The World Triathlon multisports Championship Series is World Triathlon's annual series of triathlon events used to crown an annual world champion since 2008. There are multiple rounds of competitions culminating in a Grand Final race. Athletes compete head-to-head for points in these races that will determine the overall World Triathlon champion. The elite championship races are held, with one exception, over two distances, the standard or 'Olympic' distance (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run) and the sprint distance (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run). The ITU (the former name of World Triathlon) world champion between 1989 and 2008 had been decided in a single annual championship race..