Dear… Friend of Triathlon,
[Our first triathlon in Hawai’i]
You had asked us to recall putting on our first triathlon, the “nuts and bolts.” I will send “The First Triathlon in Hawai’i” separately. By the way, we put on our second original triathlon in Panamá 20 years later. It was a remarkably similar process.
[Modern triathlon timeline]
You had asked about “a triathlon history time line since 1974.”The timeline is below It is in the essay “The Sport Started by Four Women”and Three Men”
[Why we did it]
Another essay list is about our first triathlon, “Why We Started the Ironman. Let me count the Whys – as of 14 February 1977” is the sub title.
We look forward to meeting you on Skype.
Aloha, Judy Collins (ATK) and John, Coronado, CA (PST)
THE SPORT STARTED BY FOUR WOMEN and THREE MEN*
What is special about the origins of Iron Man Triathlon is that the actions of four women made it happen. They were Judith MacGregor Collins (Judy), Florence Bethea Squires (Flo), Carin Cone Vanderbush and Valerie Silk.
1977: Judy Collins made the plan for Judy and John to introduce triathlon to Hawai’i on a long-distance course that would link the Waikiki Rough Water Swim with the Honolulu Marathon. Judy Collins had been mapping triathlon courses in her head since the Mission Bay Triathlon in San Diego in 1974.
1974: Flo Squires led John, Judy, Kristin and Michael Collins to be in the first modern “triathlon” in San Diego, California. The Mission Bay Triathlon was a San Diego Track Club special event, a 10 – 12 part run-bike-swim of about 10 miles, much of it run barefoot.
1979: Carin Vanderbush found Waikiki Swim Club volunteers to help the 1980 Race Director of the Iron Man Triathlon and urged the Collinses to continue the search for a Race Director until the last moment. The Collins family had learned they would leave Hawai’i before the third Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon.
1981: Valerie Silk moved the Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon from Honolulu, Hawai’i to the Big Island of Hawai’i, made it a business, the Hawaiian Triathlon Corporation (HTC) and worked full time for a decade to build the sport.
*The contributions of three men were connected to the actions of the four women. They were John Fletcher Collins, Hank Grundman and Earl Yamaguchi.
1977: John Collins suggested a bicycle course for the triathlon that went around the island. Judy Collins and John said to each other on 14 February 1977, “If you do it, I’ll do it.” Their Waikiki Swim Club triathlon would be in mid-February 1978. If all went well it would become an annual event in Honolulu that they would put on and be in for every year thereafter. Neither Collins would have put on the triathlon without the other.
Founders Judy Collins and John Collins made their first public announcement about their around-the-island triathlon on Friday, 11 November at the 1977 Banquet Meeting of the Waikiki Swim Club. They did not decide to name their event “The Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon” until January 1978 when they decided to apply for a Coast Guard Permit for the swim leg of the triathlon.
On 18 February 1978 there were 18 athletes on the beach. 15 started the swim, l4 finished the bike, and 12 the run including Race Director John Collins. Judy and John had made up lengthy rules and an entry form that emphasized safety as more important than getting to the finish line. One requirement was to have an athlete support vehicle. Another was to avoid serious injury. Two drivers stopped driving two support vehicles. One bicyclist then drove the support vehicle for the other. Another could not start the marathon after the bicycle leg because his support vehicle stopped supporting. A runner who developed a severe leg cramp withdrew from the marathon before the finish line. All 15 athletes had followed the rules to make the demonstration long distance triathlon a safe event. That is why there could be a second Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon in 1979.
On 14 January 1979 there were 38 on the beach on Saturday, 16 on Sunday, 15 started and finished the swim and bike legs, 12 finished it all including the first woman, bicyclist Lyn Lemaire, and Michael Collins,16. The Collinses had canceled the event two days in a row. Strong winds kept the boats for the lifeguards in port. Race Director John Collins said the 1979 event was on again when Judy Collins was able to get help from the Outrigger Canoe Club (OCC) nearby. The Outrigger boat captain ran the launch that carried the Swim Directors, the two Lifeguards who would monitor the course at Waikiki. Judy Collins was one of the Swim Director Lifeguards.
Judy Collins spoke up in time to save the 1980 triathlon. It was a close thing. Waikiki Swim Club President Judy Collins would announce the cancellation of the 1980 Ironman Triathlon the next night at the 1979 Banquet Meeting of the Waikiki Swim Club (WSC). Judy Collins would have removed the January Triathlon from the 1980 WSC Calendar. The Collins family had learned they would be leaving town on 31 October. Judy and John had tried for months to find someone to take over the 1980 Hawaiian Iron Man. They were surprised and disappointed that no one was interested in being the Race Director for the upcoming triathlon in January.
The Collinses had given the go-ahead for ABC Wide World of Sports to film the 1980 Triathlon. ABC had said they would leave their cameras on the island after filming the Hula Bowl over the holidays. There was one last hope to save the Hawaiian Iron Man before John would call ABC to say they had cancelled the 12 January 1980 Iron Man.
Judy Collins asked John Collins to contact a man they knew as “Hank,” at Nautilus, a second time. Hank’s fitness club had donated shirts in 1979 and had sponsored the athlete who came in first in 1978. Hank had already said no to directing the 1980 Iron Man Triathlon. Judy asked John to give Hank some new information. Incoming 1980 WSC President Carin Vanderbush said volunteers from the Waikiki Swim Club would help whoever might be the next Race Director. Many WSC swimmers wanted to enter. Many athletes from the mainland had made plans to be in the 1980 Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon too.
John Collins made the contact at Nautilus and was successful. The 1980 Iron Man would happen. In the process Hank asked Collins a question. John’s answer: If the event got big, he would like ordinary athletes to always have a place in future Iron Man Triathlons, including the Collins family.
Hank Grundman became the second key man in Ironman history. Grundman had saved the event when he agreed to be the Race Director in 1980. ABC was able to film that Iron Man Triathlon despite the bad weather that would have delayed the event for a day. The swim course was moved from outside the reef at Waikiki to the still waters of the Ala Moana lagoon in Honolulu. The move was made for safety reasons because ABC would only film on Saturday.
It was not until after 1983 that Judy and John Collins learned that Hank’s last name was Grundman. Valerie Silk had become the Race Director of the 1981 Iron Man after the Nautilus Triathlon in 1980. Judy and John had read about Iron Man in the newsletters of the Waikiki Swim Club. They had occasional glimpses of the triathlon in ABC broadcasts. They were happy it was still an annual event in Hawai’i. They did not know who was putting it on. The WSC newsletters talked about the swimmers who were in the triathlons. The television was all about the athletes.
1981 Race Director Valerie Silk and Assistant Race Director Earl Yamaguchi had moved the 1981 event to Kona, Hawai’i. There the triathlon had room to grow and island volunteers to help to make that happen. Silk would change the triathlon name from Iron Man – two words – to one word, Ironman, and set up a business, Hawaiian Triathlon Corporation (HTC). Silk, her small staff, IM Directors and volunteers nurtured an Ironman Triathlon that attracted thousands of athletes to a warm Hawaiian welcome in Kona.
ABC filmed the Triathlon in Honolulu in 1980, then in Kona, Hawai’i in 1981, in February and October 1982, and on through the 1980’s. The first Bud Light Ironman Triathlon World Championship was held in October 1982. In October 1986 Silk introduced prize money in equal amounts for the men and women who were the top finishers. Silk’s Assistant Race Director, Earl Yamaguchi, also became Vice-President for International Qualifer Ironman Triathlons.
Earl Yamaguchi was the third key man in early Ironman history. His contact with the triathlon dated back to 1978. Yamaguchi was the meticulous planner of the Ironman triathlons of the 1980s. Yamaguchi extended Ironman Triathlons outside the state of Hawai’i. Yamaguchi’s planning was behind an Ironman long distance event on the U.S. mainland. Soon there were Ironman Triathlon Qualifier Races in New Zealand, in Japan, in Canada, in Europe and plans for Australia.
What is special about long distance triathlon in the history of sport? The actions of four women were the impetus for the Iron Man Triathlon. The four women and three men made the personal connections that launched long distance triathlon.
* See List Below
*Some key dates and people in the chain of events of a new sport:
25 September 1974 Flo Squires, the Collins family – Mission Bay Triathlon
14 February 1977 Judy Collins, John Collins – Triathlon decision night
11 November 1977 Judy Collins and John Collins – Announcement at WSC
18 February 1978 Judy Collins and John Collins – The Hawaiian Iron Man
14 January 1979 Judy Collins and John Collins Triathlons (H.I.M.T.)
15 October 1979 Carin Vanderbush,Judy Collins,John Collins – The transfer
12 January 1980 Hank Grundman – Nautilus Ironman Triathlon
14 February 1981 Valerie Silk and Earl Yamaguchi – The Int’l Triathlon, Kona
09 October 1982 Valerie Silk and Earl Yamaguchi Bud Lite Ironman
18 October 1986 Valerie Silk and Earl Yamaguchi Bud Lite Ironman
Ironman Triathlon overseas, the Sale of IM, Television
1983 Earl Yamaguchi and Valerie Silk An event in U.S.
1985 Earl Yamaguchi and Valerie Silk IM MZ, IM Japan
1986 Earl Yamaguchi and Valerie Silk IM Canada
1988 Earl Yamaguchi and Valerie Silk IM Europe
1989 Valerie Silk and Hawaiian Triathlon Corporation sell IM.
1980 – 1989 ABC Television filmed Ironman Triathlon each year
Judith MacGregor Collins, Panamá
© <thiswastriathlon.org> 2023