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Scott Tinley

Bio

Scott Tinley, a 6th generation Southern Californian, is an accomplished teacher, author, and athlete. He teaches sport humanities courses at San Diego State University and California State University, San Marcos and has authored several books, including Racing the Sunset: An Athlete’s Quest for Life after Sport, a personal and in-depth study of life transition. Tinley has also written for CBS News and Sports Illustrated, among other popular and academic sources. He is a member of the Triathlon Hall of Fame, a two-time Ironman World Champion, and has competed professionally in over 400 triathlons since 1976.

Recent Articles

The Eternal Flower

Sunday, June 22, 2014

The 32nd running of the Wildflower Triathlon Weekend unfolded in curiously sweet and organic fashion between May 2nd and 4th. As an icon in event history, Wildflower remains as unassuming as it is unique. With a West Coast drought reducing San Antonio's lake level to prehistoric lows, organizers moved the swim to the one remaining deep water locale. Swimmers then ran 2 ½ miles to the traditional T1 and benefitted with a shortened final run. Not surprisingly, athletes embraced the necessary change. Good things love water and find it where they can. At WF, you tend to check your formalisms at the gate. We're not sure who won the races. But I'm sure they were fast. Results are HERE

While overall attendance was down 10%, the Woodstockian vibe was at full volume. Few events in the sport have retained their homespun roots in the recent corporate run on multisport event ownership. If you've been to the Flower you will understand how and why. TriHistory.com is wondering how many other events have been run more than 30 years straight. Let us know. -- ST

(For a nicely done history of this classic race, check out the history section of the Wildflower website HERE)

Chronicling a Country’s Past

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Multisport Dreaming: The Foundations of Triathlon in Australia is a book just out (Write Press, QLD, AUS 2014) from Dr. Jane E. Hunt, an Assistant Professor at Bond University in Australia. But it's not just another entry into the crowded "multisport" category. Hunt has penned an historical work of some significance; a highly-researched and crisply-written chronicle of the rich events, faces, episodes, and politics that shaped triathlon in Australia. Dr. Hunt's exhaustive work will be chronicled in detail in a future TriHistory.com entry but we suggest for now that her tenacious efforts of getting the past right signal a shift in how our global sport is increasingly being approached and explored from a perspective well beyond wattage output and a coach-of-the-month milieu.
Australia's contributions to the growth and maturation of triathlon are immutable. And its colorful characters from Curl Curl's Marc Dragan to our indomitable imp, Greg Welch, to 2012 Ironman World Champion, Pete Jacobs, are just part of Hunt's detailed romp through one country's triathlon history. Limited first printing certain to sell out. Read more HERE -- ST

My Back Pages: Origins of Speech in Triathlete Magazine

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

In the fall of 1983, Tri-Athlete magazine (later Triathlete) founder, William R. Katovsky came to Ocean Beach, California and sat at my chipped dining room table. We had coffee and Raisin Bran and considered each other like two junkyard dogs. Katovsky was a pimply-faced political Jew from Berkeley who carried a sense of entitlement under his curly black hair. His glasses were held together with a paper clip.

Danny Boy and the Rubber Suit Brigade

Sunday, March 23, 2014

It was a cold December day in 1982 when Dave Epperson snapped this image of me in wetsuit #0000001. The Speedo towel was a sponsor-required prop

Robert Scott is on the phone. His voice is choppy and laced with emotion. He has something to tell me, he claims, that will change the future of triathlon. But the dramatic pauses get in the way of his telling.

"I read about the Malibu race."

Long pause.
"Must have been tough."

Long pause.

"I know how to keep you guys warm in the water."

Rock In The Pond

<h3>Ripples from the Feb 1982 Ironman Triathlon &amp; The Crawl Felt Round The World&nbsp;</h3>
Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Julie Moss made history the hard way.  The impact on the sport of her dramatic finish was felt around the world and for many years to come.

The short and thick man in the bar keeps looking over his shoulder toward the door. He wears a tweed jacket with pressed slacks, matching, and appears to be having an intimate relationship with his cigar. The short and thick man appears to stand a bit taller than the other Kiwis who are actually bigger in this small town bar on the shores of New Zealand’s Lake Wanaka. He seems confident in a New York style. Nobody messes with him and his cigar. And I am intrigued.

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