Since when where shirts required for Triathlons?

(August 2015 Sejeong City Triathlon)

To be honest I think this is a very silly rule, what benefit does wearing a shirt while on your bike provide? Part of my naivety comes from racing in the USA during the late 90’s and early 2000’s then taking a decade break from the sport.  As a competitive swimmer, I admit that I am desensitized to being half naked.  Well let me back up, besides an abstract idea of decency, there is no NEED to wear a shirt on the bike (I challenge someone to explain to me a legitimate reason for amateurs to wear a shirt during the bike) but rules are rules.So there I was in my first triathlon in Korea as the lead amateur cyclist on the road after a very crowded but enjoyable swim, oh yeah and no shirt.  I could tell the motorbike officials were chatting about me on the radio, but I just figured they were talking about my superior cycling style and amazing speed ( #guessnot ).  In actuality they were saying “please cover up this white guy’s belly!”  You can imagine how surprised I was to get abruptly stopped after the 1st lap, of a 5 lap course, and told that I had to put on a shirt.  After a quick argument, I ran in my cycling shoes about 200m down some stairs to the transition area to get my running singlet, because I did not have a proper tri top yet.  

(1st lap and second lap photos..)

Lessoned learned:  The time I lost is my fault. I need to read the rules, no matter what language they are in, that is my responsibility.  I am overly grateful to the kindness of the Korean Triathlon Federation for not disqualifying me and allowing me to get my shirt and continue on to finish my first triathlon in Korea!  

To read more about the details of this race, check out Sejong 2015.