The Streak Triathlon Podcast

Before 1989 and the formation of the International Triathlon Union. If you offered enough prize money and the best athletes in the world showed up. Then why not call your race a World Championship. There was nobody with any authority to tell you not to. Both The Nice International Triathlon and The Hawaii Ironman were promoted as World Championships from 1982 onwards. But today we’re talking about...

When I did TSP24 I mentioned that in December 1987 Sarah Springman had organised for 6 time Hawaii ironman winner Dave Scott to come to Cambridge and give a triathlon training seminar. Sarah knew Dave from the circuit. And Dave’s coaching credentials made him perfect for the task. Even before discovering triathlon he’d been an on-deck coach at Davis Masters. Then via his Ironman fame he started gi...

I’ve never been into sunglasses. But I need to get some before my eyes get even worse. Actually I had an eye test in April. My eyes are fine. But I now need reading glasses in the evening or in low light. But. In TSP13 I mentioned that athlete 703 on one of the postcards was maybe wearing Oakley Factory Pilot sunglasses. A keen listener, Doug, picked me up on my use of the word sunglasses. He was...

France Diaries 2. Near-daily short podcasts from my holiday. I’m still at La Plage du Gurp. On the Atlantic coast. About an hour north of Bordeaux. Today we are looking at a kit flat-lay from 1988.  Triathlete Magazine used to do a lot of these. Mainly around Christmas time. With a variety of products and brands. But this one seems to be driven by the magazine’s own stuff, their spin-off Winning C...

I’m on holiday in France. So I’m going to record as many very short podcast episodes as I can. As I've been inspired recently by listening to the Cycling Podcast and Escape Collective Tour de France dispatches. I’m going to record everything on my evening walks in nature. I don't want to be that guy sitting around the accommodation trying to shush people because I’m recording my very imp...

I’m working on a podcast episode about the French Grand Prix Series. I’ll include some history, details about the current format and memories of my first year racing it in 1996 for GT Vesoul 70.  I should have it done in a few weeks. But it’s taking longer than expected as I really want to get the details right about the wacky points system that they used in the mid and late-1980s. But to get you...

The Heineken Southport Triathlon took place on 18th June 1989 and highlights of the race were shown the following week on BBC Grandstand. It was the first British Triathlon shown on television. 220 Magazine called the event, “a truly historic day in British Triathlon.” Although I’d read plenty of triathlon magazines, watching the Southport race was the first time I’d actually seen top athletes in...

In June 1993 the 2 day Trophee SNCF was organised as a kind of proof of concept for sponsors, the federation, the athletes, and towns that might consider hosting a stage of a future France Iron Tour. The triathlon press presented the organisational problems but also the successes. I went through all of that in Episode 7. But the overriding hope was that the race would be back (and longer)in 1994....

Maybe you’re a fan of the Tour de France. For the gripping three weeks of racing. Or like me, for the scenery and the parallel stories. Well. There also used to be a triathlon stage race modelled on cycling’s Tour de France. It was a big deal in the triathlon world. It was unique. Some experimental race formats were used. And many top athletes attended. The 1993 Trophee SNCF was organised as a tri...

Today I’m going to talk about a  piece of equipment that was super-important to me in the 1980s. The Timex Triathlon watch. I remember buying my first one from Argos in Slough. Maybe in 1985 or 1986. It really was a technological leap forward at the time. You could store lap times and the buttons were easy to see and press. Features you only previously got on classic hand-held stopwatches. So here...

I started buying Tri-Athlete UK in July 1988. Then early editions of 220 Magazine and British Triathlon Scene. On a family holiday to Florida in 1989 I even picked up a few copies of the US version of Triathlete. Over the last couple of years I’ve been buying up vintage triathlon magazines on eBay. Some of them I’d previously owned. But they hadn’t survived multiple international house moves and a...

In 1988 I started buying Tri-Athlete UK magazine to follow the Le Coq Sportif Grand Prix Series. There were 10 events that year. The venues were Swindon, Barry Island, Otley, Ripon, Milton Keynes, Redbridge, Keswick, Wakefield, Leicester and Bedford. For the 1989 season the series was sponsored by Carlsberg. I also had club-mates at Berkshire Tri Squad who were driving up and down the country to d...

In 1987 The Scott DH handlebar became the first aerobar to achieve popularity in triathlon. The improved aerodynamic advantage from the hands forward position instantly took minutes from your bike split. So in early-2021 I bought 4 sets on eBay. Long story. Then I started to trace the history of the bars and how they first made their way to triple-effort start lines in the USA and the UK. Thanks t...

In this bonus recording you’ll hear about a short bike trip that I took to Roth in August 2022. I was there to trace the history of the Challenge Roth Triathlon. I’ve also included tips if you’re planning your own Roth racing and spectating weekend. And we look closely at the 1988 race. The best ever edition. IMO. https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/bonus-a-short-trip-to-roth

In this episode I tell you about my first triathlon. The race was held on 7th May 1989 at Martin’s Pool in Wokingham. It was organised by Thames Valley Triathletes. Britain's first triathlon club. As I crossed the finish-line I knew this was the most exciting sporting thing I’d ever done. And by the end of the season I’d already made the decision that I wanted to be a professional triathlete....

Let me tell you about the triathlon history podcast that I’m starting. It’s only taken me nearly 15 years to hit the record button after reading a book called Podcast Solutions back in 2008. I’ve also had 2 or 3 false starts but with a re-organised work schedule I’ve got way more time to dedicate to research, writing and recording. And once again I'm enjoying the process of preparing the show...