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We're just 45 minutes away from the pro start here at the 11th running of Ironman Malaysia, so today's column will be quick and, well, let me use an expression I'm sure I'd here from Belinda Granger: quick and dirty. To get to the live text updates, go to: http://ironman.com/coverage/?race=malaysia&year=2010 Read the story »
No pressure there. How'd you like to be Jocelyn Wong, working your tail off as part of Team TBB's development team, dropping your Ironman times like crazy, and get to come home to some inspring words from her Grandpa: "So when are you going to win Ironman China?" Read the story »
For the record, the scratchy throat and runny nose started a few hours ago. Lots of body aches, too. My prediction is that I'm going to be deathly ill and bedridden for ... well, I'm guessing a couple of weeks. Things will likely come around just before the closing ceremonies. I know, I had my little diatribe last week, winging to you all that the Ironman was every bit as entertaining as the Super Bowl and should garner more attention. Yes, I realize that it would be hypocritical to then turn around and say that the reason I haven't returned any e-mails, answered my phone or done any work for a couple of weeks was because I was glued to my television watching the Olympics. Which is why it's very handy that this flu thing appears to be coming along. Read the story »
Someone needs to explain this to me. On Sunday about 100 million people will tune in to the Super Bowl, where they will watch 47 members of the Indianapolis Colts take on 47 members of the New Orleans Saints actually play for a grand total of - are you ready for this - 12.5 minutes. There's no comparison between that and the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, where you get to watch almost 1,800 athletes compete for anywhere from eight to 17 hours. What gives? Read the story »
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As much as I feel that we couldn't be much better represented by our two current world champions, Craig Alexander (left, Mirinda Carfrae is to my right in the picture above) and Chrissie Wellington, there's only one thing that we're missing these days with their current domination of Ford Ironman World Championship - neither are exactly renowned for their trash talking. Can you imagine how much fun it would be to hear Chrissie actually predict that she's going to finish two postal codes ahead of the next woman at next years race? Or for Chris Lieto to get the K-Swiss folks to put "you're not going to catch me today, Crowie" on the back of his race singlet, and Alexander to come back with "sorry, mate, remind me again where you finished in Boise?" Read the story »
Clay Thornton is 100 percent sure that triathlon saved his life. If a friend hadn't talked him into doing his first triathlon, his wife would be a widow and his kids would be trying to figure out how life works without a dad. Read the story »
Face it, our sport doesn't exactly lend itself to the concept of being "selfless," which, according to the good ol' Oxford dictionary, is an adjective that means: "concerned more with the needs and wishes of others than with one's own." Ironman competitors typically train 18 to 30 hours for upwards of seven months before the race. That training often includes seven miles of swimming, 225 miles of biking and 48 miles of running each and every week. To do all of that, well, you're spending a lot of "me" time. Read the story »
The guy is articulate and charismatic - during interviews he provides quotes that don't fall into the usual sport cliché mode and he never misses a chance to tease some of his competitors (who seem to enjoy the interactions, too). The guy is smart - he's a Princeton grad with a degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering. He's fast - last November he set the course record in winning Ford Ironman Arizona. Jordan Rapp is altruistic - how many pros do you know who balanced their final race preparation with a charity raffle in which $22,500 was raised (and matched dollar for dollar by an anonymous donor) for World Bicycle Relief? Oh, and while he was doing all that he was also taking care of the preparations for his wedding with former Canadian Olympian and Pan Am triathlon gold medalist Jill Savege. How much do you think David Stern wishes he had more athletes like the Rappstar to deal with? Read the story »
