As nearly 1,700 triathletes swim, bike and run in the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship Saturday, they will be exhorted toward and through the finish line by a triumvirate of enthusiastic and committed race announcers. For nearly eight hours, the athletes and friends will be hearing Mike Reilly, the “Voice of the Ironman,” proclaim “you are an Ironman” over and over and over … each time with a special and unique meaning to each elated triathlete. Tom Ziebart, after working his butt off all week keeping the numerous Gatorade aid stations and water coolers filled for the training athletes, will be out there all day long; but, Tom’s special time seems to be the night-time, when he can throw out schwag to the throngs on the sidelines, cheering on the later finishers.
And then there’s Whit – Whit Raymond. He’s the wild one, the party guy, the one high above the finish line dancing 70’s style to keep the crowd jacked … and, man, is he successful! During the day, Whit works “hot corner.” This is the busy intersection of Palani Road and Kuakini Highway, where the bike and run courses intersect numerous times, with the triathlete traffic reminding one of a busy city intersection. Whit is the “traffic reporter,” doing the play-by-play with rapid-fire precision. Not only is he calling out the names of everyone who is going by; but, because of his tremendous knowledge of the sport and the in-depth homework he does to prepare for the big day, he routinely throws out tidbits of information on a great number of the competitors. He seems to know more than half the competitors personally. And, of course, there is that special little touch of naming and cheering on each of the over 100 Japanese athletes in perfectly fluent Japanese.
After studying Japanese at the University of Arizona for one year, Whit decided to move to Japan to study and immerse himself in the country’s culture. He was teaching English, his only means of transportation was a bike, when he entered his first triathlon in 1986. “Unbelievably, I found myself in the lead on the run, and 10 meters from the finish line, a Japanese guy blazes by me and I finish second.” Whit goes on to explain that he was the only non-Japanese competitor in the race, and it was televised nationally throughout Japan. Suddenly, Whit Raymond was a recognizable triathlete… after one race. People on the street were recognizing him!
Just three races later, 1986, Ironman Japan. At this point, Ironman Japan’s race distances were a bit shorter than today – 2 mile swim, 100 mile bike, 20 mile run. Whit races it, finishes 12th overall, and qualifies for Hawaii in just his fourth triathlon. Being the free spirit he was – and remains today – Whit heads to race Kona, falls in love with Hawaii, and ends up moving from Japan to Honolulu, living there for the next seven years. During this time, he gets a bit more serious with triathlon, winning the well known Keauhou Kona Half Ironman twice (4:10 PR), and racing in the Hawaii Ironman World Championship five times between 1986 and 1991.
Deciding not to race in 1992, Whit still came to Kona to help with the Japanese media as well as the pre-race Japanese triathlete briefing (which he also did in the years he was racing). “In 1993, I was asked to just help out in the race a bit as ‘an extra voice.’ They said ‘you’ve done the race 5 times, you know all the Hawaii athletes, you know the Japanese (and there were close to 200 back then), you know how to speak … help out Mike Reilly a bit.” The rest is history – 15 years consecutively, Whit continues to team up with Reilly, in order to entertain and inform the race spectators, as well as pump up each and every athlete.
“Whit brings an unparalleled energy. I always call him the Energizer Bunny — he never stops,” says Reilly smiling. “I don’t know how he does it. I do about 15-18 events a year. I think Whit must do double that! The only regret I have about Whit is I only get to work with him once a year. To him, it’s not about Whit, it’s all about the athletes.” Together, Reilly and Raymond, along with Tom Ziebart, will work non-stop from 5AM until the official cut-off at midnight on race day – 19 straight hours!
Reilly is right about Raymond’s work schedule. Along with Kona, he is the main announcer at events like Ironman Japan, Singapore 70.3, next year’s new Ironman China, as well as a slew of Xterra events, including that race’s National and World Championships. In addition, he is the voice behind 14 nationally syndicated sports programs televised and produced by Team Unlimited, the folks behind Xterra. Whit loves it all; but, his focus right now is on more television work.
So, on race day – the 30th edition of the “Big Dance,” the Ford Ironman World Championship – Whit will be out there, once again – his own personal “22nd Anniversary” of the race … and we will all witness the Energizer Bunny at work. “This is my way to continue being part of the sport I love – and I love it with a passion.” It shows.
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Barry Siff is a Race Director (5430 Sports), writer, and triathlete. He and his wife, Jodee, live, work, and train in Boulder, CO.
