Aquathlon, the term coming from Italian word Aqua (water) and ancient Greek word Athlon (competition) is one of the most fashionable sports in the competition schedule of the II Mediterranean Beach Games “Patra 2019”.
At the same time, it is a sport perfectly suiting the modern international tendency of the running movement and the organization of events combining various different sporting activities (multisports).
In the Mediterranean Beach Games, Aquathlon consists of three parts: 2.5 km running, 1 km swimming and yet another 2.5 km running. So the sport combines the two basic aerobic exercises that do not require special equipment and are accessible to everyone.
In reality, Aquathlon (as well as Duathlon) is a variation of Triathlon, a sport that was included in the Olympic Games competition schedule in 2000 in Sydney and challenges the athletes in Swimming, Cycling and Running.
Εvents combining various sports have been taking place since 1920, while the “Triathlon” term was coined in 1974 in San Diego. Fifteen years later, the world federation was founded under the name of International Triathlon Union. The ITU controls all three sports (Triathlon, Aquathlon, Duathlon).
Aquathlon emerged in the mid-1990s, while the first World Championships were held on November 8th, 1998, in Noosa, Australia, in parallel with the Triathlon World Championships.
From 2007 onwards, the Aquathlon World Championships are held separately.
In this year’s World Championships held on May 2nd in Pontevedra, Spain, Rostyslav PEVTSOV from Azerbaijan and Αlicja ULATOWSKA won the gold medals in the Men’s and Women’s events, respectively.
Spain is considered the Mediterranean powerhouse in the sport, having won two gold and two silver medals in World Championships.
In the I Mediterranean Beach Games, held in 2015 in Pescara, hosts Italy had the lion’s share, winning four out of six medals presented.
The Men’s event was won by Gianluca POZZATI, fellow Italian Riccardo DE PALMA was second and Frenchman Dylan MAGNIEN took the bronze.
In the Women’s event, Italian Sara PAPAIS won the gold medal, followed by Anna CONTRERAS GODOY of Spain and Elisa MARCON of Italy.