31-story view of Waikiki sparked Olympic dream

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

John Korff finished pounding his way up the 502 concrete steps of the Sheraton Waikiki hotel stairway two years ago when the idea began to take shape for this week's first-ever Olympic trials in Hawai'i.

Korff trains for races by running the stairwells of the tallest buildings he can find. And when he got to the last of the Sheraton Waikiki's 31 stories, Korff was struck by the view of Diamond Head, Kapi'olani Park and Waikiki Beach below him.

It would be the perfect course for an elite triathlon, Korff thought as he jumped on his cell phone to call a fellow sports promoter, Bill Burke. Burke added a key piece of information: The governing body of U.S. triathlons needed a site to hold the trials for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Two years later, Korff, Burke, city agencies and officials from the triathlon and Olympic worlds are busy finalizing the details for the U.S. Olympic triathlon trials to be held Sunday through Waikiki and around Diamond Head.

The race will close off area roads including parts of Kalakaua and Monsarrat avenues starting at 10 p.m. Saturday through 5 p.m. Sunday. (See map.)

Officials have surrounded the trials with a series of other races and triathlons open to the public that will generate even more attention — and tourism revenue.

"As far as we're concerned," Korff said, "this is all advertising for Hawai'i. This is swimming in Waikiki. This is riding a bike around Diamond Head. It's running down Kalakaua (Avenue). So it's one big, happy ad for the state."

Other events planned

The Olympic trials are expected to draw 40 male and 40 female elite triathletes. The race is part of the larger International Triathlon Union and will include competitors from other countries, with the top male and female Americans qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team.

Another 2,000 racers, friends and family will gather for an age-group triathlon before the Olympic trials and various other events.

Together, they're expected to pump $4.6 million into the local economy, which will translate into $450,000 in taxes, said Frank Haas, marketing director for the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.

HTA officials contributed $50,000 for the Olympic trials. The money came out of the HTA's $600,000 budget for Hawai'i sporting events, excluding professional golf tournaments and the NFL Pro Bowl.

The $50,000 isn't as much as the HTA spends on other sports events, such as the $200,000 it budgets for the Ironman Triathlon World Championship on the Big Island. But HTA officials expect that the money will help spread images of Hawai'i around the world when the Olympic trials are broadcast sometime in May to more than 1 billion homes in more than 72 countries.

Course similar to Athens

For the Olympic triathlon trials, a host of tourism-related companies, including Continental Airlines, Outrigger Hotels & Resorts and Alamo Rent A Car, have offered discounts to race participants.

"They understand the benefits of something like this," said Marsha Wienert, the state tourism liaison. "That television exposure in Waikiki — showing the beautiful scenery — you can't pay for that kind of publicity."

Hawai'i tourism officials are particularly excited about showing off Hawai'i to U.S. Olympic committee members, who might consider future events here, Wienert said.

Libby Burrell likes what she has seen so far.

Burrell, national team director for USA Triathlon — the sport's national governing body — has spent weeks poring over both the Hawai'i and Greek courses. She thinks Hawai'i's course and climate will provide a good match for what the American triathletes will face at the Olympics.

"We were ecstatic with the (Hawai'i) course," Burrell said. "It's an awesome course. It's so similar to Athens, it's unbelievable."

The course includes a 1,500-meter (one-mile) swim that starts at Queen's Beach near the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium; 40 kilometer (25-mile) bike ride around Diamond Head and a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) run along Kalakaua Avenue through Waikiki.

The Olympic trials won't be anything like the Ironman in which — as Korff said — athletes disappear for hours.

Tourists and spectators will be able to see the top contenders several times as they crisscross Waikiki.

"This is a different style of racing," Korff said. "It's back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. The total race is (more than) 31 miles. But the total impacted distance is only six miles."

The race will cost $300,000 to $500,000 to put on. The expenses include such things as $25,000 to $30,000 for 125 to 150 off-duty Honolulu police officers and another $5,000 or so for plants, flowers and carpeting at the finish line.

"Five thousand dollars for flowers — do you really need that?"

Korff asked. "No. But it looks cool."

It's important for Korff and Burke to produce an Olympic trials that inspires awe.

At best, Korff and Burke hope to break even this year. They won't be surprised if they lose money. But they hope to get a return on future races or events that spin out of the Olympic trials.

USA Triathlon officials could enjoy their experience in Honolulu so much that they decide to make it a stop on their World Cup series,

Korff said. Officials from other Olympic sports, say archery or fencing, could be inspired by the reports that come back to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and want their own events in Honolulu, Korff said.

Whatever happens in the future, any events that result from Hawai'i's first Olympic trials can trace their beginnings to that day two years ago when Korff ran to the top of the Sheraton Waikiki.

Last week Korff returned to the hotel and saw the same gorgeous view of Diamond Head and the sea below it.

"Olympic dreams," Korff said, "begin in the strangest places."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.