Kazakhstan's Dimitriy Gaag, a medal tip for the triathlonWhen 48 of the fittest sportsmen and sportswomen at Doha 2006 dive into the blue waters just off the city's picturesque Corniche on Friday 8 December, it will also mark the first time that triathlon has taken the plunge into the Asian Games.

Triathlon as a sport is still remarkably young. The first ever recorded race took place in San Diego, USA only 32 years ago, yet its ascent to global acceptance as one of sport's greatest tests of athleticism has been incredible.

Triathlon made its Olympic Games debut at Sydney 2000 and is also a regular feature within Pan-American and Commonwealth Games, so its inclusion in the 15th Asian Games fully establishes its place within the world's biggest multi-sport events.

The sport combines swimming, cycling and running and can be over a variety of distances. But the most widely accepted is the Olympic distance, consisting of a 1500m swim, 40km cycle and finally a 10km run.

It is an attractive sport for competitors and spectators alike; Triathlon has the adrenalin-flowing, strength-sapping and fortitude-testing factors that appeal to the competitive nature of all athletes. For supporters too, racing is often close and unpredictable with each athlete having different strengths and weaknesses over the three disciplines.

The chaos of the transition area, where competitors switch from swimming to cycling equipment and then from cycling into running gear, also provides much excitement, as every triathlete seeks to save crucial seconds.

Of course, this being the first time ever that triathlon has ever taken part within an Asian Games, the medals will take on extra significance. Their winners will be history-makers. In the men's race, experienced 35 year-old Dmitriy Gaag is one to watch.

Perhaps Asia's most successful ever triathlete, the Kazakh was the surprise men's winner at the 1999 World Championships in Montreal, Canada. Such was the unexpected nature of this victory, that the event organisers did not have a recording of the Kazakhstan national anthem and instead played the theme music from the film Chariots of Fire to mark his victory.

Such is his competitive reputation now, that organisers will be wise to keep a recording close to hand at Doha 2006, particularly with compatriot Daniil Sapunov another likely contender. The 24 year-old was a creditable 17th at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Gold medallist at this year's Asian Championships Hirokatsu Tayama of Japan, should also be very much to the fore. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Daniel Lee Chi Wo is one who could cause an upset. He recently finished just one second behind Gaag at the Asian Cup.

In the women's race, Ai Ueda of Japan won gold at this year's Asian Championships. Her team-mate Akiko Sekine was a fine 12th at the Athens Olympics and is another medal hopeful. Last year's Asian champion Wang Hongni (China) will lead her country's challenge.

Fui Li Yap of Malaysia is also worth looking out for. Although she only took up the sport three years ago, she won gold at last year's Southeast Asian Games in Manila, Philippines.

With a quality entry and the superb backdrop of the city skyline along the Corniche, triathlon will be making quite an entry in the Asian Games. It may be a first time visitor, but one suspects that triathlon is here to stay.

(dohaasiangames.org November 20, 2006)