Xtreme triathlon

Xtreme triathlon (or extreme triathlon) is a type of triathlon competition on extreme courses, which include night or cold swims, and important elevation gain and high altitude during both the cycling and running sections. Athletes also deal with extreme weather conditions due to the remote locations and altitude changes.

The number of participants is limited (usually to 250 to 300) and some races operate a ballot entry system. These small numbers allow races to be held in remote and inaccessible locations, one of many characteristics of extreme triathlon. Some races are "unsupported" so competitors need to have personal back up crews that support to provide them with food, drinks and other necessities. The support crews also often need to accompany their competitor on any potentially dangerous mountain sections. During these sections, competitors are often required to carry a backpack containing emergency food and clothing should the weather change.

History

The roots of extreme triathlon trace back to the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon, first held in 2003 in Norway. Designed by Hårek Stranheim, Norseman offers a cold-water fjord swim of ~3.8 km, a 180 km bike leg through the Hardangervidda plateau, and a 42.2 km marathon ending atop Gaustatoppen. With over 5,000 m of total elevation, it emphasises self-reliance and endurance. Participation is capped (≈250 athletes), each required to bring a personal support crew for safety and logistics.[1][2]

Inspired by Norseman, similar races began to appear in Europe in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Altriman (France, 2009), Aurlandsfjellet Xtreme (Norway, 2010), and Oravaman (Slovakia, 2011) adopted similar formats, favouring elevation, remote terrain, and small-scale organization.[3][4] Between 2012 and 2013, additional events launched such as Celtman Xtreme Triathlon (UK), The Brutal Extreme Triathlon (UK), Swissman Xtreme Triathlon (Switzerland), Jurassicman (UK), and Snæfellsnes Jarnkarl (Iceland). These races emphasised community focus, athlete-crewed support, and wilderness routes.[5][6][3]

AlpsMan Extreme Triathlon, held annually since 2016 near Lake Annecy in France, includes a ~3.8 km lake swim, 180 km cycling across multiple alpine cols (~4,300 m ascent), and a marathon run climbing to the summit of Semnoz (~1,300 m ascent).[7]

In 2013, Norseman, Celtman, and Swissman formed an informal alliance, which eventually evolved into the XTRI World Tour. The first XTRI World Championship took place at Norseman in 2019.[8] While the Tour has helped raise the profile of select events, many races remain outside its framework. Some participants and commentators have criticised the Tour’s branded experience and elimination-style formats as diverging from the sport’s grassroots ethos.[9][10]

As of the mid-2020s, over 45 independent extreme triathlons exist worldwide. Notable events include Austria eXtreme Triathlon, StoneBrixiaMan (Italy), Winterman (Czech Republic), Knysna Extreme (South Africa), and AlpsMan (France), each emphasizing uniquely local terrain and low-capacity fields.[11][3]

Norseman remains considered the symbolic founding event. In 2025, over 6,300 applicants from roughly 96 countries entered the lottery for ~250 slots, demonstrating sustained demand far beyond its limited capacity.[12][13] Despite the rise of branded series and media coverage, the core ethos of extreme triathlon continues to revolve around self-supported endurance amid challenging natural settings.


Course format

Extreme triathlons follow the traditional Iron-distance (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, 42.2 km run) but are held in remote and often mountainous environments. Courses are typically point-to-point and feature cold-water swims in fjords, rivers, or alpine lakes, steep climbs during the bike segment, and trail runs that may finish at altitude. These environmental and elevation factors significantly increase the difficulty compared to standard triathlon formats.[14][15]

Many races require athletes to be accompanied by a personal support crew, who provide nutrition, equipment, and safety support—especially on remote run sections. However, not all events have this requirement; some are self-supported or offer partial aid stations.[16]

Field sizes are usually limited to a few hundred participants, often selected through an application or lottery process. This allows organizers to maintain safety, protect natural environments, and preserve the event’s emphasis on personal endurance and self-reliance.[15]

Extreme triathlon communities & activities

Many extreme triathlon races created Facebook groups or similar to allow their athletes to plan and discuss races. Some of these are relatively open format, and some set up with a closed audience related to specific athletes in specific years.

In late 2019, a 'Global Extreme Triathlon Forum' Facebook group and 'Global Extreme Triathlon Club' on Strava were also set up to create a community across all extreme triathlon races worldwide, and also help nurture aspiring athletes. This has been growing ever since. In 2023 a website called Global Extreme Triathlon[17] was set up with the intent to gather information on all Extreme Triathlons in one place. This has been a success, especially for the independent races that are not a part of mainstream Xtreme Triathlon.

COVID in 2020 impacted races globally. All early extreme triathlon races were cancelled or postponed, but some later races managed to convene due to their format of being small in more remote locations. In this backdrop, several races created virtual challenges where athletes completed 'events' wherever they could, or on Zwift (or similar) if unable to get outside.

XTRI World Championship

The XTRI World Championship is an annual event that takes place at Norseman every August. The first championship took place in 2019 with less than 50 athletes starting in a small field before the main race. The entire field of Norseman is now the World Championship.[18]

The international governing body World Triathlon does not recognize any XTRI World Tour Championships as official Xtreme Triathlon World Championships.

The current XTRI World Championship Rankings for 2025 are as follows:[15]

Women:

  1. Julia Skala (GER)
  2. Laura Kessler (CH)
  3. Flora Colledge (GBR)

Men:

  1. Kristian Grue (NOR)
  2. Christophe Martiniger (CH)
  3. Juuso Manninen (FIN)


Starting in 2025, the XTRI Solo Point Five World Championship will be held annually at a different SP5 race location each year.

Race catalogues

Active race catalogue

Race Status Distance Org Ascents (mtrs) Country Extras / Mythical feature(s) Established Notes World Championship Qualifier
Alps Man Active Full Independent 5600 France "Le Tournant" Bell High Route Cutoff 2016
Alps Man half Active Half Independent 3200 France 2016
Altriman Active Full Independent 6320 France Port de Pailhères (12km @ 9%) 2015?
Amazigh XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour Prospect 2930 Morocco 2023
Austria eXtreme Active Full Extreme Triathlon Series 5786 Austria Styrian snowfield run 2015
Aurlandsfjellet Active Half Independent 4200 Norway 2011
Bearman XXL Active Full Independent 6175 France Bear Chair finish photo. 2017 8848m option for Bears.
Ben Nevis Braveheart Active Half Independent 1970 Scotland Highest summit in UK. 2017
Blacklake XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 5800 Montenegro Immortals Wall, 2 lake swim, bike over Worlds 2nd deepest gorge. 2019 YES
Brutal Active Full Independent 4350 Wales They do multiples! 2012
Canadaman XTRI Active Full,1/2 XTRI World Tour 4000 Canada Mt Megantic Observatory finish 2017 YES
CELTMAN! XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 3769 Scotland Cold jellyfish swim, Beinn Eighe Ridge 2012 YES
Cheaha First 2022 Full Independent 4570 USA, Alabama Mt. Cheaha "The High Place" 2022 New race, launching 2022.
Diablak Beskid Active Full,1/2 Independent 6200 Poland
EagleXMan Active Full Independent 6300 Italy Gran Sasso e Monti; Campo Imperatore 2021
EagleXMan half Active half Independent 3300 Italy Gran Sasso e Monti; Campo Imperatore 2021
Estonian Forest Active Full, 1/2 Independent 2600 Estonia 180km Gravel/MTB bike (flat country!) 2021
Evergreen TBC Full Independent 7850 France Chamonix Skyline 2015
Fodaxman XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 4700 Brazil Serra do Rio do Rastro switchbacks 2019 YES
Formosa XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 6840 Taiwan 2019 YES
Greek Hero Active Full XTRI World Tour Prospect 3900 Greece 2020
Grimm Extreme Active Full Independent c4000 Germany Cross old Iron Curtain 2020
Grizzlyman Active Full Independent 6300 Czech 205km bike 2019
HardaSuka Ultimate Active Full Independent 8000 Poland
HelveticMan Active Half Independent 4150  Switzerland
HimalayanXtri First 2022 Full XTRI World Tour Prospect 6200   Nepal 4000m highest altitude 2021
ICON XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 6200 Italy High altitude swim (1.800 MSL). Stelvio Bike 2017 YES
Inferno Active 4 stage Independent 5500  Switzerland
Janosik XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 5800 Slovakia Midnight swim, Rozstuec climb on run 2016 YES
Jurassicman Active Full Indi 3720 England 2013
Karakoram First 2022 Full Independent 2900 Pakistan 7-8c (2km) swim at 2250m altitude
Kiwiman Active Full Independent 4200 New Zealand
Knysna Xtreme Active Full Extreme Triathlon Series 3360 South Africa Longest extreme tri swim & run
Lofoten Active Full Independent 4100 Norway Most northerly extreme tri. Svolvear Harbour swim.
ManX Active Full Independent ? Isle of Man 2019
Mercantourman Active Full Independent 7300 France 2020 Same area as Cairoman, may be rename?
Norseman XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 5235 Norway It's Norseman! Ferry jump. Zombie Hill. 2003 HOST
Olympos-X Active Full Independent 7050 Greece Night swim, 4km off the coast to 2834m altitude. 3000m elevation loss through technical trails 2017
Olympos-X half Active Half Independent 3700 Greece highest half, extreme downhill 2020
Olympusman Active Half Independent 2916 Cyprus Cyprus highest peak
Extreme Olympusman Active Full Independent 6000 Cyprus Full distance test event 2020.
Oravaman Active Half Independent 2550 Slovakia
Patagonman Xtreme Active Full Independent 3182 Chile Ferry jump. Finish Bell. 2018
Pirene Xtreme Active Full Extreme Triathlon Series 6500 Spain Discover the Pyrenees 2017
Pulpit Rock Xtreme Triathlon Active Half Independent 3500 Norway 2023
Starvation XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 5260 USA, Utah Iron Cowboys Race 2021 YES
StoneBrixiaMan Active Full Extreme Triathlon Series 7050 Italy
Swedeman XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 4697 Sweden Swim finish at Waterfall. 2018 YES
Swissman XTRI Active Full XTRI World Tour 5750  Switzerland Run under a waterfall 2013 YES
Tatraman Active Half Independent 3245 Poland Swim between 2 castles
ThorXtri Active Half Independent Norway
TriathlonX Full X Last 2022 Full Independent 5137 England "Toughest Xtreme" (220 article) 2015
TriathlonX Extreme X Active Full Independent 7336 England "Toughest Xtreme" (220 article) 2015
Triverest Active Full+ Independent 8900  Switzerland Greatest ascents (tied with Himalayan)
Wataha Active Full Independent 6200 Poland Mountains of The Wolf 2021
Wild Siberia Active Full 3600 Russia 2.5k 9c swim in 'Dead Lake' Cheybek-Kohl. 2020 Xtremly Wild and beautiful.
Wilderman Active Full,1/2 Independent 3570 North Dakota, USA Lifejacket on bike & run. Creek crossing. 2014 Offroad bike. Gravel or MTB.
Winterman Active Full Extreme Triathlon Series 4700 Czech Republic 9 km downstream swim. 2015

SOLO POINT FIVE race catalogue

Race Status Distance Org Ascents (mtrs) Country Extras / Mythical feature(s) First Ran Notes
CELTMAN! XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE Active Half XTRI World Tour 2550 Scotland Cold jellyfish swim, Belach na ba 2022
CANADA XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE Active Half XTRI World Tour 2100 Canada AUtumn colours and Mont Megantic 2023
BLACKLAKE XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE Active Half XTRI World Tour 3100 Montenegro Blacklake and Small Lake 2022
FODAXMAN XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE Active Half XTRI World Tour 2550 Brazil Serra do Rio do Rastro 2022
ORAVAMAN XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE Active Half XTRI World Tour 2550 Slovakia Technical Run 2010
HIMALAYAN XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE Active Half XTRI World Tour 3400   Nepal 2023
SWEDEMAN XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE Active Half XTRI World Tour 2000 Sweden 2024
Greek Hero XTRI SOLO POINT FIVE Active Half XTRI World Tour 3000 Greece 2024

Historic race catalogue

Race Status Distance Org Ascents (mtrs) Country Extras / Mythical feature(s) First Ran Notes
007 Xtri On Hold Full Independent c8000 Germany, Italy and Austria Cross three countries! 2019 Small test race. 2021 race unlikely.
Alaskaman Ceased Full EEE/XTRI World Tour 2400 USA, Alaska Resurrection Bay, Bear bells, River Hhandtram, Aleyska Ridge 2017 Cancelled 2020.
Alohaman Ceased Full EEE TBC USA, Hawaii 2019 Cancelled 2020.
AlpineMan Xtreme Ceased Full Independent 4900 Slovenia 2016 One year only
FjordXtreme Ceased Full Independent 3900 Norway 2016 Held 2016 only.
Iceland Ceased Full Independent 4179 Iceland Midnight swim, Volcanoes. 2019
KarkonoszMan Last 2021 Half Independent 2900 Poland 2014
Manx Xtreme Tri Ceased Full XTRI World Tour Prospect 3000 England 2019 Test race only.
Oppland (Oxtri) Ceased Full Independent 2700 Norway 2015

References

  1. ^ "Norseman Xtreme Triathlon". Langrenn.com. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  2. ^ "Norseman Xtreme Triathlon". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  3. ^ a b c "History". Swissman Xtreme Triathlon. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  4. ^ "Xtreme Triathlon". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  5. ^ "Celtman Xtreme Triathlon". German Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  6. ^ "Swissman Xtreme Triathlon". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  7. ^ "Alpsman Extreme Triathlon". German Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  8. ^ "Xtreme Triathlon". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  9. ^ "Xtreme Triathlon". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  10. ^ "Celtman Xtreme Triathlon". German Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  11. ^ "Alpsman Extreme Triathlon". German Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  12. ^ "Norseman Xtreme Triathlon". Nxtri.com. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  13. ^ "Norseman". Nxtri.com. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  14. ^ "What Makes an Extreme Triathlon 'Extreme'?". Adventure Race Hub. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  15. ^ a b c "What is XTRI?". XTRI World Tour. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Support Crew Requirements". Multisport Ireland. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  17. ^ "The History of Extreme Triathlon". GlobalExtremeTriathlon.com. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  18. ^ "Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon 2019". events.racetracker.no.
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