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It is with great sadness that the ITU has learned of the death of its Honorary President, Les McDonald. He died on September 4 in Vancouver (Canada), at 84 years of age. McDonald served as ITU’s President from its inception in 1989 until 2008, and he was largely credited with getting the sport of triathlon into the Olympic Summer Games. The grief of his passing is shared by his family, friends, athletes, fans and all the triathlon family, and by ITU staff and Board.
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“Les was not only an extraordinary person, he was part of the triathlon family, and will be always remembered. His impact on the global evolution of our sport, and the governing body, was very significant. Those of us who were privileged to share this journey with him are immensely sadden at this moment. He lived a plentiful life, dedicated to triathlon, and we will continue to live with his legacy to make sure the sport is always about the athletes,” said ITU President an IOC member, Marisol Casado.
ITU Vice President, Loreen Barnett, and a long-time friend of McDonald said that “Les’ greatest legacy is the number of opportunities that he created for women; athletes, officials and administrators. Les’ grandmother was a suffragette in the UK in the early decades of the last century, and her lessons on equality for women in terms of reward and opportunity guided Les’ work during his leadership role within ITU. Hundreds of women, including myself, benefitted from his belief in the equal ability of women.”
The son of a coal miner, McDonald was born in Felling upon Tyne, near Newcastle in the northeast of Britain, on April 30 1933. He started working while he was still a young boy, only 14, and became interested in mountain climbing, tackling major routes in the Alps and many first ascents in North America.
It was during a climbing and ski trip to Austria that he met his life mate, Monique, and in 1954 they married and settled in Vancouver, where McDonald found work as an electrician. They have three children, Ian, Helen and Daniel. As a member of the Grouse Mountain Ski Club he helped organise many of the mountain’s earliest alpine events and coached the BC ski team.
Later, he was part of the group that founded Whistler, building its first ski lift, helping construct the first power line in from Squamish, even serving on the unsuccessful Vancouver-Garibaldi Olympic bid in the mid-1960s. The network of cross-country ski trails near the Whistler village are his work, where one challenging trail’s jump bears his name “Les’ Leap.”
McDonald began competing in marathons in the 1970s and to spice up training, he and some friends discovered triathlon, tried one in California, and brought the sport back to Vancouver. In 1981, the first triathlon ever held in Canada took place at Vancouver’s Spanish Banks; swimming in the ocean, biking around the University of BC and running to Brockton Oval in Stanley Park.
The successful race was remarkably informal; McDonald only realized an event permit was needed when an RCMP officer knocked on his door later that night. Throughout the 80’s, McDonald worked tirelessly, building the sport’s governing bodies from the ground up. In 1983, he led a committee that established the British Columbia Triathlon Association. A year later, he founded the Canadian Triathlon Federation (later Triathlon Canada), serving as its first president until 1996. All the while, McDonald was still competing, finishing as age-group champion in many races and even moving up to the Ironman distance, where for five straight years beginning in 1983 he won the over-50 world championships, setting world records in the process.
Then a phone call, in the fall of 1988, changed the direction of his life – and the sport’s – forever. On the line was IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who wanted McDonald’s help to bring triathlon to the Olympic programme. McDonald and Sweden’s Sture Johnasson, co-chaired a ‘working group’ to establish the sport’s international federation and in 1989 the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was formed with McDonald as its first president, based in his hometown, Vancouver.
In 1994, the hard work and sacrifice paid off with IOC confirmation that triathlon would be included on the Olympic programme as a full-fledged medal sport for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
After dedicating almost 20 years of his life to ITU and to make our sport grow across the world, Marisol Casado, mentored by Les, was proclaimed President of the International Federation in 2008. A role that she still has after winning her third election in 2016.
On the final day of the 122nd IOC Session held during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in ITU’s hometown of Vancouver, Les was awarded with the Olympic order, and honour given to individuals who demonstrate distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement. That same year, he won the Continental IOC Women and Sport Award.
In 2013, McDonald was honoured with the Order of Canada, which is the centre piece of Canada’s honours system and recognises a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Only one year later, in 2014, in the inaugural Hall of Fame of ITU, McDonald was inducted with the Lifetime Achievement.
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As he had been doing since he first discovered the world of triathlon, Les dedicated his life to promote and grow our sport, and no words can describe the gratitude the triathlon community will have forever for his contribution. He will be sadly missed.
“Our races show the power of nature and how little we are on this spec of a world. All we can do is take care of each other.” For the 300 athletes sitting in the race briefing ahead of the 12th ÖtillÖ World Championship race in the Stockholm archipelago, these very apt words from race director Michael Lemmel saw a few nervous smiles exchanged. With winds already gusting outside and similar conditions, with heavy rain, predicted for the next day, everyone’s mind was on how the weather conditions would affect the race ahead.
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Now in its twelfth official year, the race ranked by CNN as ‘one of the world’s toughest endurance races’ involves swimming and running in teams of two across 26 islands, performing 50 transitions and covering 75km of ever-changing terrain.
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Two days before, the race had also held its shorter ‘Final 15’ event (race blog report to follow). Conditions for that event were perfect, with slightly overcast skies and gentle breezes meaning competitors only had the tricky trails and occasional currents trying to slow them down.
Titles to defend
For the big one on Monday 4th September though, things couldn’t be more different. On the start line were all three reigning world champion teams: Kristin Larsson and Annika Ericsson (Team Addnature/Campz) in the women’s class, Eva Nyström and Adriel Young (Thule Crew/Trispot.se) in mixed and in the men’s class, Daniel Hansson was back with Swedish Armed Forces to defend the men’s title and world record. With Lelle Moberg out through injury however, he was this year partnered by Swedish long-distance triathlete Jesper Svensson.
The race started out fast, with the more experienced athletes going out hard and pushing the pace. Goals were on everyone’s minds though, whether it was just to finish in the case of many of the International teams unused to the terrain of the archipelago, to setting new PBs or retaining podiums in the case of the top teams. Some teams were even relishing the chance to take on the challenging conditions – including GB female team Izzy Joiner and Rosemary Byde in Sportswimrunextreme, who told us they’d been training hard on the Scottish coast in preparation for their third time on the course.
As the day went on, the predicted break in the weather didn’t arrive and conditions in fact worsened with strong currents on the second half of the course seeing even experienced swimmers pulled off course.
Making The Break
In the men’s race three teams were sticking close together within a minute of each other until Swedish Armed Forces managed to pull away 70km into the race. In an amazing feat of skill and endurance Hansson and Svensson burst across the line to set a new course record at 7:58:06, one minute faster than last year’s world record. Race director Mats Skott had predicted we would see a new course record set this year, but after such a huge chunk of time was taken off in 2016 and with the weather against them, it was still hard to believe it was achieved!
“Our tactic was to keep on eye on the lead, and pull away at the right moment at the end, and we managed to stick to our plan,” Daniel Hansson explained. “We arrived at Utö and saw that it was possible to beat last year’s time, so we pushed all the way to the end.”
The Mixed Team category provided an equally thrilling day of racing. Australian Adriel Young and Swede Eva Nyström also held onto their title, finishing in 9:01:31, less than one minute ahead of Staffan Björklund and Marika Wagner, who were 15 mins behind the leaders at the 6 hour point and had pushed hard in the latter sections of the race to stage an amazing comeback. “I’ve never seen someone dig in so deep,” Adriel Young said of his teammate, who has not been able to run over the last four weeks due to injury.
The undefeated Women’s World Champion team of Annika Ericsson and Kristin Larsson demonstrated once again their world-crushing skill on the course, finishing in 10:03:42 – 40 minutes ahead of the next team.
Watch the full video race recap of the brutal and beautiful 2017 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship at https://t.co/f1kW6xR5X7 #otillo pic.twitter.com/y5uDAcnJSS
— ÖTILLÖ Swimrun (@otillorace) September 6, 2017
See the full race coverage, which includes 220 Triathlon Editor Helen Webster as one of the live commentators.
Find out more!
Interested in trying swimrun for the first time? Read our guide here: What Is Swimrun?
Want to find out more about kit for swimrun? Read our Essential Guide to Swimrun Kit
Wondering how to train for your first swimrun race? Here’s our expert swimrun training plan
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The stunning photos are courtesy of ÖtillÖ photographers Jakob Edholm and Pierre Mange
Standing on a small, rocky island it’s no exaggeration to say I’m getting absolutely battered. Strong winds are whipping around me, rain is bouncing off my face and I’m conscious that even with the heavy layers of kit I’m wearing I’m still freezing cold.
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Looking back down at the swim beneath me, I can see athletes struggling against the winds and waves. The swim is only 300m, but the currents are jack-knifing their bodies as they fight to make it to shore and even then, the rain is making the rocks so slippery that hauling themselves out of the water is a challenge.
Luckily for me though, I’m watching the action of the main World Championship race as part of the reporting team for the ÖtillÖ Live webcast. In fact my race over the same part of the course had been two days earlier, in the Final 15 event, when we were lucky enough to have calm weather, a touch of sunshine and no strong winds. I’m reminded, as ever, how much at the mercy of nature you are in these races. The course couldn’t look more different today.
One of the beautiful sheltered forest run sections at ÖtillÖ Final 15. Image: Jakob Edholm
Short and Technical
The Final 15 forms part of the ÖtillÖ Sprint series and allows swimrunners to pit themselves against a slightly-modified version of the final section of the legendary world championship course. In total you tackle 9 swims and 10 runs and although 15km might seem like a short distance, this is deceptive as the technical trail running across rocks, the 18 transitions and the strong currents in some of the swims make it much tougher than you’d imagine.
This is my second time racing Final 15 (read the 2016 report) and this year I’m in a women’s team with Tiffany Lindström. We’ve been paired up by the organisers and I’m already feeling very lucky, as Tiffany lives and works on Utö so does all her training on the course. She’s also a powerhouse of energy, full of excitement about the adventure ahead. I can tell we’re on for a good race.
The race day begins with a ferry ride to the start line on Ornö. A good chance for Helen and Tiffany to check out the course ahead!
Every part of an ÖtillÖ race is an adventure and the Final 15 starts with a boat ride, as a chartered ferry takes us all to the start line on the west side of Ornö. We arrive and the atmosphere on the start line is a lot of fun – everyone’s comparing race tactics and with 30 minutes until the start, jumping in and out of the water to test the temperature and warm up.
Jellyfish and Rocks
Race start and we have a short 670m run up and over a hill then back down to the water. It’s just enough to get the blood moving before we’re in to the first (and longest!) swim on the course, of 1,150m. The water is calm but there are hundreds of jellyfish the size of my palm moving around us. After accidentally scooping a few up (and wearing one on my swimhat for a while!) I realise they’re harmless and just enjoy the company of these surreal creatures. I find out at the finish that other swimrunners were less keen!
The Final 15’s first swim takes you 1,150m round a sheltered bay. Image: Jakob Edholm
Tiffany and I aren’t swimming tethered as this is our first race together and our speeds are similar. In this first swim we realise she’s faster than me though, so I’m using her feet as a guide (luckily her neon run shoes are easy to spot!) and if she builds up too much of a lead she waits for me. You have to be within 10m of your partner in swimrun, so it’s important we don’t lose each other.
Out of the water we’re feeling good and we’re adjusting our kit and starting the second run, which is also the longest at 5km. It’s the easiest too though, as most of it is on farm tracks, so we’re picking up the pace and feeling comfortable.
Later in the race things change, as we start to take on more typical ÖtillÖ terrain. The runs become more technical and we’re hopping across slippery rocks and trying to find a path through overgrown pine forests. There are scraps of ÖtillÖ tape tied to trees to show us the way, but often it’s a case of choosing your own path through the terrain.
Luckily Tiffany is full of tips and is demonstrating her fantastic ninja-esque run technique, hopping high over bracken and scampering across rocks. This is all good advice and overall I’m doing much better than the previous year and keeping my footing more (a polite way of saying I didn’t fall on my butt so much!).
Helen and Tiffany navigate one of the swim-to-run transitions. Image: Pierre Mangez
As for the swims, we’re powering through them and with most of them around 300m, the distances are enough to cool our bodies down after the run sections but not so long that we get too cold. We’re reading the conditions before each one too, as some have strong currents, so we’re heading out to different sighting points to the ÖtillÖ course water exit flags and letting the currents bring us back in.
Finishing Strong
All too soon, we arrive at the finish island Utö. Here the main championship race follows a 3.5km run course along the island and home, but for the Sprint we get to leave the island and take in another two smaller islands first. Tiffany is on home ground now and leading the way with an expert knowledge of every foothold and water exit, so we’re doing well and soon powering up the final hill to cheers from friends and Tiffany’s family.
Sprinting to the finish line at ÖtillÖ Final 15. Image: Magnus Ormestad/Huskypodcast
We’ve had a blast and I’m reminded again how much fun these Sprint races are. Our time was a little over three hours – so long enough to feel like a decent event – but still short enough that we don’t feel utterly ruined! I’d definitely recommend a Sprint race if you’re thinking about trying swimrun for the first time and being held on the original world championship course, the Final 15 feels even more special. Plus, they even brew an official ÖtillÖ beer to enjoy at the finish line! Cheers!
See the full race coverage, from the main race, which includes 220 Triathlon Editor Helen Webster as one of the live commentators. Plus read our report from the event.
Interested in trying swimrun for the first time? Read our guide here: What Is Swimrun?
Want to find out more about kit for swimrun? Read our Essential Guide to Swimrun Kit
Wondering how to train for your first swimrun race? Here’s our expert swimrun training plan
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Find out more about the ÖtillÖ World Swimrun Series.
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@danielaryf is your new Icy Hot IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion!
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Javier Gomez is your new Icy Hot IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion!
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From the organisers of the Castle Triathlon Series, the 226km Bastion has swiftly become known as one of the toughest long-course races in the UK. The fifth edition is now open for registration, with early bird prices seeing a 25% discount.
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The event has gained a strong reputation as a nurturing and friendly event, which is documented on Racecheck where it scores 4.7 out of 5.0, with one competitor describing it as “one of life’s defining races.” Further endorsement comes from the loyalty stats of the competitors taking part, in its third year 36% of the competitors were competing for the third time.
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The exclusive field of triathletes compete alongside the Hever Castle Festival of Endurance, which features over 1,000 competitors and thousands more spectators, with its offering of multiple races (including single swim events and an aquabike) and a course for various distances and training opportunities.
Bastion entrants will receive a personal walk of the event village and course guidance from the Race Director, Brian Adcock, with the spectators set to enjoy the castle grounds, village pubs and live music and children’s entertainment in the event village.
Read course tips on conquering the Bastion here
The lapped course and athlete tracking means competitors can be seen regularly and supported as they complete their 226km goal. The event organisers have created cheering zones for the participants, and also offer competitor support with a team member allowed to join any last runners for the final 10km stretch to keep them on a high for their finishing line moment.
The Bastion course
The Bastion is rare in that it’s an iron-distance race set in close proximity to London (just 45mins away), with each leg of The Bastion designed to offer the ultimate challenge for both newcomers to long-distance triathlon and experienced long-course hands.
The Bastion, the final stronghold of a medieval castle, features a 3.8km river and lake swim, a true toughie of a 180km bike course with 3,000m of climbing, and a 42.2km run course that takes place largely off-road including running through the grounds of Chiddingstone Castle. See full details of the course and maps here.
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Free Charity Places
The national charity partner for the Castle Triathlon Series, including The Bastion, is Macmillan Cancer Support. You can get a free place in the 2018 Bastion in return for a £500 fundraising pledge. See more here.
Conditions were wet, slippy and cold for the WTS final in Rotterdam, the first time the Dutch city had featured on the WTS calendar.
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WTS leader Spaniard Mario Mola was the man to beat, and had to finish in the top 5 to defend his 2016 title – on paper a straightforward task but with difficult conditions, a strong field and a twisty bike course, it was important that he stayed in touch with any breaks that would take place.
As predicted Richard Varga from Slovakia led the swim, with Britain’s Jonny Brownlee exiting 8 secs down and Mola exiting 26secs down, one of his best swims of the season.
The early lead bike group of 15 included Brownlee, the newly crowned 70.3 World Champ Javier Gomez, Luis, Varga, Ben Kanute from USA, and Aaron Royle from Australia, with Mola, Fernando Alarza (ESP) and Richard Murray (RSA) all in the first chase pack just 20 seconds back.
By the end of lap one this gap had reduced to 15secs and despite efforts by Brownlee and Kanute to make a break the two groups merged just after two laps in.
Brownlee set out on the run meaning business with Kristian Blummenfelt from Norway, and for a short time they had a slight advantage. However they were soon caught by Gomez and Luis with Mola in 5th – the position that he needed to maintain if he was to retain the title.
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Still obviously off-form and far from feeling his best, a struggling Brownlee couldn’t maintain the pace and the fight for the podium became a battle between Louis and Blummenfelt for first and second, and Mola and Gomez for third and fourth. Luis would prove the stronger and took to the front with a hundred yards to go, while Mola out sprinted fellow teammate Gomez to take the podium’s final spot, and the world title. He becomes the second man after Gomez to win back-to-back titles.
No better time to get his first win of the season, @vincentluistri IS BACK! #RotterdamGF Champion! pic.twitter.com/nk1ZU1Sfu3
— TriathlonLIVE (@triathlonlive) September 16, 2017
Brownlee finished in fifth place and took sixth place in the series, while a 10th place finish for Tom Bishop saw him finish the series in 7th place.
With maximum points from five wins reigning world champ Flora Duffy from Bermuda had to finish in the top 7 to defend her title, and looking at her 2017 results it was difficult to see her not achieving this.
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Fresh from her first-ever WTS podium finish in Stockholm Brit Jess Learmonth led the swim from the start with Duffy behind her in second, and Caroline Routier from Spain in third. A strung out field followed
Out on the bike USA’s Katie Zaferes, Learmonth and Duffy formed the leading trio and after the first intro lap of 4km had a lead of 33secs.
This lead extended to 01:30 by T2 and unless anything untoward happened this could be our podium but in what order?
A bad transition for Learmonth meant she exited T2 in third behind the other two, who soon had a lead of about 40secs over her. The run is not Learmonth’s strongest phase and with a troublesome calf problem that was obviously causing her pain, she put in a gutsy performance that saw her hang onto third, ahead of strong runners like Kirsten Kasper, who finished in fourth, and Jodie Stimpson.
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Flora Duffy proved that she is one of triathlon’s best all-round performers as she moved away from Zaferes in the early stages of the run, and she never looked back, securing her win and her title in the dominating style that has been her trademark throughout 2017.
Double the victory! @floraduffy is the #RotterdamGF winner and #WTS2017 WORLD CHAMPION!!!
Alistair and Jonny Brownlee will be participating in the half-distance relay at Challenge Forte Village on separate teams, and athletes will be able to bid for the remaining four team places through Ebay.
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The highest bidders will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to race and dine with the triathlon Olympic medallists. The auction, starting today (Sept 20) will close on 28 September 2017 at 00:14:35, and you can join in with the bidding here
The Brownlee brothers will start the relay with the swimming leg, and the winners can choose to join the cycling or running part of the race.
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All proceeds will be donated to the Italian charity, LAVS – Libera Associazione Voluntaria Soccorso. Founded in 1986, volunteers provide local medical assistance in case of emergency. Among other things, they provide emergency bikes equipped for reanimation and trauma going where the ambulance cannot reach, i.e. the beach.
Taking place on the 29 October this is the 5th edition of the race held in beautiful Sardinaia.
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Andrea Mentasti, Manager of the Challenge Forte Village event, said: ‘The participation of the Brownlee brothers will put Sardinia on the map for triathlon enthusiasts around the world.’
Alistair Brownlee’s key triathlon training sessions
5 triathlon tips from the master, Alistair Brownlee
Jonny Brownlee’s top 6 tips for beginners
Four-time Ironman World Champion and 220 favourite Chrissie Wellington, will be inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame on October 11, during race week at the 2017 Ironman World Championship triathlon, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
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220 named Wellington 4th greatest female triathlete of all time and 5th greatest Kona athlete of all time
“Chrissie’s accomplishments in the sport are impressive and it is fitting that she should be inducted in her first year of eligibility,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman. “Chrissie exemplifies the role of an Ironman World Champion and has defined what it means to be a professional triathlete in the modern era. Her achievements have furthered the sport and inspired many to become Ironman triathletes themselves. We are honoured to induct her into the IRONMAN Hall of Fame, joining the other elites of the sport.”
Wellington won every full-distance Ironman triathlon and earned 10 Ironman wins and seven Ironman 70.3 wins during her career, and also still holds the women’s world record for fastest Ironman triathlon finish time of 8:33:56, recorded in 2011 at Ironman South Africa
Within a year of turning professional, Wellington captured her first Ironman World Championship in her debut at the event in 2007, becoming the first British athlete, male or female, to win the race. She would go on to win three additional Ironman World Championship titles in 2008, 2009 and 2011. She is one of only three women to win Ironman World Championships three consecutive times and set the Ironman World Championship course record of 8:54:02 (2009), which stood for five years.
“Once you decide to leave the sport as a professional athlete you think your days of being awarded accolades are over—I am truly humbled and excited to see my name featured among our sport’s greats, whom I have so much admiration and respect for,” said Wellington.
“I devoted five years to being the best athlete I could be. No short cuts, no stone left unturned,” Wellington continued. “I would rather have five years of excellence than 10 years of mediocrity. My life has changed for the better from being able to achieve and experience what I did.”
Wellington joins an illustrious list that includes Dave Scott, Paula Newby-Fraser and Mark Allen.
Chrissie’s latest book, To The Finish Line: A World Champion Triathlete’s Guide to Your Perfect Race, is out now.
Written in conjunction with 220, the book offers advice on everything, from planning your race season and fitting triathlon training into everyday life, to race nutrition strategies and coping with pre-race nerves, to exercising during pregnancy and how to budget for a triathlon.
Drawing on Chrissie’s own training and race experiences – both good and bad – and packed full of extras, such as recipes, a typical weekly training programme and pearls of wisdom from some of Chrissie’s own advisors, including her former coach and fellow Ironman legend, 220 Triathlon columnist Dave Scott
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IRONMAN Hall of Fame:
Year
Inductee(s)
1993
Dave Scott
1994
Julie Moss
1995
Scott Tinley
1996
Paula Newby-Fraser
1997
Mark Allen
1998
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John and Judy Collins
1999
Valerie Silk
2000
Tom Warren
2001
Dr. Bob Laird
2002
Bob Babbitt
2003
John MacLean/Gordon Haller / Lyn Lemaire
2004
Greg Welch
2005
Jim Maclaren
2008
Team Hoyt – Rick and Dick Hoyt
2011
Mike Reilly
2012
Graham Fraser
2013
Peter Henning
2014
Georg Hochegger / Helge Lorenz / Stefan Petschnig
2015
Lori Bowden / Heather Fuhr
2016
Lew Friedland / Peter Reid
2017
Chrissie Wellington