singlesport

Singlesport is a term used to describe sports or athletic activities that are pursued by a single participant rather than by teams or pairs. In singlesport, competition is typically against personal performance metrics such as time, distance, accuracy, or score, rather than against direct opponents.

Many activities are considered singlesport when practiced competitively in individual formats. Examples include running, swimming, cycling time trials, archery, shooting, cross-country skiing in individual races, and triathlon. In these disciplines, results are determined by objective measures like finish times, distance achieved, or target scores, rather than by defeating another competitor in real time.

Governing structures for singlesport are distributed across many federations and organizations, reflecting that the category is a descriptive one rather than a single, unified sport. Events may be organized as time trials, distance records, or precision-based competitions, and athletes often train to optimize technique, endurance, consistency, and mental focus.

In practice, the distinction between singlesport and other sports can blur, as many disciplines accommodate both solo performance and head-to-head competition. Critics of the broad label argue that it downplays the social and strategic elements found in other sports, while supporters emphasize the clarity of personal goal-setting and the universality of solo athletic achievement.

See also: individual sport, time trial, endurance sport.