I get that Tim was the last American winner but honestly I don't get why he is so hard on for Americans to race in Europe. It makes no sense and I'm glad Andy articulated it well. To win Kona you have to race in Kona, not Europe. Racing guys better than you on any other course doesn't matter. These guys are professionals at the pointy end of the sport, they know how to dig deep and put it all on the line during an event. Racing Kona against these guys is how you beat them.

Andy has shown that over the course of his career he's gotten better and better and better IN KONA. Now do I think he has what it takes to win, not sure. He's certainly got the potential but I don't think it's a matter of geography that determines these things so much as Tim wants to believe. It's a matter of getting a few races under your belt in Kona and then working backwards from there.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

If you're read Iron War, Dave Scott is depicted as a roaring, raving maniac obsessed with winning during much of his races...your quote made me think of that.

It is very hard to get to that point and still have a family left...

exactly.
which may be the TD angle on racing in Europe.
go get beat, get upset, get angry, become enraged and then lay down hell fury when the race comes to home soil.

I don't think he did articulate it well. All he said was he needs to evolve and the cost benefit does not make it worthwhile to go

One could equally say he needs to evolve and putting himself in a hostile environment may well aid that process irrespective of cost

His reason is no more sound than the alternative

It's easier to accept he just doesn't want to go - of any number of reasons - than to think his explanation was solid

On the other hand, the Belgium's, Germans, French, Spanish and Swiss willrace across Europe, the ME and Oz and we'll see whether the insular approach is more effective than theirs.

Not long ago there was common wisdom that you can't win a hard summer Iron(y)man in August and win Kona. Kienle last year was kind of an anomaly (like Tim DeBoom would put it).
Even great Mark Allen preferred not to shoot his ammunition during summer to be fresh in October. So I can't understand why Tim would like them to destroy themselves in Germany.

But I think the rest of this article is pretty interesting. Particularly the point of modern pros doing too much too soon. I mean Allens offseason lastet for three (!) months.

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10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40

Exactly this: winning must be the sole reason for your being, you must be obsessed with it. No time for a family, and maybe not even a GF. AFAIK, Phelps had no GF during the 4 yrs between winning 6 in Athens in '04 and then winning 8 golds in Beijing in '08. The man did not take one single day off during the entire 4 years. As tjfry said in another thread, Phelps' gift was/is the gift of focus and passion, not being double jointed.

Also, regarding Dave Scott, it is said that The Man did a full iron race all on his own there in Davis, CA, way back in 1980 before he ever raced at Hawaii, just to be sure he could do the distance. Everyone on ST seems to agree now that there is no point in doing long race simulations but big Dave might choose to differ. Dave Scott had/has tremendous reserves of passion and drive. He was indeed The Man.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I think this gist of his comments meant more to go for good competition. Realistically when one looks at much of the pro fields many race in, the field in general is extremely weak. I got his point to be that you need to race GOOD competition to get tougher, as Erk said.

an interesting article about a similar things....

http://swimswam.com/...bits-elite-swimmers/

For sure. That made for a very interesting read.

I don't agree. You can't say it's "better". It depends on your objectives. Maybe someone is totally happy with being a working pro and having a somewhat normal life with kids while he's doing it, thereby maybe sacrificing a shot at the absolutely #1 spot in the sport. It's not wrong or right. It's a personal preference.

That sums it all up perfectly.

OK, well, you're right, it is in theory a personal choice but, IMO, you either have the humongous fury and passion deep down in the "depths of your being" or you don't. You can't really manufacture it but rather it comes from some unknown place in your mind. Once the passion/fury person's competitive days are over, he/she may well feel at loose ends, and maybe then get married, have kids, etc, but the again, maybe not.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Hoff already matched everything DeBoom ever did in Hawaii in all his appearances except the ones that Tim was first. I would say "talent" is not a question, as it took Hoff less appearances to do as well as Tim.

hmmmm, I think not. 1st place is the goal.

Some people have the passion and fury for other things too, e.g. curing cancer, being a teacher, raising a child, etc. Just because their passion and fury isn't for winning the pinnacle of the sport doesn't mean they are somehow less passionate or have somewhow made incorrect choices. In fact, I would argue the opposite.

Hmmm, well, I understand your words and intent but, having done research and having taught a bit, I can't really agree that the passionate cancer researchers and teachers have to go through the same level of suffering as the athletes who aspire to be the very best in the world in their sport. Research and teaching are relatively relaxed endeavors, e.g. lots of time spent reading research done by others while drinking coffee. This just does not compare IMO to training 30-40 hr/wk, being just exhausted for weeks on end, but then trying to hit your taper just right to be at your absolute peak on race day(s). This is all just IMO though, and we can perhaps just agree to disagree. To me, the level of punishment that top athletes endure is just beyond comparison with anything in the non-athletic world, excepting possibly some very small but grueling parts of the military.

I certainly would not say that anyone who is passionate about their work has made an "incorrect choice", and i don't think any of my posts above imply that at all. Each person has a diff modus operandi and what excites one person bores another. Also, quite possibly the teacher and cancer researcher are doing "more important" work than a pro athlete, although the role model aspects of the top athletes, and even top local athletes, should not be overlooked, espec given the ever-increasing number of overweight and obese people:)

Cheers,

Eric

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

You know what is really funny about this is that Potts probably made more money in one year than Tim did his entire career. If not one year, his two best for sure. Tim may have won ironman a few times, but he would also get the distinction of the worst guy ever to make bank on those wins. I think Andy has been one of the most brilliant pros ever to race the sport. He just makes good decisions at virtually every crossroad, and for a guy with a family who actually is a dad and husband( just having a family does not mean you are family man), he has done remarkably well in the money making side of being a professional athlete.

I don't have much of a guess as to what the others make, perhaps they are doing well, and will continue to do so. But Andy has made a real career out of triathlon, and a very long and lucrative one at that. I would not be surprised if he was the all time money maker in the sport up to this point
in our sports infancy. And it appears he still has a few years left to keep padding those earnings.

I would have loved if one of them had thrown that back at TD, something like, what good were those wins if you could not really capitalize on them? Sacrifice everything for a trophy and title? No thanks...

Interesting points...

All I can add is: Unless you were there in the oven called CDA '15 and saw the big guy "AP" do what he did, and hear his speech at awards - I'm not easily impressed. But, I was beyond impressed.

How does anyone run sub 3 hours in 105+ heat? And a big guy at that. Ya, had to be there to appreciate the accomplishment.

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

I always liked tim deboom but the way this interview started it became clear he had an agenda of aggression, then tried to hide behind the vail of hard journalism. I lost some resepct for him here even if some of his points were valid. I can see him getting this right and being a classy "someone".

I love the idea of an athlete with total focus on one goal. Not like some overpaid soccer Players, partying in a club all night during season. I link endurance sport with passion, dedication, sacrifice. Living like a monk has something very intriguing.

But, I think that this works, you need experience and know yourself very well. I mean you have to know exactly what it takes and how much you can handle. You walk on a very sharp knife all the time and overtraining is never far away. Especially for young athletes. You can tinker with your diet as well, but then there is the risk of missing out on something or of getting too light and lose power.
I mean look at the Raelerts for example. They seem to have dedicated a whole lot to their dream and still something was always missing.

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10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40

i m not sure what un-unprecedent mean?? is that english?

but germany as had top 3 men in top 10 a few times...they did 3 guy in top 5 i believe...

australia as also


Reading this interview seems to me like Potts is more concern about his buisness than about winning kona. That is fair. The difference is Tim was all in....none of those other guys come with that mentality. it s a different focus/career orientation.

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

^^^All of this! AP has had one of the most successful, thought out careers the sport has ever seen. Some people forget he has won a 70.3 WC too.

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Formerly DrD

Great point, and what was meant IMO. Making the most money, or winning? Which road you want to take. I love Potts, and he is a sponsor's dream, as he "gets it". He gives sponsors every bit of value they pay for, and hopefully he can win someday. But I still feel that one has to be completely dedicated to winning this one race to accomplish that task.

It's einstein's definition of insanity, right? Repeating a process and expecting a different result? Probably a lot of insane triathletes out here ....

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What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

 Agreed… I feel that the whole point of being a top tier pro triathlete is to make as much money as possible doing something that you love. I always got the impression that Tim basically put himself through hell, but got two Kona titles, and for some reason sounds a little bitter. Whereas Andy seems to truly enjoy his life and career, while making what I assume is a whole lot more money. No offense to either but I'd take Andy's results/life/earnings over Tim's any day

Sounds like Tim won Kona but at the cost of everything else in his life, which doesn't sound like a good trade off to me