Triathlon History

On this episode of Legends of Triathlon, Siri Lindley shares many amazing stories with IMTalk.

Praise for Surfacing by Siri Lindley

In the week before the 2016 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, Siri sat down for a Breakfast with Bob Babbitt interview at Huggo's. Check out the interview below, during which Siri talks about her athlete Mirinda Carfrae and her preparation for the race to come a few days later.

In Chapter 9 from her book Surfacing, Siri Lindley describes how she earned the chance to coach Mirinda Carfrae and Leanda Cave for the Ironman World Championships.

In Chapter 4 from her book Surfacing, Siri Lindley shares the story of her disastrous and humiliating first triathlon race, a sprint triathlon in which she finished nearly dead last.

The week before the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii is known as "Kona Week," and it is a tense time for the athletes racing. In this chapter from Iron War, Mark Allen and Dave Scott make their final preparations and race predictions.

It is one minute before three o’clock on the afternoon of October 14, 1989, and something is about to happen. Read the first chapter of Iron War.

Peter Reid has had moments of remarkable fragility. While the hardworking, iron-willed competitor saw himself making up for average talents with an unrelenting work ethic that made him the best bet to win Ironman Hawaii from 1998 to 2005, Reid often found his toughest opponent was his own body.

The greatest Ironman triathlete of all time is Paula Newby-Fraser. In this chapter, Paula shares the story of her rise, fall, and return to the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

Normann Stadler was blessed with prodigious physical gifts that led him to become the most formidable cyclist in Ironman Hawaii history. But the ultimate fuel behind his drive for success was the powerful emotions that either propelled him to ecstatic triumph or left the operatic, charismatic man called the Normannator wallowing in misunderstood dramas. No matter. In victory or defeat, Normann Stadler was the man to watch.

Thomas Hellriegel accomplished what no German had done before him: He won Ironman Hawaii in 1997. In the buildup to that victory, his legendary appetite for training likely pushed him to cover more miles than any triathlete before or since. And on that long road he lost two heroic duels that prompted two of the greatest wins in the race’s history before his iron persistence rewarded him for his battles with disappointment, illness, and sacrifice.

An image gallery of some of the photographs from the 1989 Ironman World Championships featured in Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen and the Greatest Race Ever Run.

Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen, and the Greatest Race Ever Run has received more praise than perhaps any other triathlon history book.

How were Dave Scott and Mark Allen able to push so far beyond the illusory limit of Dave Scott’s 8:28:37 event record in their unforgettable Iron War?

"For any triathlete or endurance athlete, or anyone who wonders what it takes to be the best in sport, Iron War is an excellent read.“

Research in exercise science has demonstrated that human beings are able to perform at a significantly higher level in sports activities when in group situations than they can when alone.

What motivated Scott and Allen to embrace the agony they did in their epic showdown?

Paul Tyler of TriEssential.com has interviewed best-selling author Matt Fitzgerald about his experience researching and writing Iron War for Xtri.com.

"Iron War is really a book that should be on your bookshelf if you have even the slightest interest in the sport of triathlon, but it also is a great read for anyone looking for inspiration in general.” — Slowtwitch.com

The Iron War was great because Scott and Allen were such fascinating figures individually and such stark opposites in their personalities.

A true page-turner about a too-little-known great moment in sports.

How did Dave Scott and Mark Allen both complete Ironman Kona in under 8:10? Mind over matter.

"This is the best endurance-sport book I’ve read since Born to Run and Duel in the Sun."

"Iron War has had such a huge impact on me, that I intend to explore some of the main themes in the book in more detail,"

"For any triathlete or endurance athlete, or anyone who wonders what it takes to be the best in sport, Iron War is an excellent read."

One of my goals in researching my newly published book about Iron War was to discover what motivated Dave Scott and Mark Allen to reach so deep in that race.

Dave Scott and Mark Allen had very different personalities before their Iron War showdown.

From an internal perspective, completing an Ironman is a bit like sitting on a sofa for 12 hours and aging two decades.

"Captivating, animated, uniquely readable and downright thrilling."

Research in exercise science has demonstrated that human beings are able to perform at a significantly higher level in sports activities when in group situations than they can when alone.

Dave Scott illuminates how expectations can determine your performance.

Mark Allen finally pulls away from Dave Scott at the 1989 Ironman World Championships, winning the Iron War.

Slowtwitch offers its book review of Iron War.