Not sure how i feel about Venice Beach being where the Olympic triathlon is….Venice is A LOT different from the last LA Olympics..like waaay different. Plus the water is gonna be icky, but i guess no icclier than the Seine…
So, Ironman is having a new 70.3 in a town called “ridiculous”….hmm, maybe the whole wrong notice/wrong email was a foreboding….
Ah, yes, memories of the LA Triathlon when it first started. There was the tv coverage that captured Maca cutting the run course (helicopter shot caught him running down a hillside) and possibly cutting inside a swim buoy. Then there was the year the tide was out – way out – and the swim was more like a 750m run with maybe 750m of actual water. Add to that, collecting your bike at the finish after all the bikes from T2 were jammed into a tractor-trailer. Fun. On the plus side, one year it was the same weekend as the La Jolla Rough Water, so after finishing the LA Tri, a friend drove me down to La Jolla, where I borrowed another set of goggles (mine were still at T1 to arrive at the finish) and got to the start in time to race the 3mi open water swim (no wetsuits allowed so it didn't matter mine was still in Venice or on a truck to DTLA).
If by 'iconic' the measure is sounds really cool in general reputation and perception at the cost of everything else ... I guess it is 'shark eats' Venice. Iconic like the Seine through Paris is iconic, but polluted AF and did send home many athletes sick, which organizers swept under the rug ...
Yes there was an LA triathlon that started in Venice, but notice it didn't make it back post COVID. And for good reason = inconsistent surf and water quality + terrible road quality.
I've attended the Legacy Tri in Long Beach the last few years. And while it has it's issues, it is still waterfront and SoCal beautiful sandy beach - with a breakwater to protect swim conditions and way better road quality. I think the 'shark' eats the LB in this one.
I've told my fellow paratriathletes to mount Gatorskins, less they become Heather Jackson from the last LA Tri with double flats and bathed in sealant.
In all fairness, I think the LA Triathlon died well before the pandemic.
But yeah, it's a fair point that Long Beach was probably better venue for an actual race, and I agree I don't think the Paris course was a great venue for the athletes. But that's not really what the organizers were going for right? They were going for that one amazing TV shot for publicity, so I'm guessing that's the direction LA is going now?
Will be interesting what course they actually come up with. You gotta think they'll sweep the roads for the Olympics??
Not sure how i feel about Venice Beach being where the Olympic triathlon is….Venice is A LOT different from the last LA Olympics..like waaay different. Plus the water is gonna be icky, but i guess no icclier than the Seine…
So, Ironman is having a new 70.3 in a town called “ridiculous”….hmm, maybe the whole wrong notice/wrong email was a foreboding….
Ah, yes, memories of the LA Triathlon when it first started. There was the tv coverage that captured Maca cutting the run course (helicopter shot caught him running down a hillside) and possibly cutting inside a swim buoy. Then there was the year the tide was out – way out – and the swim was more like a 750m run with maybe 750m of actual water. Add to that, collecting your bike at the finish after all the bikes from T2 were jammed into a tractor-trailer. Fun. On the plus side, one year it was the same weekend as the La Jolla Rough Water, so after finishing the LA Tri, a friend drove me down to La Jolla, where I borrowed another set of goggles (mine were still at T1 to arrive at the finish) and got to the start in time to race the 3mi open water swim (no wetsuits allowed so it didn't matter mine was still in Venice or on a truck to DTLA).
If by 'iconic' the measure is sounds really cool in general reputation and perception at the cost of everything else ... I guess it is 'shark eats' Venice. Iconic like the Seine through Paris is iconic, but polluted AF and did send home many athletes sick, which organizers swept under the rug ...
Yes there was an LA triathlon that started in Venice, but notice it didn't make it back post COVID. And for good reason = inconsistent surf and water quality + terrible road quality.
I've attended the Legacy Tri in Long Beach the last few years. And while it has it's issues, it is still waterfront and SoCal beautiful sandy beach - with a breakwater to protect swim conditions and way better road quality. I think the 'shark' eats the LB in this one.
I've told my fellow paratriathletes to mount Gatorskins, less they become Heather Jackson from the last LA Tri with double flats and bathed in sealant.
In all fairness, I think the LA Triathlon died well before the pandemic.
But yeah, it's a fair point that Long Beach was probably better venue for an actual race, and I agree I don't think the Paris course was a great venue for the athletes. But that's not really what the organizers were going for right? They were going for that one amazing TV shot for publicity, so I'm guessing that's the direction LA is going now?
Will be interesting what course they actually come up with. You gotta think they'll sweep the roads for the Olympics??
Agree on LA Tri time of death - ha.
Also agree on organizers POV ... but what makes for better TV? A good race in a good venue ~ or ~ a crap conditions race in an iconic venue?
Sweeping the amount of typical LA trash into the cavernous potholes may do the trick. You got a point there.
I guess we agree on all of it then. Look at us!
😂