Helicopters swoop, 2,237 triathletes from 62 nations enter the water and 5,000 volunteers are waiting to dish out gels, Gatorade and galvanising support. What began with 15 American athletes in 1978 has become a world-encompassing phenomenon, watched by millions and owned by a Chinese conglomerate. Much may have changed in the race’s near 40-year history, yet the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, remain the greatest spectacle in all of multisport. It’s the one race – even more than the ITU World Champs and Challenge Roth – where the tri world downs tools and training kit to discover who will join the Scotts, Allens, Hoyts and Wellingtons etched into the Hawaii history books.
True to form, 2015’s edition saw new champions crowned, fresh stars created and a 75-year-old making the…