Welcome to Part 2 of our 3rd annual Babbittville Countdown to Kona! This year we are featuring 50 of our favorite Ironman sound bites from our Babbittville interviews. Follow along on our countdown each day on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! Catch up with Part 1 of the Countdown to Kona 2017 here Part…
Chrissie Wellington retired from the sport of triathlon after going undefeated at the Ironman distance while recording the fastest time ever for 140.6 miles for women at Challenge Roth -8:18 with a 2:44 marathon- while also winning four Ironman World Championship titles. It was just announced that Chrissie will be in Kona in October to…
Dr. Cory Foulk lives on the Big Island, and a number of years ago he thought that the Ironman was getting a tad too expensive and people were losing site of the fact that it’s not about the cost of the bike you ride, it’s about the toughness of the person riding that bike. So…
For three years, from 1998-2000, former Navy SEAL Carlos Moleda and motocross legend David Bailey went head-to-head in Kona in the handcycle division. Moleda had been paralyzed when he was shot in the back during a mission in Panama. Bailey was a legend in the sport of motocross and at the top of his game…
Kaisa Sali had watched the Ironman World Championship on TV in the early 1990s and, at the age of 12, told her dad she wanted to ride the length of the Ironman bike course, 180k, on her tiny pink mountain bike. They finished at grandma’s house and, when little Kaisa found out they had only…
Classics Interview Series: Tom Warren From the archives, enjoy this classic interview from 2013: Tom Warren is the 1979 Ironman World Champion and one of our all-time favorite people. The guy always comes up with a story we never heard before! Subscribe to Babbittville Radio on iTunes Sponsors Subscribe to Newsletter CREDO Tri…
Mike Levine was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on July 1, 2015. He was told that 90% of people who receive that diagnosis live 3-12 months, 5% live two years, and no one makes it to three years. After removing a half a dozen organs from his body plus 25 lymph nodes, Mike was connected with…
The year was 1980. There were 108 of us signed up for the third running of an event called The Ironman Triathlon on the island of Oahu. In both 1978 and 1979, 15 adventurers had signed up for the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run to see if they had…
On February 6, 1982, Julie Moss and Kathleen McCartney raced in Kona at the fifth ever Ironman Triathlon. ABC’s Wide World of Sports was covering the event and that day their cameras captured one of the most dramatic moments in endurance sports history. It was a moment that would change both of their lives while…
For February 18th, the anniversary of the first Ironman in 1978, we take a look back at the beginning of an event that started on the island of Oahu, and has since grown into a global phenomenon. Clockwise: A scene from the bike course of the original Ironman on Oahu. The founders: John and Judy Collins,…