![]() ![]() This is a Top-40 Greatest Moment at IRONMAN because of a rivalry that was planted seven years earlier and because it was going to take until the final ten-minutes of the race that took over eight-hours to complete before anyone would know who was going to come out on top. ![]() We would both end up shattering the previous World Record held by Dave. We were miles ahead of the next competitor. Seven years in the making is a very long time to build to a moment where both of us were on our game. This was 1989 and no one had laid claim to victory when we were both there. Iron War is epic because Dave Scott and I had been battling it out since 1982. And right at that moment Mark made his move.” I looked up at the top of Palani Hill and said it’s coming up. And I looked at the 24-mile mark on the side. But at some point a break had to happen.Īt some point though one of us was going to have to make a move. The only sound was our feet hitting the ground. It was eerie to be in a World Championship and to hear almost nothing. There was this silence. I didn’t know how long that race was going to last.”Īs the miles went on, no one made a sound even though we were being followed by a huge entourage including the television crew filming for the day. But it became clear that neither of us was going to be able to do something to break the other. “He was setting a pace that was absolutely blistering. My experience was a bit more than just “surges”. It became clear by the end of the bike that this was going to be a painfully difficult situation to break out of.ĭave started first with varying his running pace: “I thought I’ll do these little surges and it’ll be fine.” But tagging along behind Dave Scott was not going to be a plan that would lead me to victory. I had no idea what the best race pace was to come up with a victory. I liked to feel like mentally I was in charge of the race, and if Mark wanted to sit behind me so be it.” No different than any of the other years, but I knew that he was going to be ready this year. Dave Scott described that mindset this way: “The morning of the race my plan was go out out as hard as I could. He had a strategy that was willing to go with that plan. I was there to race my best by learning from the best. And if Dave once again reigned supreme, then so be it! What’s most important is coming up with your best. No, it seemed like no matter what I did, Dave Scott had a stronghold answer that put him atop the podium. Dave won then, again, as he had done like a precision surgeon cutting away with a scalpel all that was in his way. I had a lead of over 5-minutes with less than 10-miles to go in the marathon in 1987. In 1984 I had a lead off the bike of over 12-minutes. My most recent honor came in 2012 when I was voted "The Greatest Endurance Athlete Of All Time" in a worldwide poll conducted by ESPN.Įven the biggest of leads off the bike are eaten up with a few miles of walking on the marathon. In 1997 Outside magazine tabbed me "The World's Fittest Man" and was also inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame. I was named "Triathlete of the Year" six times by Triathlete magazine. Over the course of my racing career, which ended in 1996, I maintained a 90% average in top-three finishes. ![]() I was undefeated in ten trips to the Nice International Triathlon in France, and from 1988-1990 I put together a streak of 21 consecutive race wins at all distances of triathlons from the Olympic distance all the way up to Ironman. In 1989 I also won the International Triathlon Union's inaugural World Championship at the Olympic distance in Avignon, France. It would be the first of six Ironman titles in Hawaii, the last coming in 1995 at age 37. Growing up I was a competitive swimmer, which eventually lead to becoming an All-American at UC San Diego where I received a degree in biology.Īfter competing and losing in the IRONMAN World Championship six times (often to Dave Scott), I emerged victorious in 1989, winning one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world. ![]()
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