Ironman is the highest level competition of triathlon, which was first held in the United States in 1978. After decades of development, IRONMAN series events have become a popular activity all over the world, attracting tens of millions of extreme endurance sports enthusiasts to participate crazily.
The Iron Man originated from a discussion in a Hawaiian pub. At a post-match dinner on 1977, a question about "runner or swimmer is better" triggered an argument between Navy Colonel Collins and his friends.
During this period, Collins mentioned that Eddy Merckx, a great Belgian cyclist, had incredible lung capacity, so he thought it was very likely that this cyclist was the strongest.
Although there was no winner in the debate, an almost whimsical idea was implanted in Collins' mind: why not combine the three most famous endurance sports on the island in one go, so that we can determine which type of athlete is the strongest.
These three sports are Waikiki Beach Naked Swimming (3.862km), Cycling Race around Oahu (185km) and Lu Lu badminton Marathon (42.195km).
During the intermission of the dinner band's performance, Collins took the stage and issued this challenge, saying that the first person to cross the finish line would be crowned "Iron Man".
Collins' idea was not put into practice immediately. It was not until 1978 that the Collins family officially organized this ultra-long distance extreme endurance race, and the first super iron man race in history was born.