Swim, Run, Drink: The Beer Gut Triathlon

Open category winner Lindsay struggles to summit a flat

Saturday saw the 22nd annual observance of a summer tradition in sporting ambition, an event that has spanned eight states and the nation of Haiti, a grueling crucible of mind, body, and liver: The Beer Gut Triathlon. The brainchild of a prominent human rights lawyer named Brian Concannon, Jr., the BGT is a pointless, stupid affair wherein “athletes” swim roughly 1/5 of a mile, run roughly 3 miles, and then chug exactly four (women’s category) or six (open category) watery beers. Vomiting results in a five minute penalty and an extra beer. An athlete who has consumed her allotment must hold the empty cans upside down over her head for 69 seconds; if anything more than isolated drops comes out, she must pay, again, a one-beer penalty.

The following are photographs from this year's competition, held in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood:

The athletes engage in pre-event psych-out tactics.

They're off!

Baywatch!

The storming of the beach continues

This guy's youthful appearance and the resulting speculation that he might be underage earned him the nickname 'Chinese gymnast'.

Oh boy!

Open category winner Lindsay suppresses a reversal of the digestive process. "I'm hoping to get a sponsorship from Nike," he says.

After drinking a penalty beer, BGT athlete Kim celebrates her completion of the event.