I was listening to a podcast and they were talking about a guy that had done 7 or 8 Half Ironmans and 3 Ironmans and they made a comment that he was an accomplished triathlete.
It got me wondering what the level would be where someone turns from a triathlete to an accomplished triathlete?
My opinion is you become accomplished once you complete 2 of each distance events from a Sprint, Olympic, HIM and IM.
anyone else have a clue?
For a normal person, with a normal job, on normal wife and kids situation, I would say finishing an Ironman is enough to be accomplished (or at least accomplish something) on the sport.
As for top triathletes he should at least win a triathlon in each distance, from sprint to IM. A guy like Macca. 
I would think that ‘accomplished’ lies solely in the opinion of the person being asked. I agree with both you and Klep that doing an Ironman would be considered accomplished in the eyes of just about everyone…in the sport or not (in reality it is the only distance/event that the general public knows about). That said I don’t think IM is the be all and end all of the sport. It would equate to a runner saying the only way they could be considered accomplished is if they had done Boston, Chicago, or NY marathons. Makes no measure of the fact that, maybe, the person wasn’t built for distance. Could they tri for the long haul? Sure. But is that where their strength lies? Not if they can go sub 2hrs for an Oly, under an hour for a sprint…not if they can do a dozen or more races a year without breaking down completely. Yes IM is an accomplishment…but you are a mom or dad of kids, hold down a 40+hr/week job, own a home/car yadda yadda yadda and yet still manage to sneak in some time to train and get out in the trenches with the best of them come the weekend…then you have bragging rights just as much as they uber stud that goes under 12 (or 11 or whatever) at an IM in my book.
Of course I say all of this because it ticks me off to think that some snot nosed punk that just got into the sport a few years ago can swoop in, do an IM and figure they have ‘accomplished’ more than me. Not one IM to date (a decent attempt at a half mind you) but nearing the 300 race mark and 22yrs of longevity later…yet still not considered ‘accomplished’. Would I like to give one a go? Sure…maybe…not really…perhaps some day. Do I think I need to do an IM to make myself a complete triathlete? Deep down inside me it is a nagging feeling (perhaps brought on by the perpetual bombardment of opinions that says I have to) that says I do. But do I need an IM to be considered ‘accomplished’? I guess it all comes down to who you’re asking.
This particular forum does seem to be quite IM-focused. Is it a ST thing or a US thing? In the UK I certainly know plenty of people who predominantly race olympic or sprint distance. Similarly, the London Triathlon, ITU World Cup series, World Champs and Olympics all get more media coverage here than either the UK IM or Kona (admittedly it’s still not a lot…). Maybe it’s because we only got our first ‘official’ full distance IM race 2 years ago, or maybe it’s because most of the top British triathletes - Spencer Smith, Simon Lessing, Tim Don, Andrew Johns, etc - made their name in ITU.
Either way - I would say an accomplished triathlete is somebody who has done a half dozen or more races, is past asking all those newbie questions about wetsuits and transitions, and is at least at the stage where it’s not just about finishing the race but about setting and achieving performance goals. The goals don’t have to include podium finishes, but ‘accomplished’ probably at least implies top half, if not top third of the AG. I would certainly say that somebody who has done a few seasons of sprint and olympic tris and is regularly finishing in the top half of their AG is a more accomplished triathlete than somebody who has never done a triathlon before, decides one day that they need a challenge, enters an IM and spends the next year training to finish it.
When the interviewer is looking for more descriptive terms maybe?
Here’s some philosophy for you:
I was told once that the best people to judge a persons status is yourself. You are your own baromoter and any defined limits are nothing more than a form of someone elses nostalgia.
FWIW, It took me 5 years in this sport to consider myself an ‘athlete’. It only took me 2 races to call myself a Triathlete. That’s semantics for you…
I taught a triathlon class. A couple who were very out of shape, the wife could not swim, had never been athletic took the class. They also entered their children in the kids tri program. 17 weeks later on her second triathlon the wife placed 3rd in her age group. I think she is a very accomplished triathlete.
In my OPINION an accomplished triathlete is someone winning or competing for overall wins at triathlons.