Ironman Hawaii on NBC Sunday
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Priscilla Fraiegari of Ironman
on
November 14, 2001
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Listing: NBC, Sunday, November 18, 4:30-6:00 P.M. (EST). 2001 Ironman Triathlon World Championship, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, 90 minutes taped. Commentator: Al Trautwig.
For the eleventh consecutive year, NBC will bring viewers the human drama of the world's most famous endurance event, the Ironman Triathlon World Championship. Taped on location in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 6, the Ironman Triathlon hosted 1,468 athletes from 48 countries around the world, including the United States. The broadcast takes viewers on a 140.6-mile odyssey through the scorching lava fields of Kona, where competitors were blasted by brutal 50-plus mile an hour crosswinds that made the challenge even greater. They will follow competitors as they face the supreme test of physical and mental toughness comprised of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run, all to be completed within the allotted 17-hour timeframe.
At the heart of the broadcast are stories of ordinary people accomplishing the extraordinary. Whether they are watching professional athletes vying for Kona glory, or age group athletes hoping to reach a personal goal, viewers will be moved and inspired by Ironman's compelling stories, which this year include:
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Eric Kapitulik, 29, a Force Recon Captain in the Marine Corps, who used the day to honor his fallen comrades stationed at Camp Pendleton and who were killed during a training exercise in December 1999. Kapitulik, now stationed in Annapolis, MD, used the race as a way to raise money for trust funds established for their families.
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Multiple age group champion, Cherie Gruenfeld, 57, from Blue Jay, Calif., who teaches inner city children about setting goals and building discipline by encouraging them to compete in triathlons.
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Defending champion, Peter Reid, 32, from Victoria, Canada, who hopes to repeat last year's win and capture his third championship title. After a disappointing season, Reid looks for redemption in the lava fields that made him famous.
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Switzerland's Natascha Badmann, 34, who is the reigning Queen of Kona and one of only four women to have captured multiple Ironman championship titles.
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Tim DeBoom, 30, of Lyons, CO, who became the great American hope for bringing the Ironman title back to the USA following electrifying top three performances at the 1999 and 2000 events.
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Davis, Calif.'s, Steve Larsen, 31, who makes his Hawaii debut. The two-time NORBA mountain bike champion, shocked the triathlon world earlier this year when he won the Isuzu Ironman Lake Placid Triathlon in his first attempt, smashing both the bike course record and the overall course record.
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Ironman legend Dave Scott from Boulder, CO, who returns at age 47 to test himself at the race that made him an icon in the sport. Scott was the first inductee into the Ironman Hall of Fame, and has six championship titles to his credit.
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Friends when they're not competing and fierce competitors when they are, former champions Lori Bowden and Heather Fuhr, who each have an Ironman championship crown to their credit - Bowden's in 1999, Fuhr's in 1997. With 20 career Ironman titles between them, these hardworking Canadians know what it takes to be the first across the line.
Highlights of the Ironman Triathlon first aired on television in 1980 as part of ABC's Wide World of Sports. In 1991, the broadcast was moved to NBC where it became a stand-alone program. Over the years, the Ironman Triathlon production has won nine Emmy awards and has received 30 Emmy nominations. The broadcast has also won five consecutive International Monitor Awards for global excellence.
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Ironman Hawaii on NBC Sanday
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by amart on November 14, 2001
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Interesting to realize that more and more people are training long hours in their quest to accomplish the goal of finishing an Ironman race. Although it would seem that the sport is growing it is not uplifting to notice that TV coverage is getting shorter and shorter even for Ironman Hawaii. Somebody has to talk to those NBC people.
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