European dominance in Triple Iron ultra-triathlons from 1988 to 2011 Since 1988, ultratriathlons have been held over the triple Ironman distance of 11.4 km swimming, 540 km cycling and 126.6 km. So far, 1,258 athletes participated in such a competition, with 85.6% of the starters from Europe. Although Americans invented the triathlon, Europeans dominate the long triathlon routes.
Europeans have the faster times as opposed to the Americans and have improved their performance over the years. The work is published in https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281758157_European_dominance_in_Triple_Iron_ultra-triathlons_from_1988_to_2011