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November 2014

“Foxcatcher” Opens is Wide Release To Favorable Reviews

Monday, November 17, 2014

Steve Carell (center) as John DuPont, flanked by co-stars Channing Tatum (left) and Mark Ruffalo. The Team Foxcatcher logo was very familiar in triathlon circles in the mid-1980s.

Starring a physically transformed Steve Carell as the eccentric millionaire/sportsman John E. DuPont, "Foxcatcher" opened to wide release on Friday, Nov 14. In the words of The New York Times reviewer Manhola Dargis, it is and "eerie horror story" about a rich man "who collected monumental amounts of shells, birds and stamps and...other human beings."

The movie delves only into DuPont's disastrous and ultimately murderous patronage of amateur wrestling, but among the human beings DuPont collected were triathletes. Back in the mid-1980's members of the Foxcatcher triathlon team took frequent trips to the podium at races across the country. The team starred Ken Glah, and included, at various times, Glah's wife at the time Jan Wanklyn, Joy Hansen, Jan and Diane Girard, Brooks Clark, Jeff Devlin and Steve Fitch. Several of the Foxcatcher triathletes lived on the DuPont estate in rural Pennsylvania and trained at DuPont's Foxcatcher Training Center, the primary setting of the film.

DuPont had had some experience in modern pentathlon and fancied himself a multisport pioneer, going so far to bill himself as the "The American Eagle" and "Father of Triathlon in the Americas." He was an odd man at the best of times, but "things went really bad when his mother died (in 1988)" Glah recalls.

According to people who knew DuPont, he desperately wanted to be an elite athlete, but lacked the talent. His patronage of sports was his way of compensating for his competitive shortcomings, allowing him to associate with, and even guide, the level of talent he lacked.

DuPont's involvement with triathlon is an historical footnote (It's not even mentioned on the John DuPont entry on Wikipedia), but it was significant at the time, and lends a somewhat bizarre insider's note for triathletes who watch the current film.

Multisport Sponsor Clif Bar Terminates Five Sponsored Climbers, Citing Extreme Risk

Monday, November 17, 2014

Alex Honnold, in a free-solo climb of Mt. Sentinel, in Yosemite, was one of the extreme climbers whose sponsorship was revoked by Clif Bar, as the company sought to distance itself from excessive risk. Pete Mortimer photo 

Clif Bar, a longtime sponsor of multisport events and athletes, recently announced that it was terminating its sponsorship of five high-profile adventure climbers on the basis of the extreme risks the climbers take, according to The New York Times.

"We have and always will support athletes in many adventure-based sports, including climbing," the company wrote in an open letter to the climbing community that appeared on its website And inherent in the idea of adventure is risk. We appreciate that assessing risk is a very personal decision. This isn't about drawing a line for the sport or limiting athletes from pursuing their passions. We're drawing a line for ourselves. We understand that this is a grey area, but we felt a need to start somewhere and start now."

The Clif Bar website continues to promote a large number of its sponsored athletes in a variety of sports, including triathlon

Great Floridian Triathlon Will Turn 25 in 2015

Thursday, November 13, 2014

One of the oldest continuing ultra-distance triathlons in the world will turn 25 in 2015. Fred Sommer's Great Floridian Triathlon was first held back in 1991 and experienced a high level of growth into the new decade consistent with the boom in interest in the sport of triathlon in general and long–distance races in particular. The event has suffered in recent years, however, as the World Triathlon Corporation penetrated local markets nationwide with a sexier brand and the allure of Ironman World Championship qualifier slots.

"Our numbers have been in the tank the past few years, Sommer said candidly. "Everyone is chasing the Ironman, and there are lots of Ironman races to select from here in the Southeast."

Hoping to drive renewed interest in the GFT, Sommer's company, the Clermont, Fla-based Sommer Sports Inc., launched a bold initiative to drive entries to his anniversary event next year: All past finishers of the full-distance event – anyone who finished the 140.6-mile course from 1991-2014 – would race for free in 2015 if they registered by Nov 12, 2014. First-timers who beat the early-registration deadline had access to a reduced entry fee of $250.

"The Great Floridian Triathlon has always been the peoples race", Sommer said in a press release. "In appreciation of the tremendous support offered by age group athletes over the past 24 years we felt it would be great if we gave something back to the athletes. At the same time we are hoping the excitement associated with the 25th birthday celebration will expose the GFT to new triathletes who may only be aware of the corporate run, branded full-distance races."

On November 13, Sommer deemed the promotion a success. Four hundred race alumni had signed up, along with 150 first-timers. "Now we just need to keep the momentum going," Sommer wrote in an email to TH. "What is exciting is that I have received a bunch of emails from past participants offering to do everything they can to grow the race. We just need to capitalize on all that energy before the athletes get sidetracked with training."