Ironman Triathlon interested participants. In 1990, with the help of Lew Friedland, Dr. James P. Gills acquired and purchased the Hawaii Triathlon Corporation, owner of the Ironman brand, for $3 million from Silk. With the Ironman brand, Gills established the World Triathlon Corporation with the intention of furthering the sport of triathlon and increasing prize money for triathletes. A number of non-WTC full distance triathlons have been held since the mid-1990s. The limited number of WTC-sanctioned events, and the limited number of entries available per race, have combined with a growth in the sport that has created demand for these non-trademarked events.
Xtreme triathlon Xtreme triathlon Xtreme triathlon refers to a type of triathlon competition where competitors race over distances broadly equivalent to those of an Ironman triathlon (3.8k swim, 180k bike, 42k run). They are by definition held over more extreme courses and potentially more extreme conditions due to the often remote locations and large elevation changes. The original Xtreme triathlon was the Norseman Xtreme triathlon first held in 2003. Many other races have followed on from this and in 2014 the concept of "All XTRI was launched" as a global brand that encompassed Norseman along with Celtman and Swissman. This evolved into