Previous Winners
| Year | Male Winner | Time | Female Winner | Time |
| 2007 | Luke Dragstra (CAN) | 08:54:17 | Belinda Granger (AUS) | 09:38:26 |
| 2008 | Marc Pschebizin (GER) | 08:47:49 | Gina Crawford (NZL) | 09:33:46 |
| 2009 | Chris McDonald (AUS) | 08:37:41 | Gina Crawford (NZL) | 09:28:27 |
| 2010 | Richard Ussher (NZL) | 08:34:41 | Gina Crawford (NZL) | 09:28:57 |
| 2011 | Jamie Whyte (NZL) | 09:03:53 | Belinda Granger (AUS) | 10:26:17 |
| 2012 | Aaron Farlow (AUS) | 08:41:53 | Gina Crawford (NZL) | 09:44:06 |
| 2013 | Dylan McNeice (NZL) | 08:51:18 | Gina Crawford (NZL) | 09:24:31 |
| 2014 | Dylan McNeice (NZL) | 08:38:48 | Candice Hammond (NZL) | 09:33:54 |
| 2015 | Dylan McNeice (NZL) | 08:37:14 | Gina Crawford (NZL) | 09:31:51 |
| 2016 | Dougal Allan (NZL) | 08:31:53 | Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) | 09:26:50 |
Last Year’s TOP 3
Male Race Results
| Rank | Name | Nation | Swim | Bike | Run | Time |
| 1 | Dougal Allan | NZL | 00:54:39 | 04:36:06 | 02:57:23 | 08:31:53 |
| 2 | Maik Twelsiek | GER | 00:48:44 | 04:37:57 | 03:09:55 | 08:40:48 |
| 3 | Matthew Russell | USA | 00:54:30 | 04:48:55 | 02:54:29 | 08:42:53 |
Female Race Results
| Rank | Name | Nation | Swim | Bike | Run | Time |
| 1 | Yvonne Van Vlerken | NED | 00:54:32 | 05:15:53 | 03:12:01 | 09:26:50 |
| 2 | Laura Siddall | GBR | 00:54:31 | 05:12:29 | 03:19:05 | 09:30:19 |
| 3 | Julia Grant | NZL | 00:58:39 | 06:03:13 | 03:32:45 | 10:39:42 |
Meredith Hill was third across the line with a time of 10:34, but racing as an Amateur.
Course Records
| Leg | Gender | Record | Athlete | Date |
| Total | overall | 08:31:53 | Dougal Allan | 2016-02-20 |
| Swim | overall | 00:45:32 | Dylan McNeice | 2015-02-22 |
| Bike | overall | 04:30:51 | Dougal Allan | 2015-02-22 |
| Run | overall | 02:48:04 | Marc Pschebizin | 2008-01-19 |
| Total | female | 09:24:31 | Gina Crawford | 2013-01-19 |
| Swim | female | 00:50:01 | Gina Crawford | 2008-01-19 |
| Bike | female | 05:08:30 | Gina Crawford | 2013-01-19 |
| Run | female | 03:08:59 | Rebekah Keat | 2010-01-16 |
Dylan has posted a faster swim time in 2016 (43:30), but the swim course was a bit shortened due to the wind moving the buoys.
Course Rating
The Course Rating for Challenge Wanaka is – 05:53.
Race Adjustments for Challenge Wanaka
| Year | Adjustment | Swim Adj. | Bike Adj. | Run Adj. | # of Finishers | Rating | Swim Rating | Bike Rating | Run Rating |
| 2007 | 03:50 | 00:42 | -06:30 | 04:29 | 7 | 03:50 | 00:42 | -06:30 | 04:29 |
| 2008 | 00:37 | 01:11 | -09:42 | 01:33 | 16 of 17 | 02:13 | 00:56 | -08:06 | 03:01 |
| 2009 | 04:38 | -03:36 | -01:31 | 03:57 | 12 of 13 | 03:02 | -00:35 | -05:55 | 03:20 |
| 2010 | 00:17 | -01:47 | -01:12 | 02:41 | 15 | 02:20 | -00:53 | -04:44 | 03:10 |
| 2011 | -26:34 | -02:44 | -22:30 | -03:42 | 15 | -03:26 | -01:15 | -08:17 | 01:48 |
| 2012 | -08:53 | -01:11 | -07:26 | -03:22 | 19 | -04:21 | -01:14 | -08:09 | 00:56 |
| 2013 | -05:24 | -05:42 | -09:01 | 01:27 | 15 | -04:30 | -01:52 | -08:16 | 01:00 |
| 2014 | -03:40 | -01:02 | -03:28 | 00:36 | 10 of 18 | -04:24 | -01:46 | -07:40 | 00:57 |
| 2015 | -11:45 | 00:23 | -04:29 | -07:23 | 23 of 27 | -05:13 | -01:32 | -07:19 | 00:02 |
| 2016 | -11:56 | 01:43 | -12:36 | -01:21 | 15 of 23 | -05:53 | -01:12 | -07:51 | -00:06 |
Prize Money
Challenge Wanaka has a total prize purse of 70.000 NZD.
Male Race Participants
| Rank | Bib | Name | Nation | Expected Time | Rating | Exp. Swim | Exp. Bike | Exp. Run | Consistency | Overall |
| 1 | 1 | Dougal Allan | NZL | 08:32:22 | 08:36:44 | 00:59:24 | 04:31:45 | 02:56:13 | 76% +11% -13% (7) | 50 |
| 2 | 3 | Luke McKenzie | AUS | 08:38:01 | 08:36:05 | 00:49:01 | 04:36:59 | 03:07:01 | 66% +21% -13% (27) | 45 |
| 3 | 5 | Courtney Ogden | AUS | 08:47:20 | 08:43:42 | 00:51:34 | 04:51:52 | 02:58:53 | 67% +1% -31% (21) | 74 |
| 4 | 2 | Per Bittner | GER | 08:49:27 | 08:41:55 | 00:50:27 | 04:49:56 | 03:04:03 | 57% +11% -32% (20) | 71 |
| 5 | 4 | Luke Bell | AUS | 08:52:40 | 08:55:25 | 00:48:22 | 04:50:38 | 03:08:40 | 16% +3% -80% (32) | 110 |
| 6 | 10 | Simon Cochrane | NZL | 08:57:52 | 09:09:00 | 00:51:10 | 04:56:30 | 03:05:12 | 56% +24% -19% (17) | 163 |
| 7 | 11 | Bryan Rhodes | NZL | 09:07:36 | 09:17:39 | 00:48:08 | 04:54:53 | 03:19:35 | 22% +0% -78% (27) | (187) |
| 8 | 9 | Allister Caird | AUS | 09:29:19 | 09:53:56 | 00:57:10 | 05:06:39 | 03:20:30 | 21% +0% -79% (4) | (265) |
| 6 | Mike Phillips | NZL | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) | |
| 12 | Nathan Miller | AUS | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) |
Female Race Participants
| Rank | Bib | Name | Nation | Expected Time | Rating | Exp. Swim | Exp. Bike | Exp. Run | Consistency | Overall |
| 1 | 50 | Yvonne Van Vlerken | NED | 09:23:37 | 09:16:20 | 00:58:23 | 05:08:08 | 03:12:06 | 77% +0% -23% (28) | 6 |
| 2 | 51 | Laura Siddall | GBR | 09:28:31 | 09:37:36 | 00:57:49 | 05:08:43 | 03:16:59 | 46% +44% -10% (8) | 40 |
| 3 | 62 | Emma Bilham | SUI | 09:39:06 | 09:44:46 | 00:55:12 | 05:21:39 | 03:17:14 | 64% +0% -36% (3) | (52) |
| 4 | 61 | Julia Viellehner | GER | 09:53:15 | 09:58:39 | 01:02:25 | 05:36:41 | 03:09:10 | n/a (1 IM Pro race) | (76) |
| 5 | 54 | Simone Maier | GER | 09:55:02 | 10:01:31 | 01:06:09 | 05:25:48 | 03:18:05 | 65% +0% -35% (8) | (81) |
| 6 | 59 | Michelle Gailey | AUS | 09:56:44 | 09:52:26 | 00:55:37 | 05:35:55 | 03:20:12 | 70% +0% -30% (10) | (66) |
| 7 | 55 | Alyssa Godesky | USA | 10:10:54 | 10:15:06 | 01:01:09 | 05:38:54 | 03:25:50 | 52% +36% -13% (14) | 105 |
| 8 | 56 | Yvette Grice | GBR | 10:15:46 | 10:08:08 | 00:57:47 | 05:45:38 | 03:27:21 | 71% +20% -9% (24) | 94 |
| 9 | 57 | Tamsyn Hayes | NZL | 10:16:55 | 10:23:26 | 01:01:24 | 05:29:17 | 03:41:14 | 52% +7% -41% (12) | 119 |
| 10 | 53 | Julia Grant | NZL | 10:23:41 | 10:19:07 | 01:00:36 | 05:48:20 | 03:29:45 | 29% +0% -71% (6) | 112 |
| 11 | 60 | Jennifer Lentzke | CAN | 10:59:54 | 10:56:55 | 01:14:23 | 05:52:36 | 03:47:55 | 72% +0% -28% (4) | (146) |
| 52 | Meredith Hill | AUS | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) | |
| 58 | Bonnie Van Wilgenburg | GBR | n/a | unrated | unrated | unrated | unrated | n/a (no IM Pro race) | (n/a) |
Winning Odds
Male Race Participants
Last years’s winner (and course record holder) Douglas Allan is the statistical favorite for this year’s male race. After a disappointing result in Kona, Luke McKenzie will want to show his return to good form at Wanaka as a start to a better 2017 racing season. The field may be small, but on a a good day a lot of athletes could contend for the win.
- Dougal Allan: 56% (1-1)
- Luke McKenzie: 24% (3-1)
- Per Bittner: 7% (13-1)
- Courtney Ogden: 7% (14-1)
- Simon Cochrane: 4% (27-1)
- Luke Bell: 2% (40-1)
Female Race Participants
Yvonne Van Vlerken is the defending champion from 2016, she’s the clear front runner for this year as well. But last year she had to work hard to beat Laura Siddall who has been getting better and better since last year. Emma Bilham could be an interesting addition, she was second twice last summer at IM France and IM Switzerland but will need an excellent bike leg on the tough Wanaka course to be in contention:
- Yvonne Van Vlerken: 66% (1-1)
- Laura Siddall: 22% (4-1)
- Emma Bilham: 8% (12-1)