400 & COUNTING

REACHING ISSUE 400 FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS IS QUITE THE ACHIEVEMENT, AND SOMETHING WE THINK IS WORTH CELEBRATING. HERE WE LIST 10 OF OUR FAVOURITE EDITIONS OF 220TRIATHLON, COMPLETE WITH GROUNDBREAKING RACES, BITTER RIVALRIES AND A SPORT THAT’S CHANGED BEYOND ALL RECOGNITION

Vogue. Cahiers du Cinema. The NME. Some magazines do far more than mirror the industry they report on, they shape its future. It’s not hyperbole to say that 220 Triathlon fits into that category. For 400 editions now it’s been a star-maker, groundbreaker and landmark event organiser.

Often overlooked, and quite probably it’s most significant achievement, is how many would-be triathletes it’s helped reach their first multisport finish line, and how many subsequent PBs and Ironman finishes its guidance on training, gear choices and race-day performance has played a part in.

Although I’ve personally flown the nest after 12 years on the magazine, regular contributors will testify that 220 never really leaves you. I hope that’s a feeling shared by the thousands of readers who have shared 220’ s journey since its launch in 1989. Time then to celebrate 10 major editions from 220 Triathlon’s 400-strong lifetime…

1 220 ARRIVES ISSUE 1

220: The Triathlon Magazine was launched by John Lillie and Duncan Robb at the tail end of 1989, a seismic year politically and in triathlon itself, with the birth of the ITU federation and the first ITU World Champs, as well as the Iron War between Dave Scott and Mark Allen, still seen as Ironman’s greatest race.

Our original copy has long since been lost, but it boasts, of course, three Polynesians with no link to triathlon on the cover and a ‘horror scopes’ page where every month is identical…

Alongside the quirky humour, though, there were hints of the 220 that was to emerge, with a double page of training advice aimed at getting more newbies into the sport (complete with a headline screaming ‘Virgins!’) and an ‘Around the Triathlon World’ page of news. The latter told of the Hawaii Bud Light Ironman being up for sale and the birth of the ITU World Champs in Avignon.

There’s also the first of 200+ columns from Ken Maclaren, a precursor to today’s Martyn Brunt (now 150+ columns-strong). It also launched a million “What does 220 mean?” questions. And, no, it’s not the optimum time for cooking baked beans in a microwave…

2 THE UK’S IRON DEBUT ISSUE 16

The first tri with the exact Ironman race distances (3.8km swim/180km bike/42.2km run) to be held on UK shores was the 220 Marathon Triathlon, hosted at the Cotswold Water Park in Cirencester on 7 July 1990 and organised by the 220 team. In contrast to today’s prices, the race cost just £2.20 for subscribers.

Racers included such future tri luminaries as Sarah Springman, John Lunt, Joe Beer and the Brownlees’ coach Jack Maitland. The event proved successful, with the 1991 race moving to Ironbridge (its title from then on) in Shropshire and offering Ironman Hawaii slots.

3 RIVAL SCHOOLS ISSUE 19

Spencer Smith and Simon Lessing. Emma Snowsill and Vanessa Fernandes. Chris McCormack and a very long list of German athletes. 220’ s lifetime has been marked with rivalries. This cover from November 1990 features arguably the most bitter feud of all: Erin Baker and Paula Newby-Fraser. The pair didn’t even attempt to hide their disdain. Much of the bad blood seemed to stem from Kiwi Baker’s hatred of the apartheid regime in Newby-Fraser’s home country of South Africa. The rivalry produced some of the greatest battles in Kona history, with Baker taking the 1990 title, but NewbyFraser coming out 3-2 up in their Hawaii head-to-heads on her way to producing a record eight Kona wins.

4 INTO THE MAINSTREAM ISSUE 40

An astounding four million viewers tuned in to watch the 220- organised Bath Triathlon in 1992. The race saw Dutch powerhouse Rob Barel get tangled in a lane rope on the swim in front of Pulteney Weir, before being hit by a car on the bike leg, but battle back for the win. The joint cover stars are women’s winner Alison Hamilton and her sister Rachel, who finished third, while other names in the field included tri legends Ben Bright, Robin Brew, Outlaw organiser Iain Hamilton and F50 AG winner Daphne Belt, who’s still racing strong in her 80s.

5 SYDNEY OLYMPICS ISSUE 123

Some 26 years after tri’s modern birth in San Diego, the sport made its Olympic Games debut at Sydney 2000. The inclusion in the Games would lead to more professionalism in the sport, propel a series of medal winners (including Sydney champ Simon Whitfield, Emma Snowsill, Jan Frodeno and a couple of brothers from Yorkshire) into superstar status and lead to the formation of the globe-hopping ITU World Series.

Olympic acceptance wouldn’t come without repercussions, however, with the new draft-legal racing changing the dynamic and spectacle of the 40km bike leg and duathlon, once tri’s near equal, being pushed to the margins.

6 IRONMAN UK’S DEBUT ISSUE 185

With thousands of athletes (in normal times) testing their mettle at Ironman UK and Ironman Wales each year (not to mention a host of 70.3 races), it’s easy to forget how long it took for an official full Ironman race to arrive in the UK. That day finally arrived in Sherborne on 21 August 2005 (the world’s first Ironman 70.3 event was held in Llanberis in 2001). After a mist-delayed start in Somerset, it became an unforgettable occasion for the 1,500 starters of Ironman UK and an instant M-Dot classic, with the Kiwi race winner Bryan Rhodes picking up a speeding ticket for going 55mph past a camera, while Ed Paget would receive the most heartfelt cheer of the day after crossing the finish line in 17:01:45.

7 CHRISSIE’S GREATEST ISSUE 267

Chrissie Wellington would grace the 220 cover for each of her Ironman World Championship wins from 2007-2011 (and on plenty of other occasions, once breaking a bone on a 220 shoot), culminating in this, her fourth, final and greatest victory in Kona. Following a severe pre-race bike crash, she hauled herself to the start line battered and bruised, the scars still visible to both spectators and race rivals on that famous day.

“I want to cross the finish line feeling like I’ve given it physically and mentally absolutely everything,” Chrissie admitted pre-race. Just 8:55:08 after starting and within a whisker of her course record, she realised that dream, taking her fourth Kona crown to remain unbeaten over the Ironman distance.

8 THE BROWNLEES MAKE HISTORY ISSUE 277

British athletes had experienced a wealth of ‘what if’ moments since tri’s Olympic Games debut in 2000. That all changed in 2012 when brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee took on the world in front of an estimated 250,000 spectators in London. If the atmosphere was raucous, it was also a day of squeaky-bummed tension for tri regulars, not least Jonny’s spot in the penalty zone, as the brothers did battle with their formidable Spanish nemesis, Javier Gomez. Alistair’s victory and Jonny’s bronze would see the brothers transcend the sport and witness a boom in grassroots tri participation, as well as starting a purple patch of Olympic success for British triathletes. The sport in the UK would never be the same again.

9 TOUGHEST IRONS ISSUE 322

The Internet has hugely changed triathlon, from event entry no longer consisting of cheques and stampaddressed envelopes to livestreams of races and personalised coaching. It’s also massively altered the world of publishing, with our ‘World’s Toughest Triathlons’ feature in March 2016 causing heated social media debate around the globe between competitive triathletes and fast becoming one of the website’s most popular articles. The stat crunching – sea temperature, elevations, median finish times and more – saw Snowdonia’s The Brutal taking that honour in 2016 ahead of Scotland’s Celtman. The Lake District’s TriathlonX would win the next time we ran the piece in 2020.

10 THE RETURN OF TRI ISSUE ISSUE 382

After the longest off-season in triathlon history due to Covid, the green light was given to organisers to start hosting events again during the making of issue 382, which saw Uganda’s Miguel Masaisai grace the cover. After so many cancellations, false dawns and existential questions, the excitement was palpable. Could this actually be happening? It could, with Helvellyn, Outlaw X, Croyde and more all welcoming race-hungry triathletes in late summer, 2020. The result was that many of us fell in love with multisport racing once again and 220’ s art team received some much-needed fresh event images. Here’s to another 400 editions of swim, bike and running brilliance.