French Athletes Visit San Diego In 1992
I don’t often write anything without doing plenty of thorough research. But this is kinda off-the-top-of-my-head. I’ll do some fact checking and drop the sources below later.
Here’s a story about some French athletes spending the spring of 1992 in San Diego. I’ll do a full translation later. Because I want to turn the article into a podcast episode.
The author and photographer, Max Malaurent, flew to San Diego to get the story. Do triathlon journalists still do this? Do magazine budgets allow it? Most of the stuff I see seems to be pulled from social media. Kinda lazy. A few months after this issue of Triathlete, Max would leave to start TED Magazine.
It was obvious that San Diego would become a triathlon training hub. The first triathlons, connected to what we do today, were held there. Some of the early and second wave faster athletes grew up and lived there. Tom Warren, the Buckingham twins, Scott Tinley, Mark Allen.
In May 1982 The first USTS race was held nearby. And in 1983 the
J-David finance bro scammers were based there.
Of course, there was also the good year-round weather. And what, at the time, was considered excellent training facilties. The pool at the university, the Pacific Coast Highway and Rancho Santa Fe.
Athletes from the UK started wintering in San Diego from maybe 1984. Glenn Cook, Howard Jones and Sarah Coope. A couple of years later they’d be joined by Rick Kiddle, Martin Lee and David Fowler.
The Germans also arrived in the mid-1980s. Jurgen Zack, Dirk Aschmoneit and maybe Yogi Hoffman, Karl Heinz Morath and Jorg Ullman.
Paula Newby-Fraser was also an early adopter. And then came a wave of Australians. Greg Welch, Brad Bevan and maybe Miles Stewart.
Finally, for this story at least, Spencer Smith bought a house there in around 1983. Apparently he left the UK for tax reasons.
I’m pretty sure PNF, Welch and Aschmoneit are still living there. And I’ve clearly not mentioned plenty of people. And probably added a few that never even visited San Diego. More research needed.
The French were slower to arrive. The language barrier was maybe a small factor. And that on the French south coast the weather is mainly good enough to cycle outside year round.
I want to cover Boulder later. Folklore suggests Frank Shorter was the first elite athlete to set-up there. I’ll look more into that.
Boulder has altitude. But not too much. A small-town feel. But with big town facilities nearby in Denver. There’s a Triathlete (USA) article called The Boulder Summit. I’ll find it later.
Images:
Tri-Athlete (FR) Mai 1992.
