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Dave Scott

Ali'i Dr, Kailua-Kona, HI

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Dave Scott won the Ironman World Championship six times between 1980 and 1987, becoming the first dominant figure in the sport's history and establishing much of the training methodology that later professional triathletes, including his own eventual rival Mark Allen, would go on to adopt and refine. His extremely high-volume training regimen, reportedly including multiple daily swim, bike, and run sessions totaling several hours of training per day, set an early standard for the sheer physical training volume elite triathlon competition would come to require. Scott's 1989 "Iron War" race against Mark Allen, in which both men ran essentially even for the entire marathon leg before Allen edged ahead in the final stretch, remains one of the most celebrated single races in triathlon history, and Scott's runner-up finish in that race is still discussed as being nearly as significant as an outright win given the quality of racing both men produced. His combined six Ironman world titles and his foundational role in developing early elite triathlon training methodology have made Scott one of the two central figures, alongside Allen, most credited with establishing triathlon's competitive and training standards during the sport's formative professional era.

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