In Search of a Meaningful Story: Oral History and Triathlon Memory in Australia

Abstract

In Search of a Meaningful Story: Oral History and Triathlon Memory in AustraliaThere have been relatively limited efforts to systematically record and document the origins and growth of triathlon as a sport. The Mission Bay Triathlon, held September 25, 1974, is widely regarded as the first modern triathlon. Staged by the San Diego Track Club the novel event combined swimming, cycling and running in continuous succession, although not in that order. Two decades later, the concept had attained sufficient global recognition and organization to achieve Olympic inclusion. Yet, while many magazine articles, oral and video interviews, and some small circulation films and documentaries present aspects of the sport's past, triathlon is not the subject of a coherent sport history. This apparent silence raises interesting questions about the