How it all began.....

On 29 May 1984, 117 athletes took part in the first triathlon event in Eupen's Wetzlarbad, organized by the Eupen Swimming Club. The initiator of the 'International Dolphin Triathlon' was Georg Lerho. The distances: 1 km swimming, 45 km cycling and 15 km running. Men's winner: Karel Blondeel (Ghent, Belgium) in 2h33min. Andrea Arimond (Gerolstein, Germany) won the women's competition in 3h7min.

Enthusiasm for triathlon increased in the following years. In 1992, the “Triathlon Team Eupen” was founded as an independent division of the swimming club. The main aim of this division is to inspire more and more regional athletes for the sport of triathlon and to ensure continuity in the organization of the Eupen triathlon.

The logistics in and around the Wetzlarbad reached their limits in the following years. Fifteen years later, the triathlon department of SV Delphin Eupen, which organized the event at the time, dared to move to the Weser dam. Our event has therefore been held at the dam for 25 years. In 1999, the middle distance, which still takes place today, was added as a central element to the program.

Belgian Championship in Eupen

Between 2000 and 2010, triathlon in Belgium experienced enormous growth. In 2001, the Belgian middle-distance championship was held in Eupen for the first time. The Triathlon Team Eupen, founded in 2004, took over the sole organization of the event at the Weser dam in the following years. Well-known names from the international triathlon scene such as Rutger Beke, Rob Barel, Olympic participant Axel Zeebroek and two-time Hawaii winner Luc van Lierde start in Eupen. The number of participants in the promotional distance is also steadily increasing - the triathlon weekend in Eupen is an established part of the Belgian triathlon calendar

The Breydenbach era

From 2010 to 2019, the Belgian middle distance championships were repeatedly held in Eupen. During this decade, the middle distance was dominated by Tim Breydenbach, who won the overall title a total of 5 times during this period. Well-known names such as Alexandra Tondeur and Pieter Heemeryck fought for the championship titles. Triathlon has developed into a popular sport. In order to also give advanced amateur triathletes a chance, we have expanded our triathlon weekend to include the Olympic distance and a unique mixed team relay. At the same time, the event was renamed the “East Belgium Triathlon”. The topic of climate change and sustainability is also becoming increasingly relevant in sport. Our 2019 event was therefore CO2-neutral.
In 2020, we had to cancel the event due to the coronavirus pandemic.