I found the front page article on the State of Tri quite interesting and informative. It left me with the impression that "triathlon" more or less equals "Ironman" - in fact, it repeatedly makes the point that Ironman creates its own ecosystem. Maybe future installments will discuss the Olympic movement and the growth of ITU --perhaps, I suspect from points implicit in the article itself, as an outgrowth of USTS.

I mention ITU because the US is very Ironman-centric, but when I interact with friends in Europe and Latin America who follow or even participate in "triathlon" -- or look at what people trying to grow the sport at the junior level are doing-- the Ironman referent is nowhere to be seen. The main referent is clearly ITU and the recognizable figures are the Brownlees, Gomez, etc. The premium is on speed and not an epic experience. It's almost as if you had two different sports, each with its respective culture.

I'm curious to see what others think.