KAILUA-KONA — The Ironman World Championship Heroes of Hawaii talk story took place on Monday and featured a who’s who list of famous triathletes. Those in attendance at the annual event, which took place at Honu’s on the Beach down by Kailua Pier, had a chance to rub elbows with several of these athletes, who helped make Ironman what it is today.
The Ironman World Championship, which is celebrating its 40th year, is built on a foundation of athletes who do whatever it takes to perform at the peak of what seems humanly possible.
No two athletes show what is considered the “Ironman way” more than Kathleen McCartney and Julie Moss. McCartney and Moss will forever be joined in Ironman lore because of what went down at the finish line in the 1982 race.
Moss closed in on the final mile with roughly an eight minute lead. However, she hit a wall, falling four times, which allowed McCartney to not only catch her, but pass her with about 25 feet to go to claim the women’s title that year.
“It looked like I had it sewn it up entering that last mile,” Moss said. “Then the wheels just came off.”
For McCartney, the race down Alii Drive was a unique experience. The street was so dark and the lights were so bright at the finish line, it made it difficult to see.
“I unknowingly passed Julie and then I had to stop because I could not see where the finish line was,” McCartney said. “I was able to cross and then they put the medal around my neck. I had no idea what Julie was going through.”
That race, and that moment, forever linked the two athletes, even though they would not race against each other at the world championship until 2003. They also trained together and raced in 2012 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their day in the spotlight.
“At the time, we did not know the impact of that finish in 1982 was going to have,” Moss said. “But it let people see that you did not have to be a superwoman to do this race. You could be the girl next door who finds the will to get up when you fall.”
Both McCartney and Moss are competing in the Ironman World Championship this year. It is the 12th appearance for both athletes.
For McCartney, she is hoping to finish what she started last year when she formed a partnership with stage four pancreatic cancer survivor Mike Levine. Levine was unable to finish the race in 2017, but for McCartney, just having him there competing was a win.
“Mike could not keep going because he felt that he would die. I have never quit a race and I don’t consider that quitting. We were a partnership,” she said. “We started together and ended together. It felt like a victory and the start of something, not the end.”
Levine is making his return to Kona this year as well, but this time he will be waiting at the finish line for McCartney.
“He said he is going to feel like an ‘expecting mother,’” McCartney said with a laugh as she also fought back tears. “I just feel very grateful for all the support I will have at the finish line from my family and loved ones.”
For Moss, she is looking to get a little redemption at this year’s race after having everything go wrong on the bike last year.
“I was just broken hearted when I blew myself up on the bike like an amateur,” Moss said. “I straight up quit and I fell flat emotionally. I made some mistakes but now this year I have an opportunity to bring out my best.”
Moss will have a little support out on the course this year. Her son, Mats Allen (whose father is six-time champion Mark Allen) will be competing in his very first Ironman World Championship.
“I am turning 60 two days after the race and he is doing his first Kona, it feels so balanced,” Moss said. “I am going to be able to see the race through his eyes and experience it with him. I was about his age when I did it for the first time and it feels a little like passing the torch.”
Mark Allen was also in attendance at the Heroes of Hawaii talk story, as well as his one time rival, Dave Scott. Scott is also a six-time Ironman world champion.
Scott dominated the Kona race in the early 80s, while Mark Allen took control in the early 90s, but the duo will always be remembered for the “Ironwar” race in 1989.
“It was a good rivalry,” Mark Allen said. “We each wanted to win but not because we thought the other was a jerk. It was because we respected each other as athletes and as people. We elevated each other.”
“We were like pitbulls with each other,” Scott added. “This race was like Wimbledon. Mark, among many others, was always at the top and nipping at my feet. It was quite a rivalry.”
Both are now taking on other roles as the Ironman World Championship. Something the pair is reminded of constantly this week as Ironman celebrates the 40th running of the race.
“We are older, I hate to be reminded of that,” Scott joked when he was asked what the 40th anniversary meant to him. “Sometimes it feels like the time just screams by. You are not really keeping track until you step aside and your racing days are over. Then a new wave of athletes come in and then another. But it seems like the younger athletes and ourselves, we have a mutual respect for each other. We know what it takes to race well. The ultimate test can deflate a lot of people.”
For Mark Allen, even after 36 years of experiencing the Ironman World Championship, the best part of Ironman week is still the slow emotional build up to race day.
“I am looking forward to everything unfolding on race day as the energy builds throughout the week,” Mark Allen said. “The moment that gun goes off, it all shifts. The anticipation goes live and it is an amazing 17 hours of race day.”
Speaking of the gun going off, one athlete at the Heroes of Hawaii banquet will be experiencing the sound of the gun from a completely new perspective this year. Six-time champion Natascha Badmann is taking in her first Ironman World Championship as a spectator.
“It will be a completely new experience for me” said Badmann, who is in Kona to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her first victory here. “I’ll try not to jump in the water when everyone else takes off.”
Badmann came to her first Ironman World Championship race in 1996 and she did not know what to expect.
“Back then we did not have the internet. All we had was Triathlete Magazine,” Badmann said. “I remember finding a magazine that was a year old just so I could see what it was like.”
However, the magazines did not do the race justice and Badmann was blown away upon her arrival.
“The island was something beyond my dreams,” she said. “The special spirit and so many volunteers, no place else is like it in the world.”
Badmann’s favorite race week event is the Parade of Nations, which takes place today at 5 p.m. after the Keiki Dip-n-Dash biathlon down by Kailua Pier at 4 p.m.
“It’s the one thing that no one should miss,” Badmann said. “It is good fun for everyone, especially the little kids.”