As the Race Returns to One Day in Kona, Let's Revisit the Ironman Origin Story You've Probably Never Heard
You’ve probably heard the big news in the triathlon world that came out earlier this week.
The IRONMAN World Championship is returning to Kona with a one-day format that includes all athletes, both male and female. For those who aren’t familiar with the background of the sport, the IRONMAN World Championship has been held in Kona since 1981 (it was on a different island before then, but we’ll get into that a bit later).
In 2022, they tried doing a two-day race in Kona: one day for men and one day for women. The women’s only race was a hit among pros and age-groupers who’d previously felt broadcast coverage of the women’s race suffered, and issues like drafting and interference of age-group men in the women’s pro race inhibited fairness.
Everyone was “mostly” happy. But the local residents didn’t agree, and it was determined that a two-day format in Kona wasn’t a sustainable solution.
In 2023, for the first time in history, the IRONMAN World Championship moved to split locations. This was the result of a significant number of deferrals from COVID-19 and the desire to have one day of racing for men and one day of racing for women. Thus, the rotating format was born- where male and female races would rotate between Kona, Hawaii and Nice, France every year.
Everyone was “mostly, but a bit less” happy than before. This could be seen by the fact that triathletes didn’t accept World Championship slots with the same level of gusto for Nice as they did for Kona.
So now we’re back to a one-day format for both genders in Kona. Everyone is either “very happy” or “very unhappy” about the situation.
To sum up, triathletes want to race at the IRONMAN World Championship, but they only want to race if it’s in Kona, and women still want their own day of racing or at least equal opportunity to the same number of slots men get, but Kona residents don’t support a two-day race and the transition area on the pier only fits 2,500-ish athletes, and there are more men racing Ironman than women so they get more slots…
Geesh. A predicament for sure and, like most things in life, you can’t make everyone happy.
But that’s not what this post is about.
With so much attention on Ironman and its connection to Kona and the rich history of the sport in Hawaii, it’s worth asking: do we really understand how it all began?
Because it wasn’t in Kona, and most triathletes in this current day and age have no idea the Ironman triathlon was born on a different island.
But even if you do know that, I’d be willing to bet you don’t know the whole story... That’s because the version you’ve heard through word of mouth that was passed down over the years has been exaggerated and somewhat misrepresented.
How do I know this?
In 2022, I interviewed Judy Collins (co-founder of the first Ironman triathlon with her husband John) for an article in Triathlete Magazine. Then, I talked to her for over an hour and learned the real story of how the first Ironman came to be.
In today’s newsletter, we’ll chat briefly about the history of the Ironman triathlon. Then, we’ll dive into the real Ironman origin story (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t to settle a debate among athletes).
*Paid subscribers will get access to bonus content from my chat with Judy that’s never been published.
A one-day race in Kona is back- so let’s revisit how it all began
Before we get into the origin story of how Ironman first began (it’s not what you think), it’s helpful to have a bit of background.
1978- The first Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon took place on February 18, 1978 on the island of O’ahu. The race was founded by John and Judy Collins and included 15 athletes.
1981- The race is moved from O’ahu to Kona under the guidance of new event organizer, Valerie Silk, where it remained for over two decades.
2022- They tried a two-day race in Kona with one day for men and one day for women. Determined not to be a sustainable solution for Kona.
2023- First split-race in two locations with a women’s race in Nice, France and a men’s race in Kona, Hawaii that would rotate every year.
2025- Announcement made that the race will return to Kona as a one-day event in the future.
*Also, sneaky news announced at the same time. Nice, France will host the 2026 and 2028 70.3 World Championships. After the race being in Taupo, New Zealand last year, Marbella, Spain this year, and Nice, France next year, I’m hoping it’s about time to return to the US… but that’s just me.
With all this talk about Kona, I think it’s important to remember how it all began, why (140.6) is much more than just a random number, and what the original intention for the Ironman triathlon actually was.
Before Kona there was O’ahu, and what we’ll talk about next is the truth of the Ironman’s often-misunderstood origins.
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The Ironman Origin Myth: A Debate Among Athletes
Do you know how the Ironman triathlon first began? The story you’ve probably heard is the race was used to settle a debate among athletes as to who was the strongest- swimmers, cyclists, or runners. This discussion allegedly took place during an awards ceremony for the 1977 O’ahu Perimeter Relay where John Collins introduced the idea of combining three endurance events to determine the ultimate athlete.
While a popular tale, this account has been exaggerated over the years, and doesn’t tell the whole story.
In multiple interviews, John and Judy have taken steps to correct the record and emphasize that the concept for the Ironman triathlon was conceived long before that night at the awards ceremony. Their idea was to combine three existing endurance events on the island of O’ahu: the 2.4-mile Waikiki Rough Water swim, 112 miles of the Around O’ahu Bike Ride, and the 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon with the goal to create a new challenge for endurance athletes who were used to doing shorter distance races.
The myth likely gained traction because of the compelling narrative it provides. You can imagine a bunch of athletes enjoying a bit too much beer at a post-race party, arguing about who’s the better athlete. It’s relatable and easy to understand. And while those colorful conversations probably did happen, that’s not how or why the Ironman was originally conceived.
(*2019 New York Times article, updated history on the IRONMAN website after 2019, and a small section of this 2022 Triathlete Magazine article. If you really want to get deep in the weeds, listen to this interview Bob Babbitt did with the Collins.)
Here’s what Judy Collins told me after I’d interviewed her for a 2022 article in Triathlete Magazine- How Far is an Ironman Triathlon?
“Number one, it was my idea to put on an endurance event in Hawaii with biking, running, and swimming, because the first several triathlons had many legs- some started with bike and run. One of the side effects we didn’t know would influence triathlon was that we started with a long-distance swim,” Judy says.
Image provided by Judy Collins.
She was kind enough to share the first course map. If you take a look, it says: “Swim 2.4 miles! Run 26 1/4 miles!, Bike 112 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!”
Pretty cool, but why is any of this important?
Understanding the true origin of the Ironman triathlon honors the vision of the founders and the intention behind the event. This shapes how we view the race in its modern form and helps us better understand why the idea of a personal endurance challenge is so important to the sport of triathlon as a whole.
Here’s how it all began.
In 1974, the Collins family lived in California and did the Mission Bay Triathlon, which was one of the first early triathlons. They enjoyed it so much that they proposed an idea to their local swim team to put on a triathlon of their own. The swim coach thought it was a horrible idea, but in 1975 the first Coronado Optimist Club Triathlon was held, and it’s still going today as one of the longest continuously running triathlons in the world.
John Collins was a Navy man. After he was stationed in Hawaii, the family got more involved in the local sports scene. They did the Waikiki Rough Water Swim (2.385 miles) and ran the Honolulu Marathon. They wanted to create a long-distance triathlon on the island- the first in Hawaii. It would also become the first Ironman in the world.
But they needed a bike leg. John was the avid cyclist of the family, so it was his idea to incorporate the Around O’ahu Bike Ride into the course. This event was 115 miles over two days, but because they wanted to circumnavigate the entire island, beginning with the swim in Kapiolani Park and riding counterclockwise to the Honolulu Marathon course, they needed to cut three miles off the bike.
*You can thank John and Judy for the fact that you don’t have to bike 115 miles during an Ironman. You’re welcome.
That also meant, through pure serendipity, that the total mileage for the race would be roughly 140 miles, which is the run perimeter of O’ahu. The fact that this was the total mileage seemed particularly fitting and special to Judy, because it was a celebration of covering an extraordinary distance around the entire island.
It’s a fact not known by most Ironman athletes today. When you complete an Ironman triathlon, the reason you cover 140.6 miles is because it’s the perimeter of the island of O’ahu.
“There’s something I want you to remember—something I want everyone to remember wherever they do an Ironman,” Judy said. “Those distances that you’re completing connect you to their history and location in Hawai’i. They have special meaning. To me, that’s why those distances are magical.”
By the way, why is it even called Ironman?
Well back in 1975, it was actually the Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon, and it was named such because John had a friend who worked in the shipyard and was an accomplished runner. Apparently, he could run forever without slowing down, so they nicknamed him “Iron Man.”
The iron-theme was present in other parts of the race as well. The awards for that first race were metal pipe trophies in the shape of a man with a bolt for the head. The trophies were welded together by John. (You can see a photo here.)
It was Judy’s intention to have identical awards to emphasize this wasn’t a race. It was a personal challenge, not a competition. So from the very beginning, Ironman was meant to be a finisher’s event- to celebrate completion of an extraordinary endurance challenge. In fact, if you look at John’s original permit request for the race, here’s what it says:
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