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This will be the first time Rinny has raced on Aussie soil since finishing third in the event’s 2012 edition, when she came third behind Steffen. “I’m looking forward to racing again at home. Winning an Australian Ironman title is not something I’ve done yet, so I’d love to add one to my résumé,” Carfrae said.

“It’s a championship race so some of the girls will be really targeting it and be in great shape. I’ll put my nose to the grindstone for the next four weeks, aiming to be as fit as I can be to have a shot at the title.”

It is also the first time in over a year that Carfrae has trained in Australia, as she’s usually based in Boulder, Colorado. “My family is excited to have me back and I enjoyed spending time with them in Brisbane,” she added. “I have six nieces and nephews and the oldest is seven, they change so quickly so I always miss out when I’m away too long.”

Carfrae won last year’s Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii despite a deficit of 14:30mins behind leader Daniela Ryf (SUI) coming out of T2 . She then turned in one of the greatest runs the sport has ever seen with a time of 2:50:27, to claim her third Ironman World Championship title (2010, 2013, 2014).

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For more info on this year’s Ironman Melbourne head here. Don’t forget to pick up the March 2015 issue of 220 Triathlon magazine or listen to our podcast for an in-depth interview with Rinny, in which we discuss her upbringing on a farm outside Brisbane, her move from netball to basketball to triathlon and lots more.

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The rules for drafting distances, time penalties and wetsuit water temperature cut-offs will now be globally uniform at Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events: 

Draft zones 

The age-group bicycle draft zone is 10m long, measured from the leading edge of the front wheel and extending towards the back of the bike (five bike lengths of clear space between bikes). An age-group athlete may enter the draft zone of another athlete when passing and must continuously progress through the draft zone. A maximum of 20secs will be allowed to pass through the zone of another athlete.                                                                  

The professional bicycle draft zone is 12m long, measured from the leading edge of the front wheel and extending towards the back of the bike (six bike lengths of clear space between bikes). A professional athlete must immediately move to the side upon entering the draft zone of another athlete when passing (in other words, no slipstreaming) and must continuously progress through the draft zone. A maximum of 25secs will be allowed to pass through the zone of another athlete.

Race referee cards (professional and age group athletes)

Yellow Card: Stop and Go Time Penalty
Blue Card: Five Minute Time Penalty
Red Card: Disqualification (DSQ) 

Time penalties (professional and age group athletes)

First Time Penalty: Five minutes
Second Time Penalty: Five minutes
Third Time Penalty: Disqualification (DSQ)

Any combination of three cards (yellow or blue) will result in a disqualification (red card). 

Professional and age group wetsuit cut-off temperatures

Professional athletes will be allowed to wear wetsuits in water temperatures up to and including 21.9C.  Age group athletes will be allowed to wear wetsuits in water temperatures up to and including 24.5C. 

“We have been working closely with the ITU on this initiative for the past year,” said Ironman CEO Andrew Messick. “As Ironman continues to grow globally and expand into emerging markets that have limited Federation support, it is important that we have a uniform set of rules at our races. This is a big first step for us to harmonise our competition rules, which will create a more consistent race day experience.”

@IronmanTri @CEOIronman Thanks guys, very happy about the lower wetsuit cut-off for pro’s. Much needed!

— Josh Amberger (@JoshAmberger) February 12, 2015

@IronmanTri If we can align with ITU rules, how about their commitment to equality for pro triathletes? @50WomenToKona #dotherightthing

— Sue Aquila (@fewoman) February 12, 2015

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The new rules will take effect in Europe, Africa and the Americas on 1 March, and in the Asia-Pacific region between March and July. A complete download of Ironman’s competition rules for 2015 can be downloaded here. 

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Prize money will be paid to the top ten male and female professional finishers at each event, with the exception of Challenge St Andrews, which will pay five deep. Middle distance races will have a purse of around €25,000 each. Exact prize purses in dollars can be found on individual race sites (accessible via www.challenge-family.com).

The 2015 Challenge Family professional division races in the Americas run as follows: 

May 17 – Knoxville Half
June 7 – Quassy Half
June 14 – Williamsburg Half
June 21 – San Gil Half
June 28 – Atlantic City Full
July 5 – St. Andrews Half
August 16 – Pocono Half
August 23 – Maceió Half
August 30 – Maine Half
August 30 – Penticton Full
September 13 – Cedar Point Full
October 18 – Rancho Cordova Half
November 1 – Ixtapa Half
November 15 – Florida Half
November 29 – Florianopolis Half

“It’s simply a reality that earning potential is a factor in any pro’s decision as to where and when to compete, so for Challenge Family to revitalise a prize purse in the US is a major positive for everyone in the pro ranks,” said Australian pro Richie Cunningham. “Personally, I opt to support the events that best support me in turn, and Challenge does exactly that.”

Professional athletes are invited to sign up with Challenge Family here.

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Phillip Henwood and Alicia Livingstone first laid eyes on each other during the 185km bike leg last September, then spent an hour or so cycling at a similar speed and chatting away before Alicia pushed on with her race and left Phillip to finish the route on his own, still thinking about the “glamorous athlete” he’d just met

Luckily for Phillip, Alicia contacted him after Weymouth and the pair decided that their next encounter should be at another race in October (Ironman Barcelona). They both completed the long distance triathlon race and discovered they didn’t just have triathlon in common, as romance quickly blossomed.

And so, they will be getting married tomorrow at St Leonards Church in Streatham, London – exactly five months to the day since they met. They will have a second blessing ceremony a few weeks later in Truro Cathedral in Cornwall, then continue their romantic journey in true triathlete style by going on their honeymoon to South Africa, combining a holiday with an Ironman event in Port Elizabeth!

The happy couple will be returning to compete in Challenge Weymouth this year, not only as husband and wife, but Alicia has qualified to race as a GB Age Grouper following her success in 2014. 

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For €300, age-groupers will get the complete Uplace-BMC team kit, along with a few extras:

“With the launch of the Uplace-BMC Age Group Team we want to intensify the connectivity to the team,” said team manager Bob de Wolf. “We want to share the experience and knowhow of our professional team with our fans and future members.”

To get all the details how to become an Uplace-BMC athlete head here.

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Gerami (pronounced with a hard G, although she happily softens it in western company), is the most enigmatic of interviewees, an effervescent smile and infectious giggles belying a stubborn interior. A determination to be a catalyst for change could be compromised by the humility of her responses – except actions speak far louder than words, especially when you have stood, arms aloft, national flag raised, as your country’s first-ever female triathlete. 

Gentle ice-breakers are quickly brushed over. Born in Iran, Gerami’s been living in England for 11 years via a childhood split between the United States and Middle East, a secondary education in Lancing, near Brighton, and Durham for a degree in politics, philosophy and economics, before settling in London. Her father died of cancer when she was young, her brother is an entrepreneur trying to build an iced tea empire in the USA, but it’s that remarkable 2013 World Championships in London, and the one that mirrored it in Edmonton last autumn, that she really wants to discuss.

If she’s not one for dwelling on her background, however, Shirin does at least tell us about how she first got started in triathlon. “I remember my first 2km run at school,” she says. “I’d joined a friend thinking it would be nice and smooth, but it was just pain.” 

With only vague memories of pre-school paddling with cousins in Tehran, trying out for the Lancing school swim squad at 15 proved equally challenging. “I told the coach I could barely swim and proved it by half-drowning,” she explains. “But I still wanted to join.”

First taste of tri

At Durham she stumbled across triathlon where a first club ride resulted in pushing a borrowed bike up every hill. But she stuck at it, and, to celebrate graduating, booked a spot at Ironman 70.3 UK at Wimbleball, one of the toughest half-iron distances on the circuit, with 5,600ft of ascent on the 56-mile bike course and a mean trail run to follow.

“I very nearly didn’t race, I was so scared,” Shirin explains, but the plan to quell nerves by booking into an Exmoor youth hostel and practising the bike course almost proved disastrous. “There’s a really sharp bend at the bottom of a descent, and I was telling myself: ‘You are going to go into the hedge.’ Of course, I went straight over the handlebars and hit my head on a post and lay there, sprawled on the floor. An old lady walking her dog took me to hospital. I was so annoyed with myself. The reason I came down was because I was so negative.”

There was no such drama come race day. “I did it much better than I’d ever dreamed,” she says. “That experience was invaluable for me to realise we underestimate ourselves so much, both mentally and physically. Before even trying the goal, it’s so likely we give up in fear of failure.”

Shirin’s humble recital suggests dicing dangerously with the cut-off times, but I later check the splits to find a more than commendable ninth in her age-group, in a shade over 6.5 hours.

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On moving to London to work in international relations, she joined triathlon clubs at Serpentine and then London Fields – where the possibility of representing Iran was first mooted.

Building on the success of the London Olympics, Hyde Park had been chosen by the International Triathlon Union to hold its World Series Grand Final, the climax to the season’s racing. As well as the elite, under-23, junior and paratriathlon races, the age-group world championships would also be staged and, with Britain renowned for sending a strong team, home soil meant the competition for places would be even fiercer.

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“To take the edge off the Team GB competition, our club discussed other nations that members could potentially represent,” explains Shirin. “Someone turned to me and said: ‘Oh, Iranian woman, you can do it as well’.” 

It’s worth reiterating that Shirin would be breaking new ground. No woman had ever competed in triathlon for Iran, which is governed by strict Islamic law, and prior to the Beijing Games of 2008 the Iranian Olympic Committee issued a memorandum stating its objective was “not just to win medals, but to promote Islamic culture”. Conservative views might forbid women from competing under a male coach, with a male judge or in a mixed-sex environment, but Shirin’s initial enquiry was rebuffed because of her attire. 

“They didn’t think it’d be possible whilst adhering to the dress code,” she says. “My view was: if it’s only the clothes, surely there’s a solution?” A heartfelt letter stating her ambitions was followed by a five-month process of trying to find ways of competing whilst covered. 

Shirin needed permission from both the triathlon federation, who judge on sporting merit, and the government sports ministry, for compliance with respecting extraneous rules or regulations. A flurry of emails and detailed descriptions of the proposed apparel led to amendments, but the green light was still not forthcoming.

The sensitivity was illustrated by the cautionary tale of Iranian long-distance swimmer, Elham Asghari, who swam 20 kilometres in the Caspian Sea in eight hours in June, but whose achievement was not recognised by the sports authorities because, despite designing a special swimsuit that added six kilos, her female features were deemed visible as she emerged from the water.

“You have beliefs, and rules and conditions,” Shirin explains. “Some women might not have a problem with skin-tight clothes, others might take issue with being active in a mixed environment. Beliefs are very individual, but I needed the approval of the deputy minister, so it was a bit tricky. Even if you wear a burkini, which is big and jellyfish-like, when you come out of the water, the weight means it clings to your body.”

Political paperwork

Perhaps the problem could be addressed from a different angle and, with the ITU’s support, a small tent was proposed by the swim exit so Shirin could change into dry clothes without being seen. The plan seemed to curry favour, yet a fortnight before the Hyde Park race and with the necessary ‘political paperwork’ still not forthcoming, Shirin flew to Tehran and met both the ministry and federation face-to-face to try to force a solution.

“My clothes needed changing. They were either too short or too tight and I had to go to workshops to make them from scratch,” she explains. The ITU had written supporting her case so, I suggested, was this stonewalling perhaps a deliberate deterrent? She will not be drawn. 

“Beliefs are very individual,” she says. “I’m not in a position to say it was a barrier [to stop me racing]. They might have been genuine reasons, but I also knew that it was a few days before the race, I was still in Iran, I’d been told the clothes were fine but I needed to wait for political approval – and I still don’t know what this means.”

By Saturday, the day before the age-group event, a letter of nomination had still not materialised and Shirin was ready to quit. “Every shred of logic told me it will not happen,” she says. “I’d cancelled an interview with the BBC because I didn’t want to get involved anymore, but then I thought: ‘If I’m going to think positively, I’ve a race tomorrow, and it’s been so long since I did any training, it might be an idea to go for a run. I then realised I’d left my running shoes in Iran, so dug out a mouldy pair in the attic and went for a little jog around Hampstead Heath.”

Late that evening, sat with ITU delegates by the Serpentine lake café, she received a confirmation phone call from an unknown employee of the sports ministry and finally permission to race was emailed through. By then, it was 2am in Tehran.

The inclement weather on Sunday morning meant Shirin was one of the few competitors in the standard-distance wave grateful for the swim being halved. She would start at 7am, but first there was one further problem to overcome – the changing tent was a few metres from the water’s edge, so she would still be visible emerging from the swim. 

“At 5am I was knocking on neighbours’ doors asking for a poncho,” she reveals. “I’d never been so exhausted in my life. My first thought was what a shame it would be if, after all this, I’d overslept. It was beautiful to be there, so many supporters and huge ‘Go Iran’ shouts all over the course. After that I celebrated by sleeping.”

Roll forward 12 months and the triathlon finale had moved on to Edmonton. Change too in Tehran, where the government of the more moderate Shiite cleric Hassan Rouhani was now fully installed. The new president had already taken charge when Shirin raced in London – and Tweeted: “Shirin Gerami. 1st female triathlete to have competed in world championship wearing Iran’s colours #GenderEquality” – but the personnel of the sports ministry were still in place from the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regime. 

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Shirin had left her job, which had been focused on making innovative charities sustainable in the Middle East, and was pursuing multisport full time.

“You don’t need to be working in international development to make a difference,” she explains. “Pursuing and sharing our passions make the most positive change. I looked at what sport had taught me about persistence and decided to make ‘this’ my main focus. I have no regrets.”

The year was spent researching materials and technologies that would help clip the transition time from an unwieldy eight minutes, but would also win approval. Before heading to Canada, another trip to Iran was required. “I really hadn’t thought the clothes would be an issue this time, and I was sad and disappointed that I got stressed. I was so stressed,” she adds. “It’s really hard to find something on the market that offers a degree of covering that some may want, whether it’s religious beliefs or self-confidence over body image.”

Shirin liaised with Cardiff-based company Thread, and with P2i, an innovative firm that provides waterproof coatings for a quick-drying effect, and having met and found a kindred spirit in four-time Ironman champion Chrissie Wellington, the two planned to develop their own clothing line for women who needed or wanted to cover. Business plans had to be put on ice as Shirin’s attention again turned to competing.

“Edmonton was different because of the 10.5-hour time difference,” she says. “Obtaining a visa had taken a long time, then I’d register and rack the bike in the day and stay awake all night to phone Iran. It was difficult. I’d hoped to be in Canada a week before racing to acclimatise, but I only arrived three days out and was heavily jet-lagged.”

There’s a strong sense of déjà vu in hearing that permission was only finally granted on race morning, and I ask again whether such painstaking effort should be required simply to represent her nation in a triathlon.

“No one forced me to do this,” is her response. “Knowing the culture in Iran and knowing lots of people who ‘cover’ in their lives, I totally love and respect their beliefs. I think no matter what you choose to wear or believe in it’s completely respectable and beautiful. And if, through my racing, women with these beliefs can also participate in sport, then this is exactly what I set out to do.”

Shirin had finished 76th out of 77 finishers in London, but improved to 52nd out of 63 and knocked five minutes off her time on a tougher course, with a full-length swim. “I spent a lot of time training,” she says. “I had improved, but I know I could have been much better. I was grateful I managed to race, but I wanted an additional dimension – I wanted to perform.”

What next for Gerami? She’s certain this triathlon adventure has further to run and has taken the brave decision to remain full time. The world championships take place in Chicago this year and Shirin wants to be involved but, given the dramas of the past two years, there’s understandable caution in her tone. “I have a lot of dreams, but need to plan how I’m going to support myself to continue training and keep improving my clothes,” she says. 

“I’m still cycling round Regents Park, out to Box Hill in Surrey, and club training here and there, but need to find ways of putting in place proper structured support in order to compete. As an age-grouper, I think top 10 is a realistic goal. If I can put the foundations in place to develop myself physically, I wonder if I’d ever make it to elite. Bring on the challenge, I wouldn’t mind. I’d put the target as the Asian Games 2018.” 

Shirin had initially been told she could compete at last year’s event in Incheon, South Korea, before Iran pulled the entire team, but she’s not downhearted. She’s become accustomed to taking setbacks in her stride. “I think you might have gathered I can be a bit stubborn,” she laughs. “I will go up that hill. I will do a triathlon. I will race in Hyde Park!”

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(Images: Romilly Lockyer)

Pooley placed third at last year’s middle distance race behind Aussie duo Melissa Hauschildt and Annabel Luxford, neither of whom are expected to race this year. Her main rivals this year will include local favourite Monica Torres and American athlete Kelly Williamson, who won Ironman Texas last year.

Away we go! Adventures await w/ d3rick. @roadid @memorialhermann #ChallengePhilippines http://t.co/7mTFqV99MJ

— Kelly H Williamson (@khwilliamson) February 16, 2015

The men’s race is likely to be dominated by two-time Ironman World Champion Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack, Italian former pro cyclist Domenico Passuello, Challenge Atlantic City winner Fredrik Croneborg of Sweden and inaugural Challenge Philippines second placer Michael Murphy of Australia.

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This will be the second year that Challenge Philippines has run, and nearly 700 athletes are expected to take part in what is touted as one of the toughest half distance races in Asia. For more info head to www.challengephilippines.com.ph.

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Located only two hours by train from the centre of Paris, the city of Châteauroux has been a venue over the years for French Championship events and is well-known and much loved by French athletes. The area is surrounded by forests and situated on the Indre River – with plentiful lakes and fitness trails. 

The location for the race is known as ‘Belle Isle’. The beautiful lake, covering some eight hectares and surrounded by a further 12 hectares of protected green areas, has its own safe beach for the start and exit from the 750m lake swim. 

The four-lap 20km bike course is technical and will test the athletes, say the organisers. Each lap passes through transition and so crowds who stay by the lake will get a chance to see the athletes as they chase over the blue carpet. The run course uses part of the bike course and will be a fast and furious 5km. 

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“I am very pleased to see that the French Triathlon Federation has agreed to host the 2016 Elite Sprint Triathlon Championships in Châteauroux,” said ETU President Renato Bertrandi. “The test event in July is the weekend after Geneva and I hope that many athletes will take the opportunity to make the short journey to support Châteauroux.”

For more info on all the ETU’s triathlon championships head to etu.triathlon.org.

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The 33-year-old was heralded for reaping the rewards for hard work over a long career, until an A sample from a drugs test taken a fortnight before Chicago proved positive. An inspiring story of athletic achievement was dwarfed by one of doping. 

With every convicted offender, the spectacle of elite competition diminishes. Until Jeptoo’s positive test, African athletics had been comparatively untainted. Now rumours abound and belief is shaken. 

Triathlon boasts just a handful of high-profile drug busts: Nina Kraft’s hastily aborted Kona win in 2004; the farcical Lisa Hütthaler, who doped then tried bribery in 2009; Virginia Berasategui’s tearful mea culpa in 2013; and Brigitte McMahon, triathlon’s first Olympic female champion, testing positive for erythropoietin five years later. Despite improved science, elite testing pools and biological passports, is triathlon really that much cleaner, or is it ‘there by the grace of god’?

The premise ‘innocent until proven guilty’ means that dirty athletes race until they’re caught, but by then medals are often awarded and national anthems sung. So what if we flipped our thinking so only those who ‘proved’ they were clean could start? It sounds far-fetched, medieval, an affront to human rights, but is it the logical end-game for the fledgling Clean Protocol (www.cleanprotocol.org), started by the not-for-profit World Clean Sports Organisation?

The complex certification process sees the athletes sit a series of psychometric and cognitive tests and involves analysing ocular motor deception or, crudely, subconscious eye twitches, akin to a lie detector – although it’s not an analogy founder Teague Czislowski is fond of.

He admits the test is not foolproof. To date it’s thought to be about 85% accurate, so has a far higher chance of returning a ‘false positive’ than recognised clinical environments (World Anti-Doping Agency claims its errors are one in 10,000). But what if governments, governing bodies and WADA embraced its potential? 

At the Ironman World Championships in October, Clean Protocol certified a handful of professionals, including Britain’s Dan Halksworth, Harry Wiltshire and Jodie Swallow. Others were understandably reticent, but Andrew Johns, two-time British Olympian and Clean Protocol’s athlete liaison, believes attitudes have shifted such that, if the programme was repeated now, at least 50% of professionals would participate. 

Those rumblings sound promising, but Clean Protocol may not last the course. It’s reliant on private funding, which is not sustainable long term, and Czislowski is disillusioned by the status quo. “Unfortunately I’ve found those in charge of anti-doping programmes the most unhelpful,” he says. “They barely engage with us or, when they do, recite their mantra of support for the current system.”

Last year, former WADA president Dick Pound wrote a damning report outlining how anti-doping programmes are failing, blaming a lack of will among sports organisations, governments and athletes. Czislowski agrees. “Kona gave us the ability to look through a small window into the potential future of clean sport. Few others share the vision,” he says. “I’m hopeful the way to make sport cleaner is to improve behavioural change mechanisms. However, we are too early and lack resources. I give triathlon a 20% chance of becoming cleaner. Most athletes want it clean but do not speak out and the race organisers have no will. Clean Protocol is not perfect. It is just a start.”

It’s easy to write off Clean Protocol as unworkable, both practically and financially, but solutions to great problems often require visionaries. If the utopia is a gateway to clean sport, maybe it’s worth a try.

(Illustration: Daniel Seex) 

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