What is the triathlon mixed relay? How is it different from a regular triathlon?
TOKYO 2020 will host the triathlon mixed team relay and it's going to be fast and furious. Ten teams will compete in the triathlon mixed relay race, with each one comprising four athletes - two men and two women. 6 Vicky Holland and Jonathan Brownlee of team England Credit: Getty Images - Getty  6 Jonathan Brownlee and Alistir Brownlee will be competing for triathlon gold at Tokyo 2020 Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd  6 Jonathan Brownlee of England about to embark on his bike Credit: Getty Images - Getty  The race winner will cross the chequered line approximately 90 minutes after the race start, although there's so much to it. First and foremost: team mixed relay is not a relay like youve done at your local triathlon, where one person does each leg of the race. Instead, in mixed team relay every athlete completes an entire mini swim-bike-run before tagging off to the next athlete. 6 Triathlete's jump into water in Tokyo, Japan Credit: Alamy Live News  6 Team England celebrate after winning gold at Commonwealth games, Glasgow, 2014 Credit: Action Images - Reuters  Each team is made up of two men and two women, with the order going: female/male/female/male. From the four athletes competing in each team, each athlete will have to swim for 300m, cycle for 8km, and run for 2km before tapping the hand of their teammate to pass the relay. So all in all, it counts for 20 minutes of effort per triathlete. Mixed team relay is not the only mixed event of it's type. Archery, Judo, the mixed 4x400m relay in track, and the mixed 4x100m medley relay in swimming all consist of mixed relay events. Every athlete who competes in the mixed team relay at the Olympics must also have competed in the individual triathlon event. The reason for implementing a triathlon mixed relay is for it's part beyond helping bring equality to the most gender-balanced games in history, the triathlon mixed relay will promote unity between male and female athletes. The mixed relay is also significantly shorted than the individual event, which involves a 1.5km swim, a 40km cycle, and a 10km run. The individual triathlon pits 55 of the worlds best men and women over a gruelling 51.5km course. Athletes will begin the race with a 1km swim loop along the shoreline before exiting the water briefly. They will then complete a further 500m loop before entering the first transition area which is situated on the shoreline. 6 Team GB's Lauren Steadman at Rio 2016 Credit: Reuters  Triathletes will then mount their bikes at the start of on an eight-lap, 5km loop before returning to the transition area on the shore of Tokyo Bay before embarking on a 2.5km, four-lap final sprint run. As a guide you can expect the mens race to take approximately 1:45  1:50, with the womens race around 10 minutes longer - so compare that to the mixed team relay - it's much longer. The mixed team relay will be held on July 31 at 7:30 a.m. local time in Tokyo. For anyone watching in Britain, it will be a late night, with coverage of the event starting at 11:30pm BST on July 30 and running overnight.