Macca V Chrissy

There are 2 interviews on Competitor radio at the moment. One with Chrissy and the other with Macca.

Macca made the comment that the new guys don't know the history and he isn't sure why they are really doing Kona. He said he did it to get his name on the Trophy. Not for money.

But then the next interview I listened to was with Chrissy and she says she had no idea of the history when she won her first race.

Locally, ss old hats loved Forster Ironman but people coming to Ironman lately don't know about Forster and it's history in Australian Triathlon folklaw.

So is history really important?

This is probably right on the cusp of 'On Topic' but will allow it as it meets Guideline #2 'evolving of people in triathlon'. As soon as this becomes a thread aboout cut off times and kids in the finish chute it is in the bin

I expect the underlying question is 'What does Ironman mean to you?'

I see Ironman not so much as a race but as a Symphony of Sport (I might copywrite that). You put a race together over time using some established and some original aspects then on race day (peformance) it comes down to how much your composition was correct and how good a performer you are as to the outcome. Now, this may well mean that many people are in the sport solely for the challenge of composing, some for performing and some just purely because they love the genre. Others, like Australian Idol are just in it for the cash. Depending on which camp you come from would influence how you felt about people's inspiration and it certainly is an unfortunate aspect that many judge the right for others to be doing 'their' race.

So I guess what I am saying is that both Macca and Chrissie are right with their views on history. Opinion is something we all have. Discussion must complement opinion. This is exactly the intent of this forum.

Funny, I was thinking about this a couple of weeks ago while listening to the Macca interview on IMTalk; he was talking about the history in that one also.

As Alex has said it is probably ‘horses for courses’ some love history some not so much. For me I love it. My first real introduction to Ironman was the year Chrissy won the first time. I still recall vividly the effect watching that race had on me. I was amazed and besotted immediately. Sitting on the couch, I had to ask several times the distances; I could not believe it. From then on I wanted to know and learn more about how, who, why, when... about the history. For a while I admired the sheer distance and then the stories, big and small, of the HWWW... all the time believing a sprint tri to be out of my league.

On 3 years and my interest in the history has not burnt-out, it does not seem to be a phase as some close to me had thought. The only thing that has changed is my belief that I can not achieve it. I can and I will. That has shifted through learning about the history, official and anecdotal. I am lucky that I have met and chatted to people who have been around a while, I wonder if the tri history is not somewhat like folklore in a way, passed down through story telling for the most part. I suppose some don’t care for the past, for me it is important, not just the glamour shots, or great media stories (i.e. Ironwar) but all of it. Maybe it is a generation thing... or maybe I am a freak. I love the history.

Is it possible to have "history" in a sport so young. I have quite a good knowledge of the sports "history", which comes from having lived through the era. I remember Julie Moss on the News, watching the Ironwar on WWS, checking the papers etc for news of Welchy. I have the 1st edition of Triathlon mag, circa 1984.
Many have similar experiences and that is what drives, inspires and challenges us to stay at it. Younger members of the fraternity will not have these experiences and will pick up the history as time passes. I wonder what the knowledge of the first fifty years of the TdF is like amongst the peleton. Mixed, I'd guess.
30 years in terms of history is a blink, and the history of our sport will have different meaning to all. There is no way reading or youtubing Julie Moss can have the same impact today as seeing it and thinking "What is this crazy event!"
Enjoy it from your own perspective!