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Ironman Triathlon

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An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) consisting of a 2.4 miles (3.86 km) swim, a 112 miles (180.25 km) bike and a marathon (26 miles 385 yards, 42.195 km) run, raced in that order and without a break.

The Ironman Triathlon, or The Ironman Triathlon World Championships, or Ironman Hawaii, is both the original Ironman triathlon and the annual world championships of the event, held annually in Hawai'i since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It was made famous by its grueling length, harsh race conditions, and television coverage.

History

Start & Finish line of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship on Ali'i Drive in Kona Hawaii.

The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay (a running race for 5-person teams). Among the participants were numerous representatives of both the Mid-Pacific Road Runners and the Waikiki Swim Club, whose members had long been debating which athletes were more fit, runners or swimmers. Ironman Triathlon was the first major competition to extend the distance to an extreme endurance event. The first Ironman Triathlon was held on February 18, 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii[1], repeated in 1979 and 1980.

On this occasion, U.S. Navy Commander John Collins pointed out that a recent article in Sports Illustrated magazine had declared that Eddy Merckx, the great Belgian cyclist, had the highest recorded "oxygen uptake" of any athlete ever measured, so perhaps cyclists were more fit than anyone. CDR Collins and his wife had taken part in the triathlons staged in 1974 and 1975 by the San Diego Track Club in and around Mission Bay, California, as well as the 1975 Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in Coronado, California. A number of the other military athletes in attendance were also familiar with the San Diego races, so they understood the concept when CDR Collins suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining the three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi./185.07 km; originally a two-day event) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.219 mi./42.195 km).

Until that point, no one present had ever done the bike race; CDR Collins calculated that, by shaving 3 miles (4.8 km) off the course and riding counter-clockwise around the island, the bike leg could start at the finish of the Waikiki Rough Water and end at the Aloha Tower, the traditional start of the Honolulu Marathon. Prior to racing, each athlete received three sheets of paper listing a few rules and a course description. Handwritten on the last page was this exhortation: "Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life", now a registered trademark.

With a nod to a local runner who was notorious for his demanding workouts, Collins said, "Whoever finishes first, we'll call him the Iron Man." Each of the racers had their own support crew to supply water, food and encouragement during the event. Of the fifteen men to start off in the early morning on February 18, 1978, twelve completed the race. Gordon Haller was the first to earn the title Ironman by completing the course, with a time of 11 hours, 46 minutes, and 58 seconds.

With no further marketing efforts, the race gathered as many as 50 athletes in 1979. The race, however, was postponed a day because of bad weather conditions and only fifteen competitors started off the race Sunday morning. San Diego's Tom Warren won in 11 hours, 15 minutes, and 56 seconds. Lyn Lemaire, a championship cyclist from Boston, placed sixth overall and became the first "Ironwoman".

Collins planned on changing the race into a relay event to draw more participants, but Sports Illustrated's journalist Barry McDermott, in the area to cover a golf tournament, discovered the race and wrote a ten page account of it. During the following year, hundreds of curious participants contacted Collins.

In 1981 the competition was moved to the less urbanized Big Island by Valerie Silk and in 1982 Silk moved the race date from February to October; as a result of this change there were two Ironman Triathlon events in 1982.

A milestone in the marketing of the legend and history of the race happened in February 1982. Julie Moss, a college student competing to gather research for her exercise physiology thesis, moved toward the finish line in first place. As she came nearer to the finish line, severe fatigue and dehydration set in, falling yards away from the finish line. Although Kathleen McCartney passed her for the women’s title, Moss nevertheless crawled to the finish line. Her performance was broadcast worldwide and created the Ironman mantra that just finishing is a victory.

The sport of triathlon was added as an Olympic sport at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney as a shorter distance race (1,500-metre (0.93 mi) swim, 40-kilometre (25 mi) cycle, 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) run).

There have been a number of non-WTC "Ironman Distance" triathlons that have been held since the mid-1990s. The limited number of WTC-sanctioned events, and the limited number of entries available per race have combined with a growth in the sport that has created demand for these non-trademarked events. Many of them share the 2.4-mile (3.9 km), 112-mile (180 km), 26.2-mile (42.2 km) format with Ironman. Originally, many used the Ironman name. Due to aggressive trademark protection, most of these races no longer use the word "Ironman". The largest of these include the Vineman Triathlon, Silverman Triathlon and Californiaman Triathlon.

The original Ironman is held in conditions which are uniquely punishing for endurance racing: the Hawaii water is warm enough that helpfully buoyant wetsuits are not allowed; though the cycling hills have only moderate gradients they are normally crossed by strong and gusting winds; and the marathon leg of the race is usually extremely hot. Other races under the WTC aegis have their own difficulties, characteristic of their setting and season. Anyone completing one of these races within the time limit, so long as it is the prescribed distance, is entitled to call themself an Ironman (the term being gender-neutral). At one time there was no cut-off time, then a 15 hour time limit - for these events the normal time limit is now 17 hours. Some iron distance races (not sanctioned by the WTC corporation, but using the same standard distances) have different cut-off times.

Today

The Ironman format remains unchanged, and the Hawaiian Ironman is still regarded as the most honored and prestigious triathlon event to win worldwide. For the 25th anniversary on October 18, 2003, nearly 1500 athletes were enlisted, most of which had to go through qualification competitions (although some were admitted through the lottery).

Although thousands of athletes worldwide compete at an Ironman event each year, the vast majority aim simply to just finish the course if they are first timers, or set a PR (personal record) time if they've raced this distance before. Only very talented athletes realistically compete for a spot in Hawaii, and just finishing an Ironman race is often the highlight of many triathletes' career. Athletes with disabilities now compete in the event in the physically challenged category, and are required to meet the same cutoff times as able bodied competitors. Australian John MacLean was the first physically challenged athlete to complete the event.

People completing such an event are agreed to be recognized as "Ironmen": the plural "Ironmans" refers to multiples of "Ironman" as a short form of "Ironman Triathlon". In the triathlon community an Ironman is someone who has completed a race of the appropriate distance, whether or not it falls under the aegis of WTC.

The Ironman Triathlon is a grueling event that pushes its participants to the limits of endurance. Some, however, find the prescribed distances fall short of these limits. Hence, events such as the double iron triathlon have come about. More extreme formats have evolved; there are in fact triple, quadruple, quintuple, deca, and 15× events that are multiples of the original Ironman distance triathlon. The world records in both the quintuple and deca iron races are held by Astrid Benöhr.

Ironman World Championships

Main article: Ironman World Championship

The Ironman World Championship has been held annually since 1978 in the city of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The race has been held in the fall since 1982, prior to which it was held in the spring. The race consists of the swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, the bike ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to Hawi and back, and the marathon along the coast of the Big Island (from Keauhou to Keahole Point to Kailua-Kona); finishing on Ali'i Drive. The most recent Ironman World Championship took place on October 11, 2008. Qualifying for the World Championship is achieved through placement in one of the other Ironman races or some Ironman 70.3 races. Qualification can also be via simply finishing a race and winning a lottery position (200 slots).

The current Ironman course record was set in 1996 by Luc Van Lierde (Belgium), whose winning time was 8 hrs 4 mins 8 sec.

Ironman 2009 series

Main article: 2009 Ironman World Championship

The Ironman 2009 Series features the same races as the 2008 series starting with Ironman Coeur D Alene June 21, 2009 and ending with the Ironman World Championship 2009 on October 10, 2009.

Ironman 2008 series

Main article: 2008 Ironman World Championship

Qualification into the 2008 Ironman World Championship was decided though a series of 21 Ironman events held around the world leading to the World Championship race October 11, 2008 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The 2008 world champions were Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington.

Ironman 2007 series

By 2007 there were 21 Ironman Triathlon qualifying races throughout the world:

US Ironmans

European Ironmans

Australian Ironmans

Asian Ironmans

Other Ironmans

Another way of qualifying is the Ironman lottery. 200 spots are reserved for athletes that enter the lottery, 50 of them being international spots, the other 150 being US spots. The lottery entries are then drawn out of a pool of about 3,000 entries.

Notable Ironman triathletes

  • Paula Newby-Fraser
    • 8-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii (overall record)
    • 4 consecutive victories in Hawaii
    • 24 Ironman victories overall (overall record)
    • Nickname is "The Queen of Kona"
  • Natascha Badmann
    • First European female winner of Ironman Hawaii
    • 6-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii
  • Dave Scott
    • 6-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii (men's record)
    • Nickname is "The Man"
  • Mark Allen
    • 6-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii (men's record)
    • 5 consecutive victories in Hawaii (overall record)
    • Nickname is "The Grip"
  • Greg Welch
    • First non-American male winner of Ironman Hawaii
    • Won the Grand Slam of races during his career
    • Nickname is "Mighty Mouse"
  • Luc Van Lierde
    • First European male winner of Ironman Hawaii
    • Current time-record holder (8:04:08)
    • Holder of all-time record (7:50:27 in 1996 Ironman Europe)
  • Scott Rigsby
    • October 13, 2007 - Rigsby becomes the "second-ever below-the-knee double amputee to finish an Ironman event", the first to do so at Ironman Hawaii. (16:42:48)[2] [3]
  • Karen Smyers
  • Eduardo Herrera
    • First Special Olympics athlete to compete in the Kona, Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. Overall has competed in 11 triathlons with a best time of 11 hours and 52 minutes in the 2000 Ironman Triathlon in Porto Seguro, Brazil. Named “Sportsman of the Year” in 1996 by the Guatemala National Triathlon Federation. In 1999 recognized by the Cabildo Insular of Lanzarote, with the “Gold Crab” button for having finished the most difficult Ironman course in the world.
  • Dick Hoyt
    • Around age 65, Dick completed the Ironman Triathlon with disabled son Rick, who cannot walk or talk. Dick pulled Rick in a boat through the swim, rode with him on a specially outfitted bike through the 112-mile (180 km) ride, and pushed him in a wheelchair through the run.
  • Fmr. New Mexico Gov. Gary E. Johnson
    • First United States Governor to compete in the Ironman Triathlon.
  • Péter Kropkó
    • Cover guy of the book called '25 Years of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship'
    • 4-time winner of the Ironman, Strongman Japan
    • 2-time winner of the Ironman Switzerland
    • 1-time winner of the Ironman Denmark

Ironman 70.3

Main article: Ironman 70.3

In 2005, WTC instituted the Ironman 70.3 race series. This shorter course, also known as a Half Ironman, consists of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. As with the Ironman series, it consists of a number of qualifying races at various locations worldwide, culminating in a world championship race with athletes drawn largely from top finishers in the qualifying events. The world championship is held in Clearwater, Florida. [4] Some 70.3 events also act as qualifiers for the full Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

The Ironman trademark

The Ironman Triathlon logo is a trademark of the World Triathlon Corporation. The WTC has also registered the trademark "Ironman Triathlon" for its athletic competitions, and the trademark "Ironman" for a line of clothing, athletic equipment, and souvenirs, and licensed the name to Timex for their line of Timex Ironman wristwatches. Other organizations holding a race of equal distances may only refer to their triathlons as a "Full Distance Triathlon" or something similar, occasionally also involving the -man suffix, though the term 'ironman' is used to refer to such races unofficially.

Symbols

M-Dot is the symbol that refers to the event. The symbol is taken from the Ironman logo, which is the word IRONMAN (in all caps) with a dot on top of the letter M, which is supposed to look like a person. The dot is the head of the person and the M is the body of the person. It represents the need to have a fit body and a strong willpower.

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Ironman Triathlon World Championship - The complete history of the World's most famous Triathlon". 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  2. ^ Fazio, Bryan. Rigsby realizes dream, completes Hawaii Ironman. Valdosta Daily Times. November 11, 2007. Accessed on February 5,2008.
  3. ^ Mackinnon, Kevin. Ironmanlife: Masaki Fujita update. Ironman.com. July 4, 2008. Accessed on July 5,2008.
  4. ^ Ironman 70.3 - IRONMAN.com
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