Ironman Wants Respect, Article on Cam Widoff.

NW Herald.com


Cameron Widoff was such a dominant swimmer at Woodstock High School that he had his own lane at practice.

His coach, Steve Aavang, said Widoff would do his own routine while others went through the normal practice.

"He would glide across the water," Aavang said of his experience coaching Widoff. "It was like he wasn't in contact with the water. He was so powerful. It was amazing to watch."

Widoff, 36, since has moved to Boulder, Colo., but he still stands alone in many ways. He is an Ironman triathlon competitor, excelling in a sport that combines a 2.4-mile open swim, a 112-mile bike race and a 26.4-mile marathon run. He finished fifth at the Oct. 15 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, acknowledged as the sport's greatest test, where he was the top American finisher for the fourth time, and he was one of two runners older than 35 – along with third-place finisher Peter Reid, also 36 – to finish in the top 20.

Despite his accomplishments, the man Aavang calls "America's greatest athlete" still must fight for respect and publicity. Widoff's feats often are excluded from the TV coverage that follows the annual Ironman World Championship – often without even a mention – and despite expressing understanding that the show's producers must tell human-interest stories, it clearly is an issue for Widoff, his family and friends.

This year's race is scheduled to air at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC – after Notre Dame's football game against Navy – and the show's executive producer promises Widoff will be a part of the show. His top-five finish and his status as one of the most consistent Americans will guarantee viewers will watch Widoff make his move, as well as his finish.

The producer, Peter Henning, acknowledges that Widoff, nicknamed "Wildman", is "a great guy and a free spirit, a great guy to work with." But Henning, also the vice president of the World Triathlon Corp., said even that is not enough to take time away from such stories as an amputee who finished, a participant who was stricken with ALS and an 80-year-old man who completed the race.

"It's a dramatic show on NBC," Henning said. "If we just ran the race, our ratings would be zero. People want to see people overcoming obstacles."

Also, Henning said, Widoff often exceeds expectations, meaning he is not usually among the athletes producers have their eyes on before the race.

"The problem with Cam is that he flies under the radar most of the time," Henning said. "He's somebody we never expect to do as well as he does. It sounds awful. We'll be watching a lot of the top guys, and they'll drop out and Cam goes running to the top. We should have done more on Cam, and we will do it next year."

It is difficult to find fault with a broadcast that has won 13 Emmy awards. Even Widoff admits "every single person who slips into the water has a story." And he understands "you can only cover so much of the race."

But Widoff could tell a few stories of his own.

Aavang spent one season as Woodstock's swimming coach, and Widoff qualified for the IHSA state meet. At state, Widoff never had a chance to be a champion – he was disqualified twice. Aavang said Widoff never before had been DQ'd.

"I met him in the lobby as we were leaving, and I thought this might be the last time I'd see this kid," Aavang said. "He said to me, 'Mr. Aavang, I'm going to be calling you back. I will call you in three to four years, and I will tell you I am a national champion.' And I said, 'Cam, I don't doubt you. I will wait for the call.' Five years later, I got a call from Cam. He was a national champion in the amateur triathlon. It was a call I knew I was going to get."

Being the best in the nation no longer is Widoff's goal. He intends to be the world champion.

The fifth-place finish was Widoff's best, and it is his third consecutive year as America's highest placer. He finished in 8 hours, 23 minutes and 1 second. The top finisher, Germany's Faris Al-Sultan, finished in 8:14.17.

Doubters tell Widoff his opportunity is over, that, at 36, he has lost his chance to be the best Ironman competitor in the world.

"People think, 'He's probably in the twilight of his career,' " Widoff said in a phone interview from Hawaii. "But what's really nice is that it's such an experiential thing."

Widoff works long hours training for each year's event, and he rarely has a chance to return to his hometown. Nevertheless, he seized every opportunity to thank those who helped him, specifically the high school, Westwood Elementary and the Woodstock Dolphins swim club.

Rob Scanlan, the president of the Dolphins, said many in the club admire Widoff.

"I think the older kids who know of him from newspaper articles are very intrigued by it," Scanlan said.

John Silker, who teaches at Woodstock High, is an avid runner and inline skater who once attempted an Ironman competition. He admires Widoff, because he knows how hard the sport can be.

"I did one in Minnesota, and at the end of the bike, I'd lost 18 pounds of water weight," Silker said. "I spent the rest of the day in the hospital tent. I didn't even finish one."

Silker said he is "just amazed" that Widoff has managed to have such a long and successful run.

"This guy has done it year after year," he said.

'He's way too big'

Aavang said Widoff "always has been his own person."

"He's way too big to be an Ironman," Aavang said. "He stands about 6-foot-3, and he's got the frame of a tight end. That does serve him well as far as giving him power, which is his trademark. Most people in distance and endurance-type events, you picture a cross country-type athlete, someone not really big. When you picture Cam, you're looking at a football player. But what makes him successful is not the physique. It's what's inside of him, and he's had that since he was in high school."


'He was not a runner'

Aavang said Widoff was an especially strong swimmer and bicyclist, but he had to learn to run.

"He was not a runner," Aavang said. "He didn't really start to compete in races that included running until he was out of college [he went to Southern Illinois]. He had no training. He is so self-motivated and self-disciplined, and that's what really separates him from the other athletes.

"He figured, 'I can be pretty good at it, but I'd better learn how to run.' "

Said Widoff: "I was a swimmer. I was not designed on this planet to run. But I said, 'I know I can do it. I can change the physiology. I can change the demands on my legs.' I had to learn to run, because I wasn't a runner."


A record breaker

Aavang said Widoff at one time owned 10 swimming records at Woodstock.

"The only reason he didn't have 12 was because he didn't swim all 12 events," Aavang said.

He said Widoff was favored to be a medalist at the state meet, but the swimmer had trouble adjusting to the starter.

"I'd never seen a guy start races like this guy," Aavang said. "He had super long pauses, and poor Cam got DQ'd in his first race. He false-started twice, and he was out. He was scratched. He was devastated. He worked his whole life – really focused on this event – and he had never been disqualified."

Aavang said though he spent only one year as Widoff's coach, they did develop a close bond.

"I was his chief cheerleader," he said. "The main thing I imparted – and the thing that stuck with him the most and made him think of me – was that I convinced him. Sometimes you have to be convinced that you're good, and I believed in him that he could do whatever it is that he wanted to do. I think that stuck with him."


'He really doesn't get the accolades'

Everyone from Widoff to Aavang to Silker to Widoff's mother, Waywanna, expressed disappointment that Widoff has been the top American finisher several times without even a mention.

Waywanna Widoff said she was excited to hear assurances that this year would be different.

"They tell me he's going to be mentioned, and that's all we're really looking for," she said.

Henning said the show usually features the top three finishers, a few key spots in the race and a slew of human-interest stories. The fifth-place finish – Widoff's best – is the key difference.

"It's unusual we'd even go to fifth place, and the only reason we did is because Cam is American," Henning said.

Aavang said "it's a shame" that Widoff traditionally has not received much coverage on the broadcast.

"In addition to being the top American finisher, he's the most consistent finisher of the Ironman over the last decade," Aavang said. "He really doesn't get the accolades he ought to, but he's got to be the premier athlete in America. You have to consider the distances and the diversity of the event. I'd call him America's greatest athlete."

Said Silker: "Here you have the top U.S. triathlete, and he's never had the exposure."

Cameron Widoff said his preference would be to have two separate broadcasts – one focusing on human interest, the other covering the race.

"You have to bring the personal stories in," he said. "That's what the majority of the people in the world want to see. But I always thought it'd be interesting to see the top 10 guys and the top 10 girls, and then also have another show where it's the fuzzy stories."

Henning said it is a common complaint – that there is not enough race coverage.

"I know the hardcore [triathlon] press would rather we didn't cover the age groupers," Henning said.


'It's like you're playing poker'

Widoff said he spent time in second place, "feeling great", as part of a group of cyclists. He said that is when strategy really comes into play.

"It's like you're playing poker," he said. "You think you know what the otehr guys have, and you know what they've done on paper. You'll think, 'They have to be pretty tired.' I can control how I set my cards up."

Widoff said training is vital for that.

"I'm slipping aces into my draw," he said. "Other guys think they know, but I've got three aces there."


'I feel better this year than I did 10 years ago'

Widoff said when he was 25 years old, he had a sense of urgency. He thought he would be going downhill fast, that he had to win it then and there.

"I thought, 'I can't do any better than this,' " he said. "But I'm 40 minutes faster than I was then. .. I feel better this year than I did 10 years ago."

In 1995, he was 12th at Kona. By 1997, he improved to sixth overall and was the fastest American for the first time. He has finished in the top 10 every year since 2000. He has been the fastest American four times and the second-fastest American three times.

Silker figures Widoff could continue at a very high level for another four years.

"He's got the ideal training spot in Boulder, with the elevation," Silker said. "He's really chosen to treat his body well."


By AL LAGATTOLLA