Multisport

Definition:

- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Multisport is a family of athletic competitions in which athletes race in a continuous series of stages or "legs", and rapidly switch from one athletic discipline to another in order to achieve the best overall time. Most multisport events are endurance races, consisting of aerobic activities such as cycling, running, kayaking and cross-country skiing.

Familiar events from the Olympic Games such as the pentathlon, decathlon, and modern pentathlon are not usually considered to fall in this category because their individual components are not held back-to-back.

The world of multisport competitions has grown from the older and more traditional triathlon and duathlon competitions, and today includes a large number of variations. There is quite a bit of variation in the naming of these events; the more common and most standardized names are listed here.

Sport Name Stages
Triathlon Swimming, cycling, running
Off-road triathlon Swimming, mountain biking, trail running
Duathlon Running, cycling, running
Off-road duathlon Mountain biking, trail running
Aquathlon Swimming, running
Aquabike Swimming, cycling
Quadrathlon Swimming, kayaking, cycling, running
Rowathlon Indoor rowing, cycling, running
Winter triathlon Cross-country skiing, cycling, running
Winter quadrathlon Cross-country skiing, cycling, running, snowshoeing

Adventure racing includes races which comprise a number of different stages of different types. In many adventure races, the competitors do not know some or all of the stages before the race, and must handle unexpected challenges.