ITU World Triathlon Series was incorporated into the series giving the same points and prize money as any other event, from this point on sprint distance events would make up a part of the series. In 2013, the series offered a total of $2.25 million in prize money to elite athletes, making it the richest series in triathlon.With the growing popularity of the ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships and the disciplines addition to the Olympic program it was decided that at three of the events on the 2018 calendar a mixed relay event would be held alongside the men's and women's competition these
Triathlon equipment Triathlon, USAT and ITU do not specifically disallow snorkels. British Triathlon does not list snorkels as part of the accepted equipment, thus they are disallowed. For safety reasons in open-water events, some federations permit special inflatable flotation devices; though activating the device will usually disqualify the swimmer, it can be used to float if the swimmer experiences difficulty. Because most triathlon swim stages are conducted in open waters (lakes, rivers, or oceans) which are often cold, many early races allowed wetsuits. However, typical wetsuits manufactured for snorkeling or water skiing are not optimal for triathlon, because the sleeves generally restrict