Triathlon Team Formation Coaches Scott and Newby-Fraser are faced with a difficult choice. They must choose two teams to enter into the upcoming “Olympic Distance Triathlon Mixed-Team Relay” and they want to find the fastest possible combination of two teams. Triathlon is a sport in which athletes compete in three sports in immediate succession: they swim, then immediately jump on a bike and ride, and then after the bike portion they run for a set distance. In the relay version of triathlon, one teammate swims, then hands off to another teammate who jumps on a bike and rides and then hands off to the third teammate who completes the run. The “mixed-relay” version means that each team consists of both male and female athletes. The “Olympic” distance triathlon features a swim of 1,500 meters, a bike course of 24 miles length, and then a run of 10 kilometers. The regulations require that the overall team selection must be balanced, too; that is, of the six athletes chosen, three must be male and three female. Coaches Scott and Newby-Fraser have analyzed each athlete’s recent performances and estimated what they thinks each athlete can achieve in a race of this sort. Data is provided in the table below (data is in mm:ss or h:mm:ss format; e.g., Frodeno can complete the swim in 18 minutes, 12 seconds. Duffy can complete the bike in 1 hour, 2 minutes and 49 seconds). Find the best assignment of athletes to teams to find the fastest possible teams, in total.
Triathlon Team Formation
Coaches Scott and Newby-Fraser are faced with a difficult choice. They must choose two teams
to enter into the upcoming “Olympic Distance Triathlon Mixed-Team Relay” and they want to
find the fastest possible combination of two teams.
Triathlon is a sport in which athletes compete in three sports in immediate succession: they
swim, then immediately jump on a bike and ride, and then after the bike portion they run for a
set distance. In the relay version of triathlon, one teammate swims, then hands off to another
teammate who jumps on a bike and rides and then hands off to the third teammate who
completes the run. The “mixed-relay” version means that each team consists of both male and
female athletes. The “Olympic” distance triathlon features a swim of 1,500 meters, a bike
course of 24 miles length, and then a run of 10 kilometers. The regulations require that the
overall team selection must be balanced, too; that is, of the six athletes chosen, three must be
male and three female.
Coaches Scott and Newby-Fraser have analyzed each athlete’s recent performances and
estimated what they thinks each athlete can achieve in a race of this sort. Data is provided in
the table below (data is in mm:ss or h:mm:ss format; e.g., Frodeno can complete the swim in 18
minutes, 12 seconds. Duffy can complete the bike in 1 hour, 2 minutes and 49 seconds).
Find the best assignment of athletes to teams to find the fastest possible teams, in total.
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