Kona 1989 - the best race ever

Coming up soon on www.firstoffthebike.com there is going to be a comparison of the two best ever Ironman races, 1989 Hawaii "Iron War" and the 1990 NZ Ironman. I've written the following to make a case for the 1989 race, and Phil is going to do the same for the 1990 race...both incredible races in their own right. It's all just to generate a bit of thought and discussion!!

In the short history of triathlons there have been many events that have marked it's progress, such as admittance to the Olympics, and races which have defined the sport in the memory of sports fans worldwide. High on the list - if not the top - is the 1989 Hawaii Ironman, "Iron War", which was epic in so many ways during both the lead-up and the race itself. No one else in the race mattered - men or women - other than Dave "The Man" Scott and Mark "Grip" Allen, two of the famous "Big Four" of the era.

In the red corner was Scott, in many ways a pioneer of Ironman who first raced in Hawaii in 1980 and over the course of 10 years lifted the standard many-fold from being a test of amateur craziness to a race of thoroughbred athletes, where he led the charge. He was a hard man of the sport, strong as an ox, who seemingly tapped into his inner mongrel to overcome and overpower races in dominant fashion. He had six Hawaii titles going into the 1989 race.

In the blue corner was Allen, the thoroughbred of thoroughbred athletes whose talents ranged from sprint distance to long course. He was smooth and economical, gazelle-like in his movements, with sublime running ability which he demonstrated year after year at Nice. Going into 1989 he was the best athlete not to have won at Hawaii, not for lack of effort or trying. His preparation was meticulous, including tapping into his inner self, the spirits of the Big Island and Madame Pele in publicised meditation sessions pre race, earning himself the label as the Zen master.

Race morning was unlike any other Ironman, where the tension would cut like a knife...this was going to be a public face-off over the most demanding single-day sporting event on earth. During the swim, the bike and run there was never more than a 10m gap between Scott and Allen - they barely acknowledged each other, yet their obvious respect (and fear?) for each other was enormous.

Shoulder to shoulder in the run, these two guys gave everything and yielded nothing. Body language was everything, but gave away nothing...it was head-to-head racing at it's best, and completely living up to the race expectations of a fight to death, literally.

Finally Allen surged and dropped Scott with barely 2 miles left. The race was won. Allen had shaken the monkey, assumed the title and would go on to win five more times. Scott was amazing in defeat, but would never win in Kona again - it was a changing of the guard. This one race lifted them both to legendary status in a contest that has yet to be equalled in Ironman racing for all that it entailed. The best race ever (although 2010 comes close).