Polar, the heart rate, fitness and sport technologies company, hosted the first ever iron distance triathlon during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Wednesday 7 January 2015. During the event Olympian and professional triathlete Tim Don demonstrated the Polar V800 multisport training computer by swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and running 26.2 miles in 09:40:21.
The triathlon began at the Venetian Casino Resort’s outdoor lap pool where Don jumped into the water at 06:00 local time to complete 120 laps. Following the swim, Don rode his bike north on the Las Vegas Boulevard directly to the Polar booth located at the Sands Expo. There he completed the remainder of his 112 miles on a CompuTrainer stationary bike trainer.
Once Don completed the ride, he set off to begin his marathon run on a Life Fitness treadmill located within the booth. Then to complete the race, Don ran from the Sands to the Las Vegas Convention Center where he crossed the finish line located in the LVCC Central Plaza at 15:40 PST.
Throughout the day, Don wore the Polar V800 to track his statistics during the triathlon. Over the course of the race, Don reached a maximum heart rate of 182 BPM, sustained an average heart rate of 132 BPM and burned a total of 6,716 calories.
During his 49 minute swim, Don averaged 154 BPM and burned 728 calories. While on the bike, his average speed was 41.1km/h, he burned 3,492 calories and averaged a heart rate of 135 BPM. His three hour marathon run resulted in an average pace of 5:05 min/km, an average cadence rpm of 84, a stride length of 111 cm and 2,496 burned calories.
“Tim Don is an elite athlete and was the ideal addition to our CES activities this year,” said Herb Baer, Polar USA President. “What he was able to accomplish in one day at the Sands is what many train most of their lives for. Even with the transition challenges Vegas through at him, he was able to demonstrate the power of our Polar V800 to all those in attendance and showed how our product helps athletes like himself train, prepare and recover.”
The V800 is positioned as being ideal for athletes and triathletes like Tim Don, who need to track speed, distance, heart rate and transitions when preparing for major athletic events. The device measures training sessions, offers fully customizable sport profiles and helps athletes understand training loads and recovery needs.
Headquartered in Lake Success, NY, Polar USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Finland-based Polar Electro OY, which invented the first wireless heart rate monitor (HRM) in 1977. Polar now operates internationally in more than 80 countries and its products are sold through 35,000 retailers globally.
After earning short-course kudos as a three-time Olympian, four-time ITU World Champion (in triathlon and duathlon) and with multiple ITU World Cup victories, Tim Don turned his attention to the half Ironman distance. His fast pace and light, lithe running form transitioned seamlessly to longer racing, resulting in a tidy collection of Ironman 70.3 titles, and an Ironman victory in his debut attempt.
