Duathlon will be part of the sports programme at The World Games Karlsruhe 2029, which will take place in Germany from 19 to 29 July. The decision, approved by the Executive Committee of the International World Games Association -IWGA- and the Organising Committee, ensures the discipline’s continuity following its appearances at Birmingham 2022 and Chengdu 2025. Around 4,000 athletes from more than 100 countries will compete across a programme comprising 36 sports and 62 disciplines, although the qualification system, distances and duathlon medal events have yet to be confirmed.
Governed internationally by World Triathlon, duathlon combines an opening run, a cycling segment and a second run. The absence of swimming distinguishes it from triathlon, but transitions remain crucial: athletes must change equipment quickly and adapt their bodies from running to cycling before returning to running with fatigue already accumulated. While triathlon has been part of the Olympic Games since Sydney 2000, duathlon is not on the Olympic programme, making The World Games one of its most important international multi-sport showcases.
From invitational event to established discipline
This sporting family’s relationship with The World Games began in The Hague in 1993, when triathlon was still seeking inclusion on the Olympic programme. Duathlon received its first opportunity 20 years later as an invitational sport at Cali 2013, where Japan’s Ai Ueda and Belgium’s Rob Woestenborghs claimed victory. The discipline was absent from Wrocław 2017 but returned at Birmingham 2022 as part of the official programme. Its appearance in Chengdu and confirmation for Karlsruhe mean that it will feature in three consecutive official editions.
Birmingham brought together 57 duathletes from 21 countries at Railroad Park, an urban venue in the centre of the US city. The programme included men’s and women’s individual races comprising a 10km run, 40km cycle and final 5km run, as well as a 2×2 Mixed Relay. Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger and Maurine Ricour won the individual titles, while France took the team event. The relay introduced a medal event shared by one woman and one man, bringing to duathlon one of the formats used by World Triathlon to promote gender equality and deliver shorter races.
Chengdu expanded participation
The following edition increased representation to 63 athletes from 24 countries. The duathlon events at Chengdu 2025 were held at Xinglong Lake with a different individual distance: a 5km run, 30km cycle and another 5km run. In the Mixed Relay, each athlete twice completed a shorter sequence consisting of a 2km run, 6km cycle and final 1km run. France’s Benjamin Choquert and Mexico’s Anahí Álvarez won the individual competitions, while María Varo and Javier Martín Morales secured the team gold medal for Spain.
Duathlon’s growth came as part of the largest edition of The World Games held to that point. Chengdu welcomed around 4,000 athletes from more than 110 countries and staged 256 medal events across 34 sports and 60 disciplines. Karlsruhe will increase that diversity to 36 sports and 62 disciplines. According to World Triathlon President Antonio Arimany, this continuity gives athletes “greater exposure” and the opportunity to compete in “a truly world-class multi-sport environment”. He also believes it will showcase “the strength, diversity and excitement” of duathlon to new audiences.
A mutually beneficial relationship
Confirmation almost three years in advance gives national federations a stable reference point for organising their sporting programmes, identifying qualification events and supporting athletes in their preparations. It also allows duathlon to move temporarily beyond its own championships and share a stage, media coverage and medal ceremonies with numerous international disciplines. The presence of men’s, women’s and mixed events at the previous two editions has provided three different routes to medals, although the IWGA and World Triathlon must still confirm whether Karlsruhe will retain precisely the same model.
The World Games, in return, retain an endurance discipline that combines two universally practised sports and increased its number of participants and represented countries between 2022 and 2025. Its continuity takes on additional significance in Karlsruhe, which will become the first city to host two editions of the Games, 40 years after staging the event in 1989. The Organising Committee intends to make primary use of existing venues, reduce travel between them and integrate competitions into the life of the city. The eventual course will determine how duathlon fits into that approach, but its place is already secure as athletes and federations await confirmation of the distances, quotas and qualification pathway for 2029.
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