Spirit of Triathlon

Triathlon Forum
1

Not sure if many have heard the story regarding the Gulf Coast Half Ironman last month but it certainly demonstrates that there are some class acts out there. The following is an excerpt from Mike Neill’s blog (Mike was 1st - then Mike was 2nd - then Mike was 1st again).

http://mikeneill.com/blog/

“As the newspaper in Panama City put it, this race was probably one of the few Half Ironmans that has ever been decided by a photo finish. Right before the awards ceremony I was informed that I was given a 2 minute penalty for improperly racking my bike before heading out on the run. As my winning margin was only 1:40, this penalty dropped me into second place. I was absolutely dumbfounded. I knew I had racked my bike on the right side of the rack. That is where my running stuff was laid out AND where I did the little interview with the race announcer. When I went to pick up my bike it was on the opposite side of the rack, but I thought nothing of it. I just figured it was moved as other athletes were coming and going to get their stuff and leave the race site. My time to appeal had long since passed by the time I had found out so I went up to the stage at the awards as the second place athlete. Dan Moss was just as confused as I was and he was very gracious up there on the stage. These events made for an even longer drive back to Ohio as I thought about the penalty and how and when it could possibly have been assessed. I was resigned to the fact that there was no way to contest it but I wrote a letter to Charlie Crawford, the head official at U.S.A.T., asking for an explanation and some feedback. He was extremely quick to respond and informed me that the penalty was a mistake and that it had been overturned. This is where the story gets very good. The reason the penalty was overturned; Dan Moss’ girlfriend had taken a picture of Dan and our bikes in transition and it showed that I had indeed racked my bike properly. Dan Moss actually emailed the photo to the head race official and as a result put himself back in second place. This is probably one of the best examples of integrity and fair play in sports that I have ever witnessed and it is the type of story that doesn’t get told very often in our “win at all cost” world. Thanks Dan!!!”
**
In an era where many athletes do whatever it takes to win it is awesome to see the integrity that Dan Moss exhibited at this race!

2

Great story - (many) triathletes are, in fact, very special people.

3

Great story! And nice win!

I think most of us would rather win legitimately vs. by a mistake or something (or even by cheating, referring to the millions of posts about drafting, etc.) Even more telling is that Dan & GF actually pursued the truth, rather than just sitting there and saying “Oh well, they screwed up, not our fault.” This story should make it into the magazines for all to read.

4

I agree - this would make an interesting race report in the triathlon mags.

5

Definitely the kind of thing that would make a great “Letter to the editor” or article submission to one of the Tri mags. Good lesson in integrity and sportsmanship for beginners and veterans alike.

Congrats on the win .

6

Some of the responses indicate that you all might think that I am Mike Neill … not the case. I heard about this story and thought it worthy of discussion on this forum. I’m still trying to make it to the podium for my M40-44 age group in local races … winning a race only occurs in my dreams. Also, I checked Athlinks.com and I am 0 and 7 against Dan Moss head-to-head.

7

Bump for Monday crowd
.

8

This is a great story, thanks for posting it.

9

Wow, great story!!! Wonder how the bike got moved.

Dave