Where does this come from, and can I check it?

A 1978 debate about which athlete was fittest produced a combined race. The figure is taken from Ironman, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a sports fact?

Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

The Ironman began as an argument in Hawaii

A 1978 debate about which athlete was fittest produced a combined race The first Ironman was held in Honolulu in 1978 with fifteen starters and combined the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the Around Oahu bike race and the Honolulu Marathon. The event moved to Kona in 1981. The distances have stayed the same ever since. It sits in Mondo's sports collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Ironman

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

Sports trivia

More facts like this

Drafting is banned in most age-group triathlonsElite races allow cyclists to ride close together, but amateur races do not Wetsuits are allowed only in cool waterThey become compulsory below about 16 degrees Celsius for professionals An Olympic triathlon is 51.5 km longIt combines a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km bike leg and a 10 km run Duke Kahanamoku took surfing to the worldThe Hawaiian swimmer won Olympic golds in 1912 and 1920 Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain on Earth measured from base to peakMeasured from its underwater base on the ocean floor, Mauna Kea stands over ten thousand metres tall.The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor drew the US into World War IIJapanese aircraft attacked the Pacific Fleet in Hawaii on 7 December 1941

Tags: triathlon, ironman, hawaii

The Ironman began as an argument in Hawaii: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: A 1978 debate about which athlete was fittest produced a combined race. The figure is taken from Ironman, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a sports fact?: Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.