A triathlon is one race made of three sports done back to back with no real rest: swim, then cycle, then run, always in that order. The clock never stops — even the changeover, when you climb out of the water and get on the bike, is timed, and racers practise it. That is called transition.

A triathlon一場鐵人三項比賽 is one race made of three sports done back to back with no real rest就是把三項運動連著做、中間幾乎不休息的一場比賽： swim, then cycle, then run先游泳、再騎車、最後跑步， always in that order順序永遠是這樣。 The clock never stops碼錶從頭到尾都不會停—— even the changeover連轉換的過程都算， when you climb out of the water and get on the bike也就是你從水裡爬出來、跨上腳踏車的那段時間， is timed也算在計時內， and racers practise it選手也會特別練習這個。 That is called transition這個過程就叫做transition。

The distances change with the event. A short 'sprint' triathlon might be a 750-metre swim, 20 km bike and 5 km run, which an ordinary fit person can train for in a few months. The Olympic distance is roughly double that. The famous Ironman is 3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and then a full marathon — and 'Ironman' is a brand name, not a general word for long triathlons.

The distances change with the event距離會依比賽而不同。 A short 'sprint' triathlon一場短程的'sprint'鐵人三項 might be a 750-metre swim, 20 km bike and 5 km run可能是750公尺游泳、20公里騎車、5公里跑步， which an ordinary fit person can train for in a few months一般體能不錯的人幾個月就能練起來。 The Olympic distance奧運距離 is roughly double that大約是那個的兩倍。 The famous Ironman有名的Ironman鐵人賽 is 3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and then a full marathon是3.8公里游泳、180公里騎車，再加一場全馬——and 'Ironman' is a brand name而'Ironman'是一個品牌名稱， not a general word for long triathlons不是長距離鐵人三項的通稱。

A person who does it is a triathlete. The verb is 'do' or 'compete in' a triathlon, not 'play' one.

A person who does it做這項運動的人 is a triathlete叫做triathlete。 The verb is 'do' or 'compete in' a triathlon動詞要用'do'或'compete in'， not 'play' one不能用'play'。

The 'th' is pronounced like in 'think', and the stress falls on the first syllable: try-ATH-lon in most speakers' mouths, with the first part sounding like 'try'.

The 'th'裡的'th' is pronounced like in 'think'發音跟'think'裡的一樣， and the stress falls on the first syllable重音在第一個音節上： try-ATH-lon in most speakers' mouths大多數人念起來是try-ATH-lon， with the first part sounding like 'try'前面那部分聽起來就像'try'。