What does "World Championship" mean?

This is a topic which was brought up in the Rauthbaum thread and looks to need its own thread.

What does World Championship mean in triathlon?

Should it only be a function of talent level involved? Should the course play a role? What about weather? (Don’t hot conditions favor one athlete over another? Or cold conditions? Or wind?) Does the time of year make a difference?

I’m just wondering if the current World Championship- irregardless of the charity slots and celebs- is a real WC.

I can see how a WC only depends on the athletes if the field of play is a controlled environment which pits talent against talent (football field, a pitch, basketball arena, ice rink, etc); but if the course is a factor in determining the outcome, then shouldn’t a WC be held at the hardest locale possible or at the least be moved around from year to year? Would a course like Silverman, Lanzarote, Roth, IM Austria, be just as qualified to host a WC?

What’s “hard”? Flat windy course might be hard to those who live in hilly areas, or visa-versa. Like altitude to flatlanders and cold to tropical citizens, one person is going to think it’s hard and the other won’t.

Me, I’m a traditionalist and think that the IM WC should stay in Kona because of the history and mystique.

What does World Championship mean in triathlon?

The Ironman World Championship was the pro race, it was won by Normann Stadler. The rest of the people there (the ones not in the pro field) are just fillers.

what distance are you talking about?

Ironman is a commercial enterprise. Olympics? Long Course ITU?

tough to standardize everything with so many different options for “world championships”