Blog Post: Why I don't agree with the Ford #Ironman World Championship Lottery #triathlon

The world championship for any sport should only be open to those who qualify on merit. It should not be open to anyone else.

You can't sign up for golf's The Player's Championship. Sure you can sign up for an "open" championship, but check the requirements. For example, the US Open Golf Championship is "technically" open to anyone, but when you look at the entry requirements, you'll see it takes a golfer of a very high ability-level to qualify for even a qualifying round. I think the same should be true for our triathlon world championship.

You have to qualify for the Boston Marathon (OK, not a world championship, but you get my drift). You can't play in Wimbledon by lottery.

World Championships are for the world's best. Some will try for years to qualify for their sport's world championship or for the Olympics. Why should I be able to get in by paying a fee and entering a lottery?

I'm not saying this because I'm a sore loser who has tried to qualify and hasn't. The reality is that I'll never qualify in my current age group. Here is what a recent article said about what it takes to qualify for Kona for those in my age group (40-45):

a VO2max in the neighborhood of 65ml/kg, equivalent to 5K speed of ~17:30 and a CP5 of ~400W. It goes without saying, that this represents a very high level of aerobic fitness: 1 in 200 fitness for a young male, 1 in 10,000 fitness for a 40-49 year old guy based on the Cooper Institute's data!

I admire greatly those who qualify for Kona because I know what it takes. I've trained for and completed an Ironman distance race. I saw those who qualified passing by me on the swim, bike, and run. They are an athlete of the highest caliber.I can train 20-30 hours a week and the reality is I don't have the genetics to run a sub 17:30 5K. 80% of our ability is due to genetics. The 20% I can affect just won't get it done. I can only hope that perhaps with continued training I can qualify in another age group; probably closer to my late 60's or 70's.

There are plenty of Ironman distance races in the United States and around the world for those who want to do one. For those who want to see Kona, sign up to volunteer or go over to cheer for those who qualify. Perhaps you can go on vacation to swim, bike, and run the Kona course.

I have not nor will I enter the Ford Ironman World Championship lottery. I do hope to at least see the race course one day and perhaps, with a lot of training and some luck, I can qualify on my own merits to one day participate in my sport's world championship.

And don't even get me started on that Biggest Loser guy getting a special exemption to race in Kona...

Let me know what you think. 

Keep on tri-ing!

-Karl

Regardless of my beliefs on this, I will support and encourage those who "got in" through the lottery this or any year. Give it hell and have fun! Kia Kaha!

 

Karl Miller
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Posted via email from Karl Miller Lugo