Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Biathlons are generally considered to be swim-run or bike-run competitions popular among triathletes and multi-sport athletes.

The lifesaving competitions popular in Australia and other ocean communities are also examples of multi-sport races where athletes test their skills in various ways whether it is swimming, paddling, kayaking and running.

But the carbon neutral relays of Hong Kong, devised by Doug Woodring, are a unique combination of paddling and pulling. The Clean Half Extreme Open Water Swim offers has a carbon-neutral relay where the swimmers of each carbon-neutral team rotate between swimming and paddling in an outrigger canoe for 15 kilometers. The team is escorted by itself as the swimmers paddle outrigger canoes and escort each other rather use motorized escorts.

If a relay member is not swimming in the sea, then they are paddling in the outrigger.

Copyright © 2014 by World Open Water Swimming Association