but I just don't get what the real difference is.\\
First of all the swim is now the first event..It didn't used to be that way, over half the races I did in 79 and 80, had the swim last. No drafting going on there, but of course the bike allowed drafting in those races. Secondly, the sport did not understand drafting in the early days, in any of the sports, but especially swimming..Even now, watch the overhead view of an Ironman, and it is a giant pyramid that forms, the front swimmers lining up, and the rest fanning out to a huge base, and almost all pulling water..
Once the swim first format was implemented, it became impratical to do anything about drafting in the water. ANd after John Howard TT'ed behind his van in the 80 Ohau Ironman(4:28 split I think), the rest of us began to notice how much easier it was to ride behind someone. Once it was settled swim first, then it was easy to make the bike a ITT, because there were so few competitors, and it was self enforced. THis worked out well until 82", when the first prize money began to surface. But enforcement was still managable because of the small numbers, but from that point until today, the controversy has continued..Only now, they have to deal with 3000 person fields, and often with no wave starts on loop courses.. That is the evolution of where we came to this point on non drafting on the bike, and why it is considered OK and moral to do it during the swim..It's all about being pratical, and accomadating more and more athletes, just that it doesn't seem to be working out so well. Not that it ever did after 82, just getting worse and worse, to the point that many new athletes have never done a race where they didn't draft, or see most others doing it. It's becoming morally accepted in the sport, because of the perception that everyone else is doing it.....
First of all the swim is now the first event..It didn't used to be that way, over half the races I did in 79 and 80, had the swim last. No drafting going on there, but of course the bike allowed drafting in those races. Secondly, the sport did not understand drafting in the early days, in any of the sports, but especially swimming..Even now, watch the overhead view of an Ironman, and it is a giant pyramid that forms, the front swimmers lining up, and the rest fanning out to a huge base, and almost all pulling water..
Once the swim first format was implemented, it became impratical to do anything about drafting in the water. ANd after John Howard TT'ed behind his van in the 80 Ohau Ironman(4:28 split I think), the rest of us began to notice how much easier it was to ride behind someone. Once it was settled swim first, then it was easy to make the bike a ITT, because there were so few competitors, and it was self enforced. THis worked out well until 82", when the first prize money began to surface. But enforcement was still managable because of the small numbers, but from that point until today, the controversy has continued..Only now, they have to deal with 3000 person fields, and often with no wave starts on loop courses.. That is the evolution of where we came to this point on non drafting on the bike, and why it is considered OK and moral to do it during the swim..It's all about being pratical, and accomadating more and more athletes, just that it doesn't seem to be working out so well. Not that it ever did after 82, just getting worse and worse, to the point that many new athletes have never done a race where they didn't draft, or see most others doing it. It's becoming morally accepted in the sport, because of the perception that everyone else is doing it.....