1986 & 1987 Triathlons Des Hauts De Seine
Hi everybody. I haven’t posted on here for a few months. Mainly because I’ve been racing loads of triathlons. Old school-style. Short, often, gun to tape and mainly local. Although I also did two race swing in the UK. I’ll definitly do a season overview podcast episode in September.
But I got an email yesterday from a reader / listener, Gary. That reminded me I need to dig into the history of the Hauts de Seine Triathlon. And other triathlons in and around Paris. After watching the Olympic triathlons this morning. I have a podcast about the first Paris Triathlon here.
The first Triathlon des Hauts de Seine was on the 25th May 1986. Fifteen weeks before that Paris race. The race was advertised in the Tri-Athlete (FR) March/April 1986. Below.It seems the triathlon was in support of a Paris bid for the 1992 Olympics. Spoiler Alert. On the 17th October 1986, at a conference in Lausanne, Barcelona was chosen to host the games.
The event took place on the Ile de Puteaux. Which is an island in La Seine about level with the north end of La Bois Boulogne. The towers of La Defense are to the west. And the Arc de Triomphe is just to the east. So the race really was right downtown. Although only 2km long, the island has impressive sports facilities. See some of them on the 1987 poster below.
Image: Tri-Athlete (FR) Mars/Avril 1986
The distances would be 1500m / 40km / 12.5 km and the race would be part of the French Championship Series. Although most of the triathlons in the country were included in the points scoring until the series was streamlined in 1990. Entry fee was 120FF. That’s about €18.
Maybe because it was an unproven event, Tri-Athlete didn’t dispatch a reporter. Although results were published in the Juillet edition. Below. I don’t know Ivar Sesnega. Is it this guy? But behind him are some solid names. Foucault, Methion, Ullman and Volkaert.
Image: Tri-Athlete (FR) Juillet 1986
For the second edition of the race in 1987, the Triathlon Des Hauts De Seine definitely had a higher profile. The poster was in colour for a start. And there was a race report published in Tri-Athlete.
Images: Tri-Athlete (FR) Mars/Avril 1987. Tri-Athlete (FR) Juillet 1987.
We’ve made a lot of progress since last year. Everything went really well. We’re pleased with the result. And the triathletes are satisfied too.
It’s 17:00 in the big multi-sport hall at the Puteaux Sports Complex. Filled with competitors who have come to maybe receive one of the many prizes on offer. One of the organisers has to raise his voice to repeat to a journalist with a microphone how pleased he is with how the event went. That was put together for the regional council of the Hauts de Seine.
