Duathlon & Triathlon Race Distances

Here is a reference to the standard distances for Duathlons and Triathlons across various organisations, including Powerman, Challenge, ETU, ITU and Ironman. An “Ironman” is a branded term, and other organisations CANNOT call their event an Ironman distance…hence they sometimes use the term Iron Distance or Half Iron (not sure if that is allowed, but they use it!).

TRIATHLON:

Distances of individual events may vary from race to race, but there are some standard triathlon distances quoted in terms of swim/bike/run:

• Super sprint – 400m/10km/2.5km
• Sprint distance – 750m/20km/5km (or 400-500m swim if in a pool)
• Standard distance – 1500m/40km/10km (aka Olympic Triathlon)
• Half-Iron or 70.3 – 1900m/90km/21km (as in Ironman series)
• Middle distance – 2.5km/80km/20k
• Long distance – 4km/120km/30km
• Iron distance – 3.8km/180km/42km (as in Ironman series)

DUATHLON:

• Sprint distance – 5km/20km/2.5km – GB Elite Champs are at this distance.
• Powerman Sprint – 5km/30km/5km (Powerman Sprint Distance, ETU event sometimes)
• Standard distance – 10km/40km/5km (in the USA, sometimes called Olympic Distance, but no duathlon event in the Olympics UNLESS water quality prevents the swim leg.)
• Classic distance – 10km/60km/10km (Powerman Classic Distance)
• Long distance – 10km/150km/30k (eg Zofingen)

Last Updated on 25 August 2025 by the5krunner

the5krunner

tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors.