Barry Siff reports on two of the latest inductees to the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame

Add one more accolade to the long list of deserved honors bestowed upon eight-time Ironman World Champion, Paula Newby-Fraser.

On Feb. 13, Newby-Fraser was inducted into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame, along with four others including the former owner and race director of the Ironman World Championship, Valerie Silk. Other inductees included the founders of the U.S. Triathlon Series (which paved the way for the Olympic Distance triathlon in the early 80’s), Jim Curl and Carl Thomas, along with Olympian and perennial podium finisher, Barb Lindquist.

Silk was unable to attend the sold out banquet at the beautiful Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs as she is caring for her elderly parents, but she did provide her appreciation of the award through a written statement read by none other than “The Voice of the Ironman,” Mike Reilly.

While noting her appreciation for the award and recognition, she spent the vast majority of her comments applauding her fellow inductees. On Newby-Fraser, for example: “I still remember your grace under pressure, your poise, your kind and generous comments towards your fellow competitors and your easy smile for everyone.”

Newby-Fraser spent much her acceptance speech recognizing her fellow inductees. In particular she recalled that her first race in the U.S., after relocating here from her native South Africa, was at the Houston stop of Curl & Thomas’ U.S. Triathlon Series in 1986.

“What I remember from that race was that the swim buoys were being blown, and nobody realized it, so, the 1,500 meter swim turned into a 2.4 mile swim, taking about an hour. But I loved it. You just rolled with it back then.” Newby-Fraser acknowledged Curl, Thomas and Silk as “the first real race directors.”

Newby-Fraser also recalled the money and status of the sport in the 80’s vs. today. Pros like herself and the “big four” – Dave Scott, Mark Allen, Scott Tinley and Scott Molina – were making “some pretty good money,” living the sport full-time, fairly comfortably; but, as Newby-Fraser points out: “I raced a lot. I usually raced at least 20 times a year; and my first real job in the States was at a travel agency just so I could get a good deal to fly to all the races, as I followed the whole USTS circuit for quite a number of years.”

Newby-Fraser has already been inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame and the Triathlete Magazine Hall of Fame; but, “as I have lived over half my life in the United States, to be considered part of the history here, I was actually a bit overwhelmed when Skip (Gilbert, USAT CEO) called me to say I had won the award, because I looked to so many of the athletes of that era – Linda Buchanan, Colleen Cannon, the Puntous sisters … to me they were so iconic.”

Newby-Fraser, with her unequaled eight Ironman World Championships, 24 total Ironman career wins, an Ironman world record that stood for nearly 15 years and her 11th place overall finish in Kona in 1998, possibly the greatest ever achievement in endurance sports history, is now appropriately recognized as one of triathlon’s legends in the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame.

Today, at 47, Paula Newby-Fraser is no longer actively racing, but is intricately involved with the sport, working full-time with the World Triathlon Corp, wearing two hats: Director of the Ironman Foundation (focusing upon the support of the communities in which the Ironman takes place), and working on “new development programs;” most notably, Newby-Fraser has helped develop, from the ground up, Ironman’s anti-doping program, which is in place today.

“We were probably running 4-5 tests a day running into Kona. The program is at a strong level today.”

Footnote: The first class of inductees into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame were: Jon Gray Noll, Verne Scott, Judy Flannery, Sheila Taormina, and Karen Smyers.

(Barry Siff was master of ceremonies at this year’s USAT Hall of Fame Banquet. He is a regular contributor to Ironman.com; and lives and trains with his wife Jodee and dog Jackpot, in Boulder, Colo.)