Interesting article from our local paper here in Madison today:
Ironman will have Mexican flavor
One-fifth of field from south of the border
Michael Poppy
September 8, 2007
Luis Alvarez wants to make a statement in Sunday’s Ironman competition, just not a political one.
Alvarez – a 45-year-old businessman from Mexico City – assembled nearly 400 of his countrymen to compete in this year’s Ironman Wisconsin. With the race’s participation limit set at 2,000, that means at least one out of every five competitors this weekend will be Mexican.
At a time when illegal immigration in the United States is a heated topic, Alvarez doesn’t want his people to be looked at differently; nor does he think they will be.
“I don’t think anyone will look at it like making a statement for immigration or anything,” Alvarez said. “All of them have to have passport, visas to come into the United States, so I don’t think anything of that.”
Aside from having about 400 people, one reason why Alvarez and his compadres will stick out in the race is the fact that they have made such a concerted effort to form their own team.
While Alvarez is officially a part of Team Timex, he is just as much a part of his team from Mexico – IRONMEX. They travel together, they cheer each other on and they even wear the same uniforms now that they have corporate sponsors.
“Different countries do the same thing,” Alvarez said. “They’re just not that organized with one team. Everybody here has the same uniforms – we have a uniform for cycling, a uniform for racing, pants for traveling.”
The reason for creating a team from Mexico is the growing popularity of Ironman south of the border. Alvarez has been an Olympic triathlete for the past 21 years and is the only person to have completed every Ironman venue worldwide. This will mark his eighth U.S. location, and he has raced on six continents – everywhere from the Canary Islands to Malaysia to Austria to New Zealand.
His success in the sport has motivated others from Mexico to join him.
“Luis gets many people to join,” said fellow IRONMEX member Luis Campuzano, who will be competing in his fourth Ironman Sunday. “But I just do it because it’s fun.”
However, Alvarez’s work as founder, promoter and CEO of IRONMEX hasn’t been easy. For years he has been trying to get this many people to compete in an Ironman triathlon.
“We’ve been motivating everybody, all the Mexicans, to go to one Ironman at the same time since 2000,” he said. “Four years ago we went to Canada with 100, last year we were 200 in Austria and this year we’re double again with 400, so this team is incredible. It’s getting to be a big thing in Mexico.”
Alvarez said Madison was the perfect location for a big turnout from his IRONMEX team because of its proximity to Chicago, allowing for a direct flight from Mexico and then a short drive. Plus, he ranks Madison’s course as one of the best worldwide.
While Alvarez is hoping to complete his 50th Ironman and achieve a qualifying mark for next year’s Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, he really only has one goal he would like to accomplish Sunday.
“My goal is to make my friends and team finish this Ironman,” Alvarez said. “That would be great because we’re all here for each other. We’re all here to support each other.”
And he would like Madison’s support, too.
“Please cheer them with ‘Viva, Mexico!’” Alvarez said.