To understand how much of a catalyst the McDermott article really was, consider the following piece of history. Below is a list of triathlons with the longest current “streaks” - those with the greatest number of consecutive renewals (absent cancellation for act of god):
IN THE FIVE YEARS PREDATING MCDERMOTT ARTICLE: Total of 2
1978 - Ironman Hawaii
1978 - Newport Beach Triathlon. Newport Beach, California. Began life as the Human Race Triathlon.
IN THE THREE YEARS IMMEDIATELY AFTER ARTICLE: Total of 24.
1979 - Black Hills Triathlon. Olympia, Washington. Began as a half-ironman, has since switched to shorter distances.
1979 - Music City Triathlon. Nashville, Tennessee. Also began as a half-ironman, switched to Olympic distance in 1980’s.
1979 - Topeka Tinman. Topeka, Kansas.
1979 - YMCA Triathlon. Cancelled twice in recent years because of flooding. Wilmington, North Carolina.
1979 - Super Frog Triathlon. San Diego, California. Originally limited to military personnel. Open to public for past several years.
1980 - Nepean Triathlon. Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. Generally acknowledged as the first triathlon downunder, still perking along.
1980 - Heart O’Dixie Triathlon. Point to point, ending at the Neshoba County fairgrounds in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
1980 - Cypress Gardens Triathlon. Run, bike, swim. Madhouse sprint, with a teen-aged Nick Radkewich one of the early winners. Cypress Gardens, Florida.
1980 - LaPorte Triathlon. LaPorte, Indiana.
1980 - Smith Falls Triathlon. Smith Falls, Ontario.
1980 - Wausau YMCA Triathlon. Wausau, Wisconsin. First race was one week before first Menomonie Tinman.
1980 - Menomonie Tinman. Menomonie, Wisconsin. Half-ironman.
1980 - Muncie Endurathon. Muncie, Indiana. Half-ironman from the start.
1980 - Hamlin Beach Triathlon. Began as a half-ironman, now conducted at shorter distances. Rochester, New York.
1980 - Blackwater Eagleman Triathlon. Oxford, Maryland. Created by WWII flying ace Fletcher Hanks as the Oxford International Triathlon; original distances were 2.4-mile swim, 20-mile run, 50-mile bike. This streak has a asterisk, as the 1996 version was a late cancellation.
1981 - Longmont Triathlon. Longmont, Colorado. Pool swim.
1981 - Maine Tinman. Camden, Maine.
1981 - Mark Mellon Memorial Triathlon. Gaylord, Michigan. Always contested as 1k swim, 50k bike, 10k run.
1981 - Sylvania Triathlon. Sylvania, Ohio. Initially conceived by local Vic Tanny club. Vic Tanny planned to drop in 1985, so Team Toledo picked up the torch. Initial distances were 700 yard swim (the length of the small lake), 26-mile bike, 10-mile run. Olympic distance since the mid-1980’s.
1981 - River Cities Triathlon. Shreveport, Louisiana. Sponsors include Bicycle Sports, owned by windtunnel expert John Cobb. Lance Armstrong once held course record.
1981 - Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. San Francisco, California. Founders disagreed along the way - now there are two “Alcatraz” races.
1981 - Dutch Open Championship Triathlon Long Distance. Almere, Netherlands.
1981 - Yuma Tinman. Yuma, Arizona.
1981 - Triatlo de Rincon. Rincon, Puerto Rico.