The International Triathlon Union (ITU) officially opened its new doors to the
world today, as the only international Olympic sports federation to have its headquarters
in Canada. Indeed, triathlon is one of only four federations based outside of
Europe, with the others being judo in Japan, taikwondo in Korea and baseball in
the US. The international sport federation was conceived and founded in the late
eighties by a group of sport enthusiasts at the Alta Lake Sports Club in North
Vancouover, led by Les McDonald.
The ITU was formed in 1989, the year of the first annual Triathlon World Championships.
Since that time, Vancouver has been the centre stage for the development of
the sport from the grassroots to the Olympic podium. Today the ITU hosts 14
World Cup triathlons in every corner of the globe, 6 multi-sport championships,
and dozens of other multi-sport events attracting thousands of competitors and
millions of television viewers in more than 90 countries.
Triathlon was added to the Olympic programme at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, making
it the fastest ever sport to achieve that pinnacle. Appropriately, for its induction,
Simon Whitfield took home gold for Canada. Triathlon is now one of the fastest
growing and most charismatic sports on the Olympic Programme.
We are so proud to be part of a community that promotes such an active
lifestyle and sport. said ITU President, Les McDonald, We are
very excited to continue to bring our sport to the world and we have high expectations
for triathlon in the future. From our humble beginnings as the Alta Lake Sports
Club we envisioned the ITU as one day being a respected international Olympic
sport federation. That day is here.
The continued success of triathlon at the Athens Olympic Games has ensured its
future and established a strong foundation for international growth. The ITU
is now in a more secure financial position and for the first time
can operate from a fully staffed office, rather than the basement of its executive
director.
The new contact details for ITU are:
Address:
998 Harbourside Drive, Suite 221
North Vancouver, British Columbia
V7P 3T2, CANADA,
Telephone: 1.604 904 9248
Fax: 1 604 608 3195
Emails: - all remain the same. Please see the “contact
us” section.