Maribor stories: Triathlon

Maribor is known as a town where people are fond of sports, and in this particular activity Mariborians can be highly innovative people. For us, sport is not a status quo, therefore occasionally, a sport discipline can even be invented.

One such example is a type of triathlon to be named here the "Maribor triathlon" for the sake of political correctness, despite the fact that locally it is mostly known under a different name.

And what are we talking about? The start of the Maribor triathlon is normally on the left (northern) river bank of the Drava, near the Studenci footbridge. From there the athlete walks along the river, past Koblar's Bay (Koblarjev zaliv) to the Maribor Island (Mariborski otok). The original version of the Maribor triathlon consisted of swimming to the island (to avoid paying the entrance fee), but since swimming in the Drava river is extremely dangerous, this leg has not been very popular.

Should an athlete decide to do the more traditional version, the triathlon can be completed also on the right (southern) river bank. When the participant of either the traditional or more modern version arrives at the Island, he may head for the pools and swim a little, before he finds his way to the visitors vehicles parked outside the pool area. A bicycle befitting the rider's stature and personal taste is carefully selected, either from among the ones left unsecured or those protected unsuccessfully with a cheap padlock, and the final triathlon leg is completed by cycling over the bridge back home.