Yeah JulieP, he’ll be easy to watch when he’s riding 14 mph and walking…
All of you complaining about him getting a spot without putting in the hard work–what about the 200 who get in through the lottery? Is there any real difference?
What a F****ing Joke…
This will make Ironman 2004 a great race… I can not wait for a the TV coverage…
This makes me sick all the real Triathletes who bust there ass shold be pissed at this one…
even with a lottery slot, i believe you have to prove that you can finish, i.e. you have to complete another IM. Not so with this spot apparently. I personally would not want IMH to be my first IM. Its such a nasty beast, and there are so many great people there, i would want the experience of at least on other race, and lots of miles in my legs before i would attempt it.
Who cares?? It’s always been this way. There have always beeen celeb spots given out to publicize the sport. I’m seriously trying to qualify, but I really have no problem with this at all. I certainly don’t feel insulted.
I’ve never watched a reality show so I haven’t heard of him, but I hope he does well.
I don’t have a problem with the lottery, either.
The only problem that I have is that next years IM special on NBC will be the “Ryan Sutter Ironman Triathlon from Hawaii”… cut to trista worring about her man and detailing their 3 weeks of pre-race together in Hawaii. I hope they have time to show some of the race, but I understand if they have too much coverage of R&T’s romantic evenings on the Kona coast.
HEY WTC - Real Triathletes don’t care about this reality TV crap… wait, I’m sorry, for a second there I thought that the WTC cares about triathletes. My bad!
"Eric Kapitulik races for a cause but he also races other races and puts in his time it just seems to be an insult to hand out spots like that. "
He seems like a great guy but why is his free spot O.K.? he didnt ever qualify as far as I know. I think all these charity and celebrity spots take away from the sport and the event. Hasn’t the Ironman been around long enough to stand on its own as an athletic event ? or are we forever at the mercy of NBC and the human interest story? Can you imagine the organizers of the Tour de France letting Robin Williams start because the T.V. ratings would be huge. Or some guy wants to race to raise money for homeless kids and his sponsors have promised $1 a mile if the Tour lets him ride. I think NBC insults the event by not deeming the athletic competition worthy of full coverage. Maybe next year they can change the name to Ironman Fear Factor and hand out buckets of worms at the aid stations and that dork who does fear factor can say as Peter Reid guffs down some worms " for you my friend …fear is obviously not a factor!"
who cares? obviously all these posters do…good luck getting a slot, Im about as far off as you.
maybe instead of qualifying races, WTC can change the admission to an interview/talent search ala American Idol. You can get three judges like Randy, Paula Abdul and Simon and everyone can line up around the block for your 30 sec interview. You have 30 seconds to tell your sob story, pitch your charity or talk about what minor television roles you have stumbled into during your life. The judges will narrow the field down to the 1500 most deserving/interesting/good looking Ironmen and Women. Then on the first full moon in October all of America can sit back and watch. Ryan Seacrest can host and you can text message in your vote for “Americas Ironman” Think of the ratings NBC!!!
Right about the ITU. That’s why I have chosen to go to ITU worlds’ over training for Hawaii… that and it’s really hard to qualify in my AG. But I guess I could just buy a slot with my home refinance money… This Ryan guy will be like the guy at my gym who brags about doing hawaii in '86, when all you had to do was sign up. He still finished but it’s not the same.
You’re absolutely right. I forgot about the validation of your slot requirement. Never mind.
Why don’t they let him play 1st for the Yankees in the World Series, or run a set of downs in the Super Bowl?
It’s ridiculous. Is Hawaii going to turn into a Pro-Celebrity golf tournament next year?
Don’t laugh. A guy at my local gym got into Hawaii in 2003 via the lottery. He had never done a tri in his life. He was decked out in all the Kona gear and bragged about being on the NBC coverage (he was the guy shown passed out on the Qeen K). Anyway, to his credit he did finish in around 15 hours and vows to go back to Kona. Now, unless this dude hits the lotto jackpot twice, he’s in for a surprise with respect to how difficult it is to qualify.
All that said, I am not really opposed to the lottery, but they should make doing an Ironman and finishing a prerquisite BEFORE you can apply to the lottery. I think then a lot of folks who look down on the lottery would not hold a grudge against those who enter via the lottery.
I believe one of the reasons why the ITU and WTC could not come to terms years ago is that Hawaii wanted to keep its own pseudo bogus qualifying system, that is a mix of merit (performance at a race) , dollars (how many qual races can you go to, lottery, or charity slot) and luck (who shows up at your local qualifier vs another one). ITU wanted to impose a national qualifying system like it does for Short Course worlds. Now we all realize that the greatest intangible asset that the WTC owns is the “hope of fullfilling a dream” that many of us have. They own the key to entry to KONA. If they handed that over to the ITU, then what would they really own. In my opinion, not that much. WTC made the smart business move when it declined the ITU LC World’s and they have made piles of money as a result.
The guy was bragging about being on NBC passed out. What a freak! Does he realize he looks like a total ass to people who know better? But he has his a “story” to tell chicks at the gym.
Everytime someone finds out I do triathlon they have to tell me their heroic story of the 5K they did last weekend and how bad it hurt. I’m being an ass right now, but it’s funny sometimes. I like beginners, coached alot of them, but it’s the new guy who thinks he’s the sh*t that cracks me up the most. Most people are modest about what they do when they are newor should be. I learned early on to shut up and listen, that’s made me alot better.
Back off the rant; A local guy I know got a lottery slot, and then went on to do a sub 11. He would never have qualified, but took it seriously and did great. He had raced the distance before and had respect for the course.
I agree with the prerequisite of having done an IM before you can get a slot. You have to submit a race resume to do the elite adventure races. Why not at Hawaii?
There seems to be a erosion of any standards for the non-traditional means of obtaining a slot. Luck, $$$, or fame are not reasons to be in the race, but like you said, they are excellent business moves. WTC… says it right there, Corporation, which means they are supposed to make a profit. If not it would be the World Triathlon Not for Profit Foundation.
those of you that think that itu is more of a world championships should really double think that…I know guys that have qualified for our canadian national team that were gettingon the team after going over 2:30 for an olympic distance (age group 30-35). With the roll down you can place 20th or worse in your age group and still go to worlds…I think that is more of a joke than some over paid reality start getting a free ironman slot that give triathlon more exposure. Also maybe it’s because I don’t have a problem qualifying for Hawaii, but everyone here seems to put too much emphasis on qualifying for Hawaii…come on there are way better races out there with great competition…just go to a race in germany and find out how many age group germans can kick your ass.
I agree that some that qualify have not got the race resume or performances to back up the ITU slot either. I went ITU Long Du’s in ‘02 and there were only two people in my AG from the USA (20-24). I think the guys in the top three in my AG would have been MOP in the pro race, and there were alot of the top European Pro’s present. So the competition is there, just not as hyped, so the talent pool is not as deep. Some people have spotted races they can qualify for Hawaii, and its’ the same for ITU Worlds’.
ITU is all about the race. WTC is all about the sale and the experience IMO. It’s the diifference between a federation and a corporation. I was just as happy to finish Worlds’ as I was Madison. I had a better time in Worlds’, but I like to travel. And as much as everyone lauded the crowd in Madison the first year, the Austrians out did them in the rain.
I’ll go to Long Course Tri and Du this year, but realistically have to go under 9:15 to get into Hawaii. If they got rid of the money/celeb/lottery slots then there would be another 200-300 slots? I don’t know if tht would make a difference to me or not. I’d like to go, but I don’t plan my year/career on trying to make it. I cannot control the competition, and that is the main obstacle to getting a slot.