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Ironman Triathlons Worldwide

roderick robeson at the 2009 longhorn ironman ...
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There comes a time in an athlete’s life when regular sports may become boring. Just running, biking or swimming might not be enough to get the adrenaline pumping and the heart racing, leaving you wondering what’s left out there to do for some exhilarating fun short of extreme sports like skydiving. How about swimming, biking and running combined?

The Ironman Triathlon is not just one race, but the name of a bunch of different races held annually around the world. As the name suggests, a triathlon involves performing three different physical feats, so technically even one Ironman Triathlon is three races grouped together under one name. To be considered an Ironman Triathlon, very specific rules must be followed. Participants must swim for 2.4 miles, go on a 112 mile bicycle ride, and then run in a marathon race for just over 26 miles, all in the strict time frame of precisely 17 hours and not a moment more. Participating individuals are not allowed to rest between activities in the Ironman Triathlon and if they take too long on any one part of it, they may be disqualified–so that’s incentive to rush as well!

The triathlon begins at 7:00 in the morning and is timed carefully from that point on. Cut off times include the following: participants are disqualified if they take over two hours and twenty minutes to finish the swimming portion, if the clock has reached 5:30 PM or later by the time they finish the biking portion, or if they don’t complete the entire marathon by 12:00 midnight. The Japanese version, Ironman Japan, gives participants even less time: only 15 hours to complete the entire event.

The various Ironman Triathlons around the world culminate in a world championship that is held in Hawaii each year. This championship is also referred to officially as the Ironman Triathlon.

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Evolution of the Olympic Games

The five Olympic rings represent the five cont...
Image via Wikipedia

In the first Olympics, young male athletes from Ancient Greece came together to challenge one another in a “stade” or short sprint across the stadium.  Throughout the early years of the games, other events were added. Boxing, chariot racing, long jump, and the javelin and discus throw all made their way into the arena.

According to Wikipedia, “The athletes usually competed naked, not only as the weather was appropriate, but also as the festival was meant to celebrate, in part, the achievements of the human body.”

Boy oh boy, have the Olympics come a long way. Not only in sporting events, but uniforms as well.

Over the years there have been events added and removed from the Olympic program. The International Olympic Committee has an Executive Committee who votes on which events make it into a program and which sports are removed. Decisions are based on whether or not an event is practiced around the world and how many countries are able to participate.

Did you know that floorball, lifesaving, tug of war, and wushu are all games that are recognized by the IOC? “Floorball, hmm,” you may scratch your head and wonder, “what exactly is floorball?” It’s a type of indoor hockey developed in the 1970’s. It is mainly played in European countries as a year round sport.

Softball and baseball have officially made their way off of the Olympic program. Coming from the American Continents that may flabbergast you. How could a defining American sport be removed from the Olympic program? That’s just it. It’s an American sport that is not played universally across the globe.  That’s not to say that it won’t make a return in future games. There just needs to be more countries willing to play ball.

What is interesting is that as of late, golf and rugby have made it back onto the Olympic program, and you will be seeing these athletes perform in future Olympic games.

What can you make of this? That evolution is absolute.  Even as the world around us continues to evolve, so do the Olympic games.

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Filed Under: Athletics, General, Olympics, Sports Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Legendary Sports Achievements — Roger Bannister and the Four-Minute Mile Barrier

The Grandstand at the Roger Bannister running ...
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Every sport has its great achievers, and every era ushers in athletes of such singular achievement they make once-thought-impossible feats seem suddenly possible.  How do they do it?  What drives them?   What makes a champion so different from other people, let alone other athletes?

Some athletes compete faster, higher, and more intensely than the rest of the pack, driving themselves to break records and accomplish the unthinkable. The roar of the crowd at major sports competitions says it all—great champions offer a level of inspiration that is utterly soul stirring.

What makes a champion?  It’s more than just physical training and agility – though those elements can’t be discounted.  Legendary, truly great athletes share an ability to focus mentally on a level most of us can scarcely imagine.

Roger Bannister became a sports legend in 1954 when he broke the then unimaginable four-minute mile speed record in a race in Oxford, England. The previous record had been held for nine years, and the achievement of running a mile in less than four minutes had been deemed impossible.  Yet Bannister did it.  How?

Bannister had been running his whole life and dedicated himself to a system of light training.  He often said it was easier for him to run than to walk, so he ran. And ran. And ran.  Before the race at Oxford he began training even harder with a new approach, a training system that combined a system of steady running with fast spurts.

Significantly, Bannister visualized himself breaking the four-minute barrier, and once the race was run he was confident he had achieved it.  It was Bannister’s combination of acute, dedicated training along with mental discipline and an overriding belief in his ability to achieve the impossible that lead to his legendary victory.

In his book, Four Minute Mile, Bannister wrote,  “No one can say, ‘You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.’ The human spirit is indomitable."

Roger Bannister’s incredible achievement, both athletically and mentally, still inspires athletes and thinkers worldwide.

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