Race Story

All great things have started from a small idea. This is no different with the case for Triathlon Estonia.

It was year 2005 when a small group of Estonian triathlon fans sat at a table chatting. Some of them had participated in olympic and some in half ironman distance races. Suddenly came up  a topic of ironman distance race where you have to go and run a full marathon after a day spent on swimming and cycling. Unbelievable! Although, all around the world there are tens of thousands who are doing such races every year, it still sounded like a mission impossible. But, true to the nature of the Estonian men, by the end of the evening everybody  agreed, that they will organize for themselves their very own Ironman competition. Didn’t much matter that none of them had the proper preparation for such a  race. Few weeks later, early morning of the agreed race day there was one man at the start line. The author of the idea. It took him 17 hours to complete the full distance triathlon.

Straigtaway, the second and proper try was agreed for the next August – an ironman race where anyone can join. The only one in Estonia. Only one in Baltic countries, for that matter. There were eight men in the starting corridor this time. They all planned to swim 3,8 km, cycle 180 km and run 42,2 km. They weren’t so much as competing with each other but all having a very personal battle with the distance. Swim took place in Vasalemma quarry and running on Keila Tankimäe forrest tracks. First man crossed the finish line when 13 hours had passed from the start. But more importantly – 7 out of 8 men finished the race.

Tradition had been born.

Since then, the race has grown slowly every year. Soon it was international. First woman wrote her name in the race history  in 2009. The growth of the event was further fuelled by introducing relay race in 2010 and half-ironman distance in 2013.

From 2011 we commemorate Mart Haruoja with the competition, as he was a true triathlon fan, a big supporter of the race and a good friend. He passed away that year.

On December 17´th 2014, Triathlon Estonia non-profit organisation was registered.

2015 sees quite some changes in organizing the race. Firstly apparent is the name change to  TRIATHLON ESTONIA. But that’s definitely not all there is! We will make all the efforts to make Your race and Your day memorable. Also, for your support team the race will be easier to follow – for those cheering You on along the tracks and for those who can not be present. To keep these promises the organizing team has been significantly enlarged.

2016 all the split times were sent directly online and was visible everywhere.

2017 new signs of swimming path were added to equipment set. The day schedule got new additional races: open water swimming, time trial and classical running distances. Event recording was made by Tallinn TV who spent on site whole the day and presented special broadcast of event. The Club found own training group.

2018 was biggest amount video cameras on the race track through the race history.

2019 The Club got own official trainer. The race took place in Äksi borough, next to Ace Age Center. Amount of participants was bigger than ever before. The cycling track became more hilly than before and part of the bike trail was ridden on more rough asphalt. Strong wind, waves and runway roughness were also reflected in the winner’s result, which was just under ten hours. The distance of amateurs was added to the agenda.

In 2020, the competition took place in Kuremaa. The COVID-19 pandemic disturbed a large number of foreign visitors who should have gone through the mandatory self-isolation period two times – when coming to Estonia and when returning to their homeland. On November 25, 2020, Triathlon Estonia club became a member of the Estonian Triathlon Federation. For the new season, new members joined the training group and plenty of podium places were won in various competitions.

On the backround of pandemic rules lasted the season 2021. Only a few foreign guests took part in the competition, and another events also reduced the number of participants. Several EMV titles were won in the training group and pretty often the name of the Club got into a fight for the highest places. Smaller races were also held according to restricted rules.

Year 2022 also continued on a wave of restrictions. The war that started ended contacts with Russian athletes, who could no longer move in Europe for sports purposes. The smaller organized competitions fulfilled their goals in preparing young people for larger competitions. Young Club members won different titles from Baltic and Estonian champonchips.

The 2022 season is characterized primarily by the number of super achievements collected by youngths of Club: 31 names, 501 starts, 144 first places, 275 podium places, 6 EST champion titles (Karmel Jano 2, Arabella Raie 4), 1 Baltic champion title (Arabella Raie) and 2 Baltic III places ( Karmel Jano).

The main competition in Kuremaa in 2023 ended with a big financial loss once again, but the series of sporting achievements continued with the same momentum. 26 names (-5), 581 starts (+79), 141 first places (-4), 304 (+29) , podium places (141/89/74), 14 first places in major races, 2 Estonian championchip titles (Anna Helene Rauk and Sander Grauen ) (-4), 0 Baltic champion titles (-1).