THE OLYMPIC TRIATHLON STORY

Thomas was the Vice President of marketing at Speedo Swimwear in 1981, where he had the vision to create the U.S. Triathlon Series (USTS). The format of the series and the distance was considered ideal for Olympic competition, and Thomas predicted that by the time triathlon was an Olympic sport, “hundreds of thousands of athletes will have competed at the Olympic distance” worldwide.

In 1984 he founded CAT Sports, Inc., owning and producing the national USTS series, inking national sponsorship agreements with Bud Light, Coca Cola, AT&T, Abbott Laboratories and many others. In the process, creating network televised special events for a number of sports and acting as the executive producer of over 25 televised events for ESPN, NBC Sports, ABC Sports, FOX Sports Net, and other national syndications. Thomas also co-founded and served as the first Treasurer of the International Triathlon Union (ITU). He is widely acclaimed as a pioneer in the global triathlon community. In this keynote, Carl explains his early athletic experience, his vision for the triathlon series, and how his mission to have the sport recognized as an Olympic competition shaped the course of his career.