that one to the non-triathletes you know: "No, Mom, I didn't join a gang."

Worse still, imagine explaining getting it to your triathlete friends. May as well get "craves positive reinforcement" on your head.

I believe that the whole 5150 thing is a conspiracy by WTC to convert the US to the metric system. About time too.
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [Kenney] [ In reply to ]
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Monty was the NICE course ever called anythin else but Long course,//

Believe it or not, it was called NICE distance. There were a few other races in the general area, but we called them all NICE distance. I think today it is still used by a lot of us old timers to describe races in the 6 hour range. I believe the WC for long distance is about NICE distance still..
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Re: Olympic vs 5150 vs International: What's the difference? [monty] [ In reply to ]
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it is a nice distance :o) I really wish that distance would of caught on.
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