Monday, October 29, 2007

The Ironman Triathlon--Such Humble Beginnings

The Hawaii Ironman grew from very humble beginnings. Really not much more than a few friends discussing who was the better athlete---a runner, a biker or a swimmer.
A suggestion was made that a race be invented that included all three elements. That day, an event was born that would change the landscape of sporting history.
What started as a 2.4 Waikiki rough water swim, a bike race around the island, followed by the Honolulu marathon gave birth to mult-event races that had never before existed.
Even races such as the Eco-challenge originated from that small gathering of friends. Little did they know that the race would one day move to Kona on the big island and explode into prominence in 1982 when ABC television covered the race. Television viewers were View the rest of this article


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