The phenomenon has seen the likes of cricket, tennis, baseball, and field hockey's governing bodies among others devise alternate versions of their sport.

It seems to stem from the obsession of attracting younger audiences amid fears that sports are going out of fashion with the youth.

The sudden decision that young peoples' attention spans have dropped off a cliff in recent years is also driving the change. Perhaps TikTok is to blame.

The most successful adaptation of a classic sport is surely Twenty20 cricket which, although not excelling in its birth country England, has become gargantuan in India.

Since the Indian Premier League's inaugural season in 2008, the competition has surpassed 400 million television viewers which is almost half of the total TV audience in the country, standing at around 836 million.

However, despite the format being an undeniable triumph on the subcontinent there are many who consider it to be nothing short of a butchering.

While of course the same sport, T20 has not garnered the support of the purists and, in fairness, it does produce a whole different dynamic as it lacks the twists and turns of a Test match epic.

Just look at the recent Ashes series between England and Australia for example – if you've got days to spare.

There is certainly an argument for short formats though and as in Baseball5 and Hockey5s, which are surprisingly played by teams of five, development is the name of the game. 

They are utilised as gateways for players to discover the sports and can be run with lower operational costs therefore making them more accessible for people from underprivileged areas.

Television audience is also a huge factor at play, something on the forefront of World Triathlon's thinking for its super-sprint format.

"Triathlon Live is working quite well," the organisation's President Marisol Casado told insidethegames.

"I mean we would like more but the fact is that it is growing every year which is appropriate for us.

"In general, I think it is the most important thing to find the right size.

"We are looking for more and maybe super-sprint can help that but at the moment we are still happy with the direction it is going in."

Comprised of a 300-metre swim, 7.5-kilometre cycle, and 1.75km run, it is drastically shorter than the standard Olympic length of a 1.5km swim, 40km bike, and 10km run.

As a result, the typical elite-level finishing time plummets from shy of two hours to around 20 minutes.

A benefit of this is there being less time to separate the athletes and, as seen at the Sprint and Relay World Championships in Hamburg, it is usually just a matter of seconds that make the difference at the line.

Yesterday's individual races saw Frenchwoman Cassandre Beaugrand and New Zealander Hayden Wilde prevail at the Rathausmarkt while Germany's mixed relay victory sent the crowd wild today.

While there are no underlying stats available yet to truly gauge the impact of the super-sprint, it is clear from the feel-good factor and buzz around Hamburg that it is appealing to crowds.

It is a hit with athletes as well who are still getting used to its high-pace racing but may well have to alter their training regimes as it becomes more prominent.

"It's crazy this racing. I really enjoy it but it's carnage," said Olympic bronze medallist Alex Yee, who also came third in the men's event.

"Once you get to that last ten just racing against your mates it's really enjoyable, Kristian [Blummenfelt] doing a madness on the bike and my legs were in tatters, but it's great racing.

"I'm very much preparing for Olympic distance at the moment so to come down to this was madness, but I loved it."

The super-sprint hits the right balance of quick action and an exciting narrative as it is split into three races with the first two eliminating the slowest athletes from a field of 30 before just 10 remain.

This gives more serious fans the chance to indulge themselves in all of the action while more casual viewers can just tune in when it matters. 

Credit should go to Casado for actively seeking out and embracing new ways to evolve the sport while remaining in touch with and maintaining its traditions.

She was successful in her campaign to have the mixed relay, which sees a team of four complete one super-sprint course length each, included in the Olympic Games following its appearance at Tokyo 2020.

The 66-year-old has been somewhat of a pioneer for positive change as, after her election in 2008, World Triathlon then known as the International Triathlon Union was one of the first International Federations to promote gender equality.

It distributed the same prize money for men and women, and had the same distances and media coverage.

If it maintains on its current trajectory, World Triathlon's continued innovations like the super-sprint could prove to be a worthy investment and proof that a bit of tinkering can go a long way.