Dave Scott

Dave Scott (born January 4, 1954) is a U.S. triathlete and the first six-time Ironman World Championship winner (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1987). A progenitor of the sport, in 1993, Scott was the first person inducted in the Ironman Hall of Fame. He is known by the nickname "The Man" for his intense training regimens and his unrelenting race performances that created a record number of wins.

In 1994, at age 40, he won second place at the Hawaii Ironman World Championship, very nearly winning for a record-breaking seventh time. In 1996 at age 42, he returned again to place 5th, running the marathon in 2:45.

Early life and competition Scott grew up in Davis, California. By middle school, he played basketball and football. He was a water polo player at Davis High School and UC Davis, where he began to focus on swimming. Scott competed and twice won the Waikiki Rough Water Swim, part of the Global Open Water Swimming Conference.

In 1978, US Navy Commander John Collins created the Ironman out of existing races, including the Waikiki Swim. Scott heard about the race from a Sports Illustrated article. Then, “Collins gave me a flier and said, ‘You ought to do this thing.’ I looked at it and saw a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run and turned to him and said, ‘That’s a long three days,’” Scott said. “That moment planted the seed though. To know there were people doing that distance in one day was amazing to me.” Scott has stated "I never focused my goals on Mark Allen or what I had to do in the swim or the bike compared to Mark Allen. Ultimately, the competition level sometimes dictated that. After many years of racing, in 1989, we had a very very close race. It seemed like we were bouncing off of one another. It was influenced by our competitive natures." Allen ultimately won with Scott placing second and both broke Scott's course record.

Ironman results YEARRACEPOSITIONSWIMBIKERUNRESULT 2001 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA DNF --- --- --- DNF 1996 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA 5th --- --- --- 8:28:31 1994 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA 2nd --- --- --- 8:24:32 1989 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA 2nd --- --- --- 8:10:13 1988 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA DNC --- --- --- --- 1987 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA 1st --- --- --- 8:34:13 1986 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA 1st --- --- --- 8:28:37 1985 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA DNC --- --- --- --- 1984 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA 1st --- --- --- 8:54:20 1983 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA 1st --- --- --- 9:05:57 1982 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA 1st --- --- --- 9:08:23 1982 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA 2nd --- --- --- 9:14:41 1981 Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii, USA DNC --- --- --- --- 1980 Ironman World Championship, Oahu, Hawaii, USA 1st --- --- --- 9:24:33 DNC - Did not compete DNF - Did Not Finish (In 1982, The Ironman World Championship was moved from a February to October fixture, and therefore took place twice that year. Scott was second in the February race and won in October.)

Personal life after competition Scott was married to a swimmer and had three children. Now divorced, he lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Scott works as a triathlon coach, fitness consultant, motivational speaker, commentator, and corporate consultant. In 1986, he published his book Dave Scott's triathlon training. Since 1999, Scott has been the head coach for Team in Training, helping to certify TNTcoaches nationwide.

Scott experimented with vegetarian and vegan diets in the past. Since 1994, he has eaten chicken and fish and has criticized vegan diets for lacking Omega 3s.