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I often find myself daydreaming about the first ever triathlon completed. It was actually a challenge among friends dreamed up by a few endurance athletes wondering what it would be like to complete such an effort. I imagine it was quite fun for all those involved and that they never really dreamed of what it would one day evolve into.
Triathlon is so rewarding in so many ways. It is a sport that should and must be preserved for the masses in order for it to continue to thrive and prosper. It would be a real shame if triathlon became a sport where only those with six figure salaries could participate in. Currently, it appears that the sport of triathlon is still available to most but this seems to be quickly slipping away. There seems to be an element appearing at a lot of races which lends the sport of triathlon to becoming an elitist sport.
No matter if you compete at a sprint distance event or an Ironman event it is quite easy to see that the sport of triathlon is not a poor man's sport to begin with. You have the cost of travel to get to the event and the entry fees. The equipment costs can be staggering as well and include your bike, wet suit, shoes, and extra training gear (power meter, trainer, etc.).
When you attend a triathlon it is easy to become intimidated when you rack your 0.00 Huffy bike along side a ,000 Cervelo complete with a Zipp disc wheel and Power Tap power meter. You immediately feel that you are out of your league. This is quite unfortunate. I have often thought that USA Triathlon should in fact only require one standardized triathlon bike which can only be used for competition. The bike would be relatively cheap and affordable and everyone would be required to ride the same bike with the same wheels and components. I would also like to see this for the wet suit as well. This takes out the technology factor as well as the money factor to some degree and evens the playing field quite a bit. This would be one big step USAT could take towards making the sport of triathlon more fair and also appealing to those considering the challenge.
Unfortunately, I doubt this will ever come to fruition due to the uproar it would create among sponsoring companies. However, standardized triathlon bikes and wet suits may be what is necessary to save the sport of triathlon from becoming a sport dominated by only the wealthy. If the sport is not available to the masses then it will ultimately go the way of golf and equestrian horse riding.
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