John Collins
John Collins is an inductee in the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame as a Contributor, endurance athlete, event director, creator of the Ironman triathlon, and a retired Commander in the U.S. Navy. He and his wife Judy Collins co-founded the Ironman triathlon on Oahu in 1978 and the Portobelo Panamá Triathlon in 1998. They are both 1988 inductees in the Ironman Hall of Fame.
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USA Triathlon Hall of Fame
John Collins and wife Judy Collins were honored as Contributors in the Class of 2013. Creators of the Ironman Triathlon in 1978 in Hawaii, John and Judy Collins served as race directors of the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in 1978-79. The pair are Ironman finishers themselves, John completing the 1978 Ironman and Judy participating in the 2003 Ironman Revisited on the original Oahu course. Both competed in the first-ever triathlon in the U.S. in San Diego in 1974 along with their 12- and 13-year-old children. Taken with the sport, they convinced their masters swim coach to start the longest-running triathlon in the world (Coronado Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in 1975). They were inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame in 1998.
Ironman History
During an awards presentation for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay, John Collins, a Naval Officer stationed in Hawai'i, and his wife Judy Collins, who worked at the University of Hawai'i, decided to join three Oahu endurance events into one around-the-island triathlon. They made the formal announcement of the new event at the annual banquet of the Waikiki Swim Club. Swim the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (a minimum 2.4 miles), bike the Round the Island Bicycle Race course (for an estimated 112 miles), run the Honolulu Marathon course (26.2 miles). The triathlon would show who were the better athletes, swimmers or runners. The bicycle course would test both. They named their challenge event the Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon. On 18 February 1978, 15 competitors, including John Collins, stood on the beach at Waikiki ready to take on the first-ever Ironman challenge.
1978 Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon Results
The inaugural 1978 Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon was held on 18 February 1978, with 15 starters and 12 finishers. The course included the 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater Swim, a 112-mile bike ride around Oahu, and the 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon.
1. Gordon Haller 11:46:58
2. John Dunbar 12:20:27
3. Dave Orlowski 13:39:13
4. Ian Emberson 14:03:25
5. Sterling Lewis 14:04:35
6. Tom Knoll 14:45:11
7. Henry Forrest 15:30:14
8. Frank Day 16:38:31
9. John Collins 17:00:38
10. Archie Hapai 17:24:22
11. Dan Hendrickson 20:03:28
12. Harold Irving 21:00:38
External links
- Swims Across Waikiki Lead To Channel Crossings In Hawai'i
- Nikko Price, Lorelei Schmidt Win SCAR after 4 Days in the Arizona Desert
- Lights Out on the Final Day of the 2024 SCAR Swim
- SCAR Day Three - Swimming Into the Belly of the Beast
- How Do You Describe SCAR?
- Jamie Tout Continues a Long, Prolific Career at SCAR 2024
- SCAR Day Two Across Canyon Lake - From Tranquil to Tough
- How He Does It - Kent Nicholas Daisy Chaining at the SCAR Swim
- Price Is Right – And So Was Day One of SCAR, a 4-Day Adventure in Arizona
- The History of Swimming 4 Long Days In SCAR
- 59 Swimmers in Taper Mode in Build Up to SCAR, a 4-Day Adventure in Arizona
- 59 Swimmers to Compete in SCAR: A 4-Day Adventure in Saguaro, Canyon, Apache, Roosevelt
- SCAR Swim
- Ironman history
- An Ironman Story With Judy and John Collins
- Judy Collins, Forever Changed The Face Of Open Water
- Waikiki Swim Club history
- Racing Strips Of Yesteryear
- Being Followed In Hawaii's Kalohi Channel
