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IRON WAR: A REMINISCENCE...

Sunday, 12 October 2014 00:10

By Lee Gruenfeld (ironman.com)

Ali vs. Frazier

Bird vs. Johnson.

Evert vs. Navritalova.

Great champions aren't defined by being the best, but by beating the best. Winning puts them in the books. Rivalries put them on the map....

And so it came to pass that, on October 14, 1989, in the petrified seas of Kona, the irresistible force known as Mark Allen met the immovable champion called Dave Scott.

Coming into this race, these were the two best long-distance triathletes in the world, but it was impossible to say which was the best, and there was only one way to settle the question: By winning the one that matters

The IRONMAN World Championship.

Dave had raced it seven times. Six of those times, he won.

Five of those times, the second place finisher was Mark Allen.

Mark was the Phil Mickelson of IRONMAN, the best in the sport never to have won a major. He could beat Dave anywhere on Earth, and he had, except in Kona. READ MORE