Triathlon at the Summer Olympics for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and remained the same for London 2012. In London, the women's triathlon took place on Saturday 4 August, with the men's event on Tuesday 7 August. Thirteen nations have split the thirty medals awarded in the triathlon events. Qualification spots in the triathlon are allotted to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) rather than to individual athletes. There are five ways for NOCs to earn spots in the triathlon. NOCs can earn a maximum of three spots, though only eight nations may earn that many. Nations beyond that may earn only two spots. The first five spots
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