Birth of a sport

Triathlon, being a tough sport, has become famous thanks to its biggest and most competitive event : IronMan Hawaii.

In 1977, John Collins was having a drink at  bar in Honolulu. Some friends, cyclists, runners and swimmers were having a discussion to decide who was the best athlete, which is the most toughest sport. Slightly aided by some beer, Collins suggested doing all three, one after the other, in a single event. They decided to combine the toughest events from the island : the Waikiki rough water swim, the tour of the island by bike and the Honolulu marathon.

Collins went ahead and made some posters which he distributed at local races. The poster said : "Swim 3.8km, ride 180km, run 42km and brag about it for the rest of your life !".

So on February 18, 1977, fifteen athletes started the "iron man" competition. The race was won by Gorgon Haller, a Navy officer converted to taxi driver. He completed the race in 11h46'

While the birth originated from a crazy idea, triathlon is now a normal event, and considered one of the most demanding sports in the universe. In a good twelve years, the sport has continually evolved worldwide. There are even high level events in far away and less developed places like Nepal. There are currently hundreds of thousands of triathletes originating from more than 75 countries. And thanks to the International Triathlon Union, triathlon will be the opening sport on the next Olympic games in Sydney in 2000. A nice start for the next millennium...