Ironman Austria 2008

Ironman is a non drafting sports competition yet this definition could not be applied to Ironman Austria 2008 race. I was a witness to literarily hundreds of violations of this rule and there were almost no attempts to control this problem. Also the four minute drafting penalty is clearly only symbolic as the gains of drafting outweigh the loss of the penalty.

Obviously the organizers of Ironman Austria 2008 have lost their focus and forgot to protect the most important thing about this sport – the rules. Rules make the sport what it is. We are all supposed to compete under the same rules. If 2999 out of 3000 competitors break the rules than only one should be allowed to finish the race properly (and win). Rules are above the business, sponsors, profits. Rules make the whole thing work.

Fault must always climb up the hierarchy and in this case it climbs all the way to the owners of Ironman brand who allowed their licence and credibility to be abused and. Another problem is that they accept competitors to Ironman World Championship under such questionable circumstances.

After Ironman Austria 2008 I was very frustrated and confused. The whole idea of this sport, of this race I trained for last ten months, it all disappeared when I saw such huge unfairness all around of me. I was powerless to change it. I felt like a victim of all those people who cheated.

I spoke to some of the cheaters after the race and in their minds all they see is their own result. They do not realize that by drafting they do not only cheat themselves but they also steal from me. I had such high hopes and such emotional, physical and financial investment in this race only to realize that some people can so easily take it away from me by drafting.

From my point of view drafting is equal to stealing and should be treated as such. If someone steals my money why should it be different than if someone steals one year of my hopes and my chance to qualify for Ironman World Championships. Money is easy to get again, one year of training is hard to compensate. Hopes and dreams even harder. I would prefer to be robbed than cheated in a race. Obviously many drafters do not understand how aggressive, destructive and selfish their behaviour is.

But what can an honest Ironman triathlete do in such a situation?

After talking to few people I understood that there is no choice but to do my own race and hope I am stronger mentally and physically than these cheaters. I have to wait until I am strong enough to bike faster than drafters. Even if it takes me ten years to get that strong I will do it out of spite, just to have that one chance of saying: there you go, you can cheat but you can not hurt me anymore – I am faster!

It sounds extreme and angry but that is how it is. Fighting the cheating should be taken seriously.

What I hope for is that race organizers and Ironman brand management starts taking this issue much more seriously. Ironman can not be a respected sport if the rules are not enforced and if the benefit of breaking the rules is more than the penalty.

A 15 or 30 minute penalty is a minimum. Immediate disqualification, better trained and dedicated referees who take initiative to control the athletes, and overall zero tolerance is needed. In such a situation I think there would be minimum drafting.

All of us together, Ironman triathletes, race organizers and Ironman brand owners, must fight for the survival of this sport and, most importantly, we must find a way to preserve it and keep it clean by protecting it’s rules and enforcing them.

Ironman motto is “Anything is possible”. I hope this does not mean that drafting and cheating is possible.

I hope this letter inspires the right people.

This text was published in South African Triathlete Magazine, September, 2008