#90
The Ironman World Championship
Published or Updated March 5, 2011
Location: United States
Sport: Track & Field
Level: Multi
Sport: Track & Field
Level: Multi
Event Type: Race
First Held: 1978
Next Up: 10/8/2011
First Held: 1978
Next Up: 10/8/2011
When and Where: every October in Kona, HI
Great sporting events are often founded as a way to settle a score.
Such is the case with the Ironman – a triathlon whose slogan, from day one, has been, “Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life", now a registered trademark.
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1982 - Julie Moss crawls across the finish line.
1978 - Fifteen men participate in the initial event held on February 18; 12 complete the race, led by the first Ironman, Gordon Haller. His winning time: 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds.
1981 - Walt Stack, the oldest competitor (73), finishes last in 26:20:00, setting Ironman's slowest finish time record.
1984 and 1987 - Dave Scott wins his fourth Ironman in 8:54:20, becoming the first person to break the nine-hour barrier. Scott's sixth Ironman championship comes in 8:34:13.
The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982, and it is owned and organised by the World Triathlon Corporation and is currently sponsored by Ford.
The Ironman World Championship is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification races held throughout the world.
the course combining that of three events already held there: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4ﾠmi./3.86ﾠkm), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115ﾠmi./185.07ﾠkm, originally a two-day event), and the Honolulu Marathon.
The current Ironman Hawaii course record was set in 1996 by Luc Van Lierde (Belgium), whose winning time was 8ﾠhrs 4ﾠmins 8ﾠsec. The women's course record is 8ﾠhrs 54ﾠmins 2ﾠsec, set in 2009 by Chrissie Wellington (Great Britain).
