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Races and formats: open water swimming, triathlon, IRONMAN and HYROX

Swimming5 min read
On this page
  1. Open water swimming
  2. Triathlon (World Triathlon)
  3. IRONMAN: multisport context
  4. HYROX: a separate discipline, no swimming
  5. Calendars: where to find them
  6. What we do not do
  7. What we know and what we do not
  8. How we reviewed it
  9. Sources

Open water swimming

World Aquatics defines open water as any competition in rivers, lakes, oceans or water channels. The Olympic programme, in the June 2025 regulations (later version: February 2026), is the men's and women's 10 km.1 For the World Championships programme and other distances, the World Aquatics regulations in force (Part Three, section 1) and the body's site apply.

Triathlon (World Triathlon)

According to World Triathlon, the Standard (Olympic) format has a 1.5 km swim; Sprint is half of it: 750 m swim, 20 km bike and 5 km run.2 In triathlon the swim is the first leg, before the bike and the run.

IRONMAN: multisport context

IRONMAN is a race series run by a company. By the organiser's definition an IRONMAN is a 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike and 42.2 km run on the same day, in that order (226 km in total). IRONMAN 70.3 is half: 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike and 21.1 km run.3 Typical finish times given by the organiser are 5-8 hours for a 70.3 and 10-17 hours for an IRONMAN.3

On categories, the 2026 IRONMAN rules say age-group athletes compete in the division matching their age on 31 December of the event year.7 For World Championship qualification, the "Kona Standard" is not a cut-off time but a global benchmark used to compare performance across age groups and sexes.6 Cut-off times are published by each event: for example, the IRONMAN Wales athlete guide of 13 September 2026 gives a 2 hour 20 minute swim cut-off.8 Always check the guide of the event you enter.

HYROX: a separate discipline, no swimming

HYROX is an indoor fitness competition: a 1 km run followed by one station, repeated 8 times. The stations, in order, are 1000 m SkiErg, 50 m sled push, 50 m sled pull, 80 m burpee broad jump, 1000 m row, 200 m farmers carry, 100 m sandbag lunges and 100 wall balls. The format is the same worldwide; weights change by category.45 It is not swimming and we do not treat it as such: it sits here only because the site covers endurance and hybrid racing.

In the 26/27 Singles rulebook there are four divisions (Women, Women Pro, Men, Men Pro): weights and gender change, not distances. Weights from the 26/27 season Singles rulebook (sled weights include the sled): sled push 102 kg (Women), 152 kg (Men and Women Pro), 202 kg (Men Pro); sled pull 78, 103, 153 kg; farmers carry 2 × 16, 24, 32 kg; sandbag lunges 10, 20, 30 kg; wall balls 4, 6, 9 kg.5 Doubles, Team Relay and Adaptive formats also exist, each with its own rules.9

Calendars: where to find them

Each body publishes its own calendar and it changes every season: here are links to the official pages, not a copy.

  • Open water in Italy: the FIN Open Water Grand Prix page lists the season's races with date, distance and location.10
  • IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3: the official Race Finder, filterable by race type and area.11
  • HYROX: the official Find My Race page with upcoming races.12

For a triathlon under World Triathlon rules also check your country's federation website.

What we do not do

  • We do not copy calendars, dates or prices: they change every season and each body publishes its own. Official links are in the previous section.
  • We do not say how long they take you: the organiser's times are indicative and cover all participants.
  • We offer no training plans for these formats: for HYROX and IRONMAN we do not yet have enough sources on how to prepare.

What we know and what we do not

Distances and formats are as stated by the bodies and organisers. For penalties, category rules, each event's cut-offs and the programme of a single edition, the official regulations in force apply.

How we reviewed it

Official sites and rulebooks of the cited bodies and organisers.

Limits. Distances, categories and weights as stated by bodies and organisers; texts of HYROX Singles 26/27 and IRONMAN 2026 read, World Aquatics June 2025 only; no calendar.

Sources

  1. World Aquatics. Competition Regulations, Part Three: Open Water Swimming Rules (June 2025). PDF · worldaquatics.com (excerpt read)
  2. World Triathlon. Age Group. sport.triathlon.org
  3. IRONMAN. Distances. ironman.com · 70.3 guide
  4. HYROX. The Fitness Race. hyrox.com
  5. HYROX. Singles rulebook (EN). PDF (season 26/27, text read)
  6. IRONMAN. World Championship Age Group Qualification System. ironman.com (page read)
  7. IRONMAN. 2026 Competition Rules, section 1.07. PDF (text read)
  8. IRONMAN Wales 2026, age-group athlete guide. PDF (text read)
  9. HYROX. Rulebooks (Singles, Doubles, Team Relay, Adaptive). hyrox.com/rulebook
  10. FIN. Open Water Grand Prix. federnuoto.it (page consulted)
  11. IRONMAN. Race Finder. ironman.com (page consulted)
  12. HYROX. Find My Race. hyrox.com (page consulted)

Sources rechecked on 28 October 2026. Wolf Lab is not affiliated with World Aquatics, World Triathlon, IRONMAN or HYROX.

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