World record for olympic triathlon
Olympic Games Triathlon: Just how fast are the superstars of Paris 2024 at swim, bike and run?
The world’s best short-course triathletes take to the streets of Paris to battle it out for Olympic Games gold this week. And while quirks of the course, weather conditions and race dynamics will certainly come into play when it comes to the overall finish times. One thing that’s for sure is these athletes certainly won’t be on the go slow.
We’ve seen split times across the three triathlon disciplines get faster and faster over the years. Even at the long distance end of the sport, the PROs just seem to be able to hold impossibly fast paces for the swim, bike and run considering they’re executing three sports back to back. But when we’re watching from the comfort of our couches, it’s hard to really put into context just how fast these elite men and women are going in a triathlon.
To get an idea, we’ve been talking to triathlon data guru Graeme Acheson from Sports4Cast to find out how the fastest paces we’ve seen from triathletes across swimming, cycling and running would stack up against athletes specialising solely in each sport. Plus, we’ve taken a look at some age-group (amateu
What is the Ironman World Record? It’s Complicated
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Ironman World Records
- Fastest Ironman Time
- Fastest Iron-Distance Time
- Ironman Kona Course Record
- Fastest 70.3 Time
In 2022, Kristian Blummenfelt and Kat Matthews covered the 140.6-mile Ironman distance in what would have been record-setting times of 6:44:25 and 7:31:54—except that they did it in a unique set-up involving pacers, extra equipment, and no holds barred as part of the Sub7/Sub8 Project. So when it comes to the write down , what is the fastest Ironman time? The answer isn’t so straightforward.
Blummenfelt’s draft-legal 48:21 swim, 3:24:22 bike, and 2:30:50 run at the Sub7 stunt came on the heels of the Olympic champ’s “official” Ironman world document performance at his Ironman debut in Cozumel of 7:21:12—with a 39:41 swim, 4:02:40 bike, and a 2:35:24 run. Wait, you’re thinking (among other things): “Drafting is worth almost 40 minutes? He swam how fast in Cozumel? Is any of this right?
The term “world record” is a tough one in triathlon given the complexity of the sport. In contrast to sports like swimming or athletics with strict distances, triathlon courses have looser regulations. Courses frequently seem to be short or long, some allow drafting on the bike and some do not. Then you have the issue of Ironman branded records versus “full-distance” records.
Then there are issues around the lengths of the courses, or mitigating factors that speed up parts of the race. Ironman Cozumel, for example, where Kristian Blummenfelt shattered the previous “world best” with his 7:21:12 performance, featured a down-current swim that made the swim times considerably quicker than other races. There’s also the Sub7Sub8 Project that allowed the athletes to draft behind a group of pacers on the bike that saw Kristian Blummenfelt blast to a 6:44:25 and Kat Matthews go 7:31:54. Neither of those times could be considered official records because of the pacing.
Given all this complexity, we attempt to break down the triathlon “world records” or “world bests” for the main four race distances. We will start with the full distance (often described as
What is a good 10km time? Average, good and elite times on track, road and in an Olympic triathlon
Whether you’re a triathlete or a runner, the 10km is one of the most popular running distances – but what exactly constitutes a good time?
The 10k is long enough to test your limits, but short enough that you can still push the pace. The perfect stepping stone for new runners looking to work their way up to a half marathon once they’ve ticked off a few 5kms. And, of course, 10km is how far you’ll need to run at the end of an Olympic distance triathlon.
But what’s a good time to aim for over the 10km in a stand-alone running event, and during a triathlon? And how does your current PB compare to the average and elite times? We take a look at the current world and Olympic records for 10km on the track, on the road and in triathlon. Plus run through what an average, good or exceptional 10km time is for amateurs – to help you set goals, give yourself a few kudos, or know what’s realistic if you’re a beginner.
Track running record times
While most of us amateur runners and triathletes will be running the 10km out on the road. It’s always fun to take a look at what the
What is the Olympic Distance Triathlon?
Of the five most popular triathlon distances the Olympic Distance is the one right in the middle. The distance you need to cover is 1500 meters for the swim, 40 kilometers for the bike and 10 kilometers for the run portion. To put it in perspective, this triathlon is comparable to a Marathon in terms of how long it takes (a little bit shorter) and how hard it is, except that the stress on the body is spread across three different sports, which is challenging because of the having to switch from one to the other but also less one-dimensional in terms of the wear on the body during the race. Some beginners with previous endurance experience go for this distance to start their triathlon journey, others like to start with Sprint (750m swim / 20km bike / 5km run) to get a feel for triathlon and its technical challenges first.
When compared head to head to the longest and most famous triathlon, a full distance IRONMAN (3.5km swim / 180km bike / 42km run) event, the Olympic triathlon is an entirely different animal in terms of distance and required training. That being said, Olympic triathlons are nothing to sneeze at! These races are challengi