Eleanor Lynette Lemaire (born c.1951), also known as Lyn Lemaire, is an American former triathlete and championship cyclist. In 1979 she was the first woman to complete the Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 Ironman Triathlon

Ironman Triathlon

An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation consisting of a swim, a bike and a marathon run, raced in that order and without a break...

, becoming the world's first female "Ironman" and – by default as the only woman in the race – the first female winner of the Ironman championship

Ironman World Championship

The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organised by the World Triathlon Corporation and is currently sponsored by Ford...

. She also held the U.S. women's record for the 25 miles (40.2 km) bicycle time trial

Time trial

In many racing sports an athlete will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. In cycling, for example, a time trial  can be a single track cycling event, or an individual or team time trial on the road, and either or both of the latter may form components of...

.

Early life and education

Lemaire was born in Santa Monica

Santa Mônica

Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, and educated at UCLA, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in biochemistry

Biochemistry

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...

 in 1974. At high school she entered four national swimming championships, and at UCLA she played all three positions in basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

. As a senior she cycled from Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and the following summer vacation she spent cycle touring around England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and northern Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

Bicycle racing achievements

After finishing second in 1975, Lemaire won the U.S. National 25 miles (40.2 km) time trial

Time trial

In many racing sports an athlete will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. In cycling, for example, a time trial  can be a single track cycling event, or an individual or team time trial on the road, and either or both of the latter may form components of...

 championships in 1976, setting a new record of 1:00:06.7. She retained her title the following year, and finished second in 1978. At the 1976 U.S. National track championships held in Northbrook, IL, she finished third in the 3000 m individual pursuit, beating Susan Gurney into 4th place. In the same event two years later, she again placed third, in a time of 4:14.17, a faster time than the second place racer, Betsy Davis. In the U.S. National Road Race Championships, she placed 7th in the 1975 event (35 mi) and 10th in the 1977 event (38.24 mi).

Ironman

The second annual Hawaii Ironman race was held January 1979 during Honolulu's stormy season and in the middle of some of the worst weather for several years. The weather forced the postponement of the race by one day, and remained sufficiently bad that only 15 out of the original 28 entrants attempted the race. Among these was Lemaire, the only woman in the race.

At one point in the bike stage she was in second place, only 10 minutes behind the race leader and eventual winner, Tom Warren; she was 21 minutes behind the leader at the end of the bike stage, and eventually finished in 5th place overall. in a time of 12:55:38.

Later life

Lemaire entered Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

 in September 1979.

In 1984, with investment from Norman Raben, she founded Ultrasport magazine, becoming its Editor-in-chief.

Results

Date	Position	Event	Swim time	Bike time	Run time	transition time	Total time
1979	1st	Ironman Triathlon, Hawaii	1:16:20	6:30:00	5:10:00		12:55:38