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
Ironman Triathlon Many of them share the , , format with the Ironman triathlon. Originally, many used the Ironman name. Due to aggressive trademark protection, most of these races no longer use the word "Ironman". The Ironman format remains unchanged, and the Hawaiian Ironman is still regarded as an honored and prestigious triathlon event to win worldwide. People completing such an event within the strict event time cutoffs are agreed to be recognized as "Ironmen"; the plural "Ironmans" refers to multiples of "Ironman" as a short form of "Ironman Triathlon." In the triathlon community an Ironman is someone who has completed a