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Best Swimmers, Bikers and Runners in IM-distance Triathlons

As described in my recently released 2012 Rating Report (get your copy here), I’ve extended my analysis to come up with ratings for each of the legs in a triathlon. As with the „total“ rating, the individual ratings account for conditions and a slow or fast course in order to compare results from different races and courses. As the data for each of the legs is not always available, I’ve relaxed the requirements for a valid rating a bit: Only two results are necessary for a rating in one of the disciplines. Still, one result in the last twelve months is required.

In this post you can find the best rated swimmers, bikers and runners. I’ve also updated my “TOP 10 Ratings” page (in the menu), which lists all results for these athletes.

TOP Swim-Rated Athletes

A lot of the names in the swim-ratings are not that well known: There are swim-specialists that do not play a major role for the rest of the race. But these athletes have a great potential: For example, Andy Potts has shown that a great swimmer can develop into a great Ironman athlete capable of winning races.

TOP 10 Swim-Rated Male Athletes

Rank Name Nation Rating Last Race # Races
1 Andy Potts USA 00:45:16 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 7
2 Luiz Francisco Ferreira BRA 00:46:24 IM Brasil on 2012-05-27 2
3 Paul Matthews AUS 00:46:34 IM Arizona on 2012-11-18 2
4 Marko Albert EST 00:46:36 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 4
5 Greg Bennett USA 00:46:38 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 2
6 Stephane Poulat FRA 00:46:43 IM Germany on 2012-07-08 2
7 David Dellow AUS 00:46:48 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 4
8 Kieran Doe NZL 00:46:48 Challenge Wanaka on 2012-01-21 8
9 Benjamin Sanson FRA 00:46:58 Challenge Roth on 2012-07-08 5
10 Michael Raelert GER 00:46:58 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 2

TOP 10 Swim-Rated Female Athletes

Rank Name Nation Rating Last Race # Races
1 Amanda Stevens USA 00:48:27 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 5
2 Lucie Zelenkova ZAF 00:49:09 Challenge Roth on 2012-07-08 7
3 Dede Griesbauer USA 00:50:36 IM New York on 2012-08-11 14
4 Meredith Kessler USA 00:50:56 IM Arizona on 2012-11-18 13
5 Rachel Joyce GBR 00:50:56 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 9
6 Leanda Cave GBR 00:50:58 IM Arizona on 2012-11-18 12
7 Mary Beth Ellis USA 00:51:10 IM Cozumel on 2012-11-25 8
8 Simone Braendli SWI 00:51:13 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 7
9 Tami Ritchie 00:51:27 IM Texas on 2012-05-19 2
10 Anja Beranek GER 00:51:39 IM Germany on 2012-07-08 2

TOP Bike-Rated Athletes

TOP 10 Bike-Rated Male Athletes

The names in the TOP 10 bike-ratings are much better known than the swimmers. After his fantastic races in Florida (posting a new world record for the bike leg) and Arizona Andy Starykowicz leads the ranking followed by Sebastian Kienle and Konstantin Bachor (who both posted really fast bike times in Roth). Jordan Rapp and Ben Hoffmann prove that the US has some pretty good bike riders, too. But all in all, the Europeans dominate this ranking.

Rank Name Nation Rating Last Race # Races
1 Andrew Starykowicz USA 04:26:53 IM Arizona on 2012-11-18 2
2 Sebastian Kienle GER 04:30:13 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 5
3 Konstantin Bachor GER 04:30:55 Challenge Roth on 2012-07-08 4
4 Marino Vanhoenacker BEL 04:32:08 IM Germany on 2012-07-08 12
5 Maik Twelsiek GER 04:33:30 IM New York on 2012-08-11 15
6 Faris Al-Sultan GER 04:33:54 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 13
7 Jordan Rapp USA 04:35:23 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 10
8 Timo Bracht GER 04:35:23 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 14
9 Dirk Bockel LUX 04:35:33 IM Cozumel on 2012-11-25 8
10 Ben Hoffman USA 04:36:34 IM Wisconsin on 2012-09-09 8

TOP 10 Bike-Rated Female Athletes

On the women’s side, we have a Swiss domination, even if Caroline Steffen and Natascha Badmann are from two different generations. As on the men’s side, there are some US athletes, but the Europeans dominate this ranking.

Rank Name Nation Rating Last Race # Races
1 Caroline Steffen SUI 05:00:32 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 11
2 Natascha Badmann SWI 05:03:44 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 7
3 Yvonne Van Vlerken AUT 05:04:05 IM Florida on 2012-11-03 7
4 Amy Marsh USA 05:06:08 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 7
5 Sophie De Groote BEL 05:06:56 IM Cozumel on 2012-11-25 2
6 Diana Riesler GER 05:07:25 IM South Africa on 2012-04-22 4
7 Tine Deckers BEL 05:08:10 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 11
8 Mary Beth Ellis USA 05:08:30 IM Cozumel on 2012-11-25 8
9 Rachel Joyce GBR 05:08:33 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 9
10 Anja Beranek GER 05:09:35 IM Germany on 2012-07-08 2

TOP Run-Rated Athletes

The run is where races are decided, so it is not surprising to see that IM winners dominate this ranking.

TOP 10 Run-Rated Male Athletes

Bart Aernouts from Belgium is the surprise leader in the men’s run rating. He has posted a 2:42 in Melbourne and a 2:47 in Kona – if his swim and bike improve a bit further, he can certainly win a smaller IM race. If it weren’t for his 3h-run in Kona, Crowie would have lead this ranking. He also posted the fastest run-split of 2012 with a 2:38:46 in Melbourne.

Rank Name Nation Rating Last Race # Races
1 Bart Aernouts BEL 02:47:49 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 2
2 Craig Alexander AUS 02:48:51 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 9
3 Clemente Alonso-McKernan ESP 02:49:44 IM Germany on 2012-07-08 5
4 Eneko Llanos ESP 02:51:24 IM Melbourne on 2012-03-24 14
5 Marino Vanhoenacker BEL 02:51:48 IM Germany on 2012-07-08 12
6 Paul Matthews AUS 02:51:53 IM Arizona on 2012-11-18 2
7 Timo Bracht GER 02:52:48 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 14
8 Chris McCormack AUS 02:53:27 IM Cairns on 2012-06-02 13
9 Hans Nilsson DEN 02:53:44 Challenge Roth on 2012-07-08 2
10 Cameron Brown NZL 02:53:48 Challenge Roth on 2012-07-08 16

TOP 10 Run-Rated Female Athletes

On the women’s side, Rinnie still has the best run in the scene – and by quite a large margin. Cait Snow is another great runner – she’s had the fastest 2012 run with a 2:51:46 in Texas. Similar to Sonja Tajsich, she is usually too far back after the bike to win big races. There are a lot of younger athletes that are still improving, so I expect to see a lot of change in the next years in this ranking.

Rank Name Nation Rating Last Race # Races
1 Mirinda Carfrae AUS 03:00:53 IM Florida on 2012-11-03 7
2 Caitlin Snow USA 03:03:49 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 13
3 Sonja Tajsich GER 03:06:59 IM Cozumel on 2012-11-25 12
4 Beth Walsh USA 03:07:21 IM Cozumel on 2012-11-25 3
5 Kristin Moeller GER 03:08:55 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 7
6 Elizabeth Lyles USA 03:08:56 IM Cozumel on 2012-11-25 2
7 Yvonne Van Vlerken AUT 03:09:12 IM Florida on 2012-11-03 7
8 Linsey Corbin USA 03:10:59 IM Arizona on 2012-11-18 14
9 Kelly Williamson USA 03:11:21 IM Hawaii on 2012-10-13 7
10 Erika Csomor HUN 03:12:33 IM Switzerland on 2012-07-15 18
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