FROM THE VAULT ISSUE 101

With Javier Gomez making his Kona bow in October, we take the tri teleport back to 1998 and another muchhyped debut at the Ironman Worlds from a multi-ITUworlds-winning athlete. Having not raced longer than Olympic-distance all season and been floored by the death of his much-loved dad, GB’s Spencer Smith displayed his tough-as-teak credentials with a fifthplace finish and a British men’s record that’d stand until 2017 when Scot David McNamee came third.