The ITU Triathlon Team World Championships is an annual team triathlon competition organized by the International Triathlon Union

International Triathlon Union

The International Triathlon Union or ITU is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations...

 (ITU). The competition is completed in teams of four, two men and two women, with each member doing a super-sprint distance triathlon

Triathlon

A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...

.

History

The event first appeared in 2003 in Tiszaújváros

Tiszaújváros

Tiszaújváros is an industrial town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, south-east of Miskolc, near the river Tisza.Tiszaújváros owes its existence to the industrialization wave that took over the then-socialist Hungary after World War II...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 with Australia winning both men's and women's titles. The event was not held again until 2006. In 2009, the ITU merged the men's and women's championships and the title is now contested as a mixed team. The event was initiated with the aim of getting more triathletes as well as the team triathlon discipline on the Olympic programme. As of 2011 the format has appeared at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics

Triathlon at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics

Triathlon at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore took place at East Coast Park. There were competitions on August 15, 16 and 19.-4x Mixed relay:*250m Swim in Open Water*7 km cycle race *1.7 km run -Schedule:-Boys:...

 and is scheduled to appear at the 2014 Asian Games

2014 Asian Games

The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the XVII Asiad, is the largest sporting event in Asia governed by Olympic Council of Asia . It is scheduled to take place in Incheon, South Korea from September 19–October 4, 2014, with 36 sports set to feature in the Games.Incheon was awarded the right on...

, which is considered as a significant step towards adding team triathlon to the 2016 Summer Olympic

2016 Summer Olympics

The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...

 programme. The IOC will decide on whether to add team triathlon to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in 2013.

Men's championship

2003	Australia	Spain	Ukraine
2006	United States	Germany	Canada
2007	Russia	Germany	Spain

Women's championship

2003	Australia	Spain	Italy
2006	Italy	United States	Spain
2007	Russia	Ukraine	Italy

4 x 4 Mixed relay

2009	Switzerland	Australia	Canada
2010	Switzerland	Early Modern France	New Zealand
2011	United Kingdom	Switzerland	Germany