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Ironman-Distance Records

Last update: July 5th, 2023  (2023 results and changes are shown with a green background) (2022 results and changes are shown with a blue background) (2021 results and changes are shown with a red background)

Here’s a list of fastest times and national and continental records on the Ironman distance. The data is mainly based on  my database with results from 2005 onwards, but I have tried to add fast times from before that. Please let me know if I have missed some results or “misplaced” athletes in the wrong country.

Any post of “Ironman Records” has to be preceded with a discussion that “records” are a tricky concept for the sport of triathlon. First of all, it’s an outside sport on a “natural” course, so there are a lot of variations in climate and topography. (For this reason, some prefer the term “fastest known times”.) Next up, there are often issues about the course accuracy, even leaving aside the technical details on how to properly measure a course. Some races “chase” fast times and maybe don’t go the “extra mile” needed to come up with exactly the right distances. Lastly, there are sometimes other factors that impact the finishing times – such as the “evergreen issue” of drafting, how the referees deal with groups forming or how much the motorbikes following the lead group provide some advantage to the first athlete(s). Some athletes completely ignore fast times, and focus on finishing well in big races. But even with all these caveats, finishing under a certain threshold such as sub-9 for the women or sub-8 for the men, fast times or records in general are interesting in itself, and therefore lists of “fastest times” have an inherent value.

I’ve done my best to remove results from races with courses that have been acknowledged as “well short”. For example, the bike course of IM Frankfurt 2017 was short by somewhere between 3 and 5k because of construction. Another example was Roth 2021 where the bike course was shortened to somewhere around 165k which also likely contributed to the super-fast run times. But with lack of “official measurements” and accepted tolerances there is a “gray area” where you can find reasons both for including or removing results from certain races. Notably, IM Texas 2018 has been a fast race that created a lot of controversy whether the times should be accepted as “fastest times” or not. I have decided to include the Texas times in the tables below but “with an asterisk” and also show the fastest time in addition to the Texas time(s). The Texas times are especially apparent in the female bike times: There are nine times from Texas that are faster than the Top 5 from any other races. While I think that most of the Texas results have to be considered invalid, Starky’s 3:54 bike split (the first sub-4 in an Ironman) was probably the “most legit” result of the day – even if the course was slightly short there is very little chance to draft while riding at the front of the field and no motos on the course. Another of these tricky races is Almere 2021: The course was almost the same to earlier years (except for some construction work that re-routed some of the run course). But accepting the times would mean that ten national records (out of 26 possible) were broken, something that seems hard to explain purely by good conditions and well-prepared athletes. At the same time ignoring these results is also not fair to the performances shown, so I’m including the times in the tables below marked with a “§”.

The next tough issue is how to properly deal with the times that have been posted on courses with a current assisted swim such as Cozumel or Chattanooga. Both simple positions seem unfair: Including all results at face value doesn’t acknowledge the advantage of a fast swim, especially for the overall finish time. Excluding them isn’t fair to some of the great performances athletes have shown on a course that probably had the correct length. My approach tries to acknowledge both sides: I Include the times but mark them as “©” (for current-assisted), then also show other times on courses without a current-assisted swim. (For the swim, I will show two separate tables as in recent years.)

TOP 5 Times of all time

Rank Name Nation Actual Time Race
  Kristian Blummenfelt© NOR (07:21:11) IM Cozumel on 2021-11-21
1 Magnus Elbaek Ditlev DEN 07:24:40 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
2 Jan Frodeno GER 07:27:53 Tri Battle on 2021-07-18
3 Patrick Lange GER 07:30:04 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
4 Jan Frodeno GER 07:35:39 Challenge Roth on 2016-07-17
5 Magnus Elbaek Ditlev DEN 07:35:48 Challenge Roth on 2022-07-03

TOP 5 Times of all time

Rank Name Nation Actual Time Race
1 Daniela Ryf SUI 08:08:21 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
2 Chrissie Wellington GBR 08:18:13 Challenge Roth on 2011-07-10
3 Laura Philipp GER 08:18:20 IM Hamburg on 2022-06-05
4 Chrissie Wellington GBR 08:19:13 Challenge Roth on 2010-07-18
5 Anne Haug GER 08:21:09 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25

TOP 5 Swim Times of all time

Rank Name Nation Actual Time Race
1 Jan Sibbersen GER 00:42:17 IM Germany on 2004-07-12
2 Luke McKenzie AUS 00:42:26 IM Brasil on 2010-05-30
3 Guillem Rojas Moreno ESP 00:42:46 140.6 Inn on 2022-05-08
4 Bart Colpaert BEL 00:42:54 IM Austria on 2013-06-30
5 Santi Pellejero Gacia ESP 00:42:55 IM Austria on 2013-06-30

There is at least one exceptional agegrouper swim that would have to be added to this list: Christoph Wandratsch who swam a 41:26 at IM Austria 2006, finishing in 10:09:05. (Please let me know if there are more fast swims from agegroupers I may have missed!)

on current-assisted swim courses (e.g. New York, Cozumel, Chattanooga)

Rank Name Actual Time Race
1 Barrett Brandon 00:38:06 IM Chattanooga on 2014-09-28
2 Eric Limkemann 00:38:10 IM Chattanooga on 2014-09-28
3 Luke Bell 00:39:08 IM New York on 2012-08-11
4 Timothy Marr 00:39:11 IM New York on 2012-08-11
5 Paul Ambrose 00:39:12 IM New York on 2012-08-11

TOP 5 Swim Times of all time

Rank Name Nation Actual Time Race
1 Amanda Stevens USA 00:45:04 IM Germany on 2012-07-08
2 Dede Griesbauer USA 00:45:34 IM UK (Sherbourne) on 2006-08-16
3 Dede Griesbauer USA 00:45:48 IM Brasil on 2010-05-30
4 Simone Braendli SUI 00:45:51 IM Austria on 2014-06-29
5 Monica Byrn USA 00:45:59 IM Brasil on 2006-05-28

on current-assisted swim courses (e.g. New York, Cozumel, Chattanooga)

Rank Name Actual Time Race
1 Anna Cleaver 00:39:56 IM Chattanooga on 2014-09-28
2 Dede Griesbauer 00:40:29 IM New York on 2012-08-11
3 Mary Beth Ellis 00:40:33 IM New York on 2012-08-11
4 Amy Marsh 00:40:35 IM New York on 2012-08-11
5 Laurel Wassner 00:40:36 IM New York on 2012-08-11

TOP 5 Bike Times of all time

Rank Name Nation Actual Time Race
  Andrew Starykowicz* USA (03:54:59) IM Texas on 2018-04-28
1 Jan Frodeno GER 03:55:22 Tri Battle on 2021-07-18
2 Magnus Elbaek Ditlev DEN 03:57:45 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
3 Sam Laidlow FRA 03:58:01 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
4 Lionel Sanders CAN 04:00:26 Tri Battle on 2021-07-18
5 Andrew Starykowicz USA 04:01:14 IM Texas on 2017-04-22

TOP 5 Bike Times of all time

Rank Name Nation Actual Time Race
1 Daniela Ryf SUI 04:22:56 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
  Jen Annett* CAN (04:25:10) IM Texas on 2018-04-28
2 Daniela Ryf SUI 04:26:07 IM Hawaii on 2018-10-13
  Jodie Robertson* USA (04:27:30) IM Texas on 2018-04-28
  Kimberley Morrison* GBR (04:27:45) IM Texas on 2018-04-28
  Melissa Hauschildt* AUS (04:29:55) IM Texas on 2018-04-28
  Dede Griesbauer© USA (04:30:21) IM Cozumel on 2021-11-21
  Michelle Vesterby§ DEN (04:30:56) Challenge Almere on 2021-09-12
3 Laura Philipp GER 04:31:14 IM Hamburg on 2022-06-05
4 Daniela Ryf SUI 04:31:29 Challenge Roth on 2016-07-17
5 Ruth Astle GBR 04:32:13 IM Florida 2020-11-17

TOP 5 Run Times of all time

Rank Name Nation Actual Time Race
1 Patrick Lange GER 02:30:27 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
2 Patrick Lange GER 02:30:31 IM Israel on 2022-11-25
  Matt Hanson* USA (02:34:39) IM Texas on 2018-04-28
3 Gustav Iden NOR 02:34:50 IM Florida on 2021-11-06
4 Patrick Lange GER 02:35:10 Challenge Roth on 2022-07-03
5 Denis Chevrot FRA 02:35:18 IM Austria on 2021-09-19

TOP 5 Run Times of all time

Rank Name Nation Actual Time Race
1 Kristin Moeller GER 02:41:57 IM UK on 2011-07-31
2 Chrissie Wellington GBR 02:44:35 Challenge Roth on 2011-07-10
3 Anne Haug GER 02:44:45 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
4 Laura Philipp GER 02:44:48 IM Austria on 2021-09-19
5 Laura Philipp GER 02:45:38 IM Hamburg on 2022-06-05

TOP 5 “On Land Times” of all time

Rank Name Combined  Bike & Run Race
1 Magnus Elbaek Ditlev 06:34:54 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
  Kristian Blummenfelt© (06:38:02) IM Cozumel on 2021-11-21
2 Jan Frodeno 06:39:43 Tri Battle on 2021-07-18
3 Gustav Iden 06:40:00 IM Florida on 2021-11-06
4 Magnus Elbaek Ditlev 06:42:18 Challenge Roth on 2022-07-03
5 Patrick Lange 06:40:29 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25

TOP 5 “On Land Times” of all time

Rank Name Combined  Bike & Run Race
1 Daniela Ryf 07:14:51 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25
2 Laura Philipp 07:16:52 IM Hamburg on 2022-06-05
3 Anne Haug 07:19:49 Challenge Roth on 2022-07-03
4 Daniela Ryf 07:23:12 IM Hawaii on 2018-10-13
5 Anne Haug 07:24:02 Challenge Roth on 2023-06-25

TOP 5  Ironman Debuts

Rank Name Time Race
  Kristian Blummenfelt© (07:21:11) IM Cozumel on 2021-11-21
1 Gustav Iden 07:42:56 IM Florida on 2021-11-06
  Andre Lopes© (07:43:30) IM Cozumel on 2021-11-21
2 Florian Angert 07:45:05 IM Barcelona on 2019-10-06
3 Matthews Marquardt 07:45:11 IM Texas on 2023-04-22
4 Gregory Barnaby 07:47:01 IM Israel on 2022-11-25
5 Thor Bendix Madsen 07:51:13 IM Sweden on 2022-08-20

TOP 5  Ironman Debuts

Rank Name Time Race
1 Laura Philipp 08:34:57 IM Barcelona on 2018-10-07
2 Chelsea Sodaro 08:36:41 IM Hamburg on 2022-06-05
  Elisabetta Curridori§ (08:41:08) Challenge Almere on 2021-09-12
3 Mary Beth Ellis 08:43:34 IM Austria on 2011-07-03
4 Catriona Morrison 08:48:11 Challenge Roth 2009-07-12
5 Kaisa Sali 08:48:40 IM Barcelona on 2015-10-04

Eva Wutti’s first IM finish (08:37:36 at IM Copenhagen on 2013-08-18) would also rank in the table above, but she had a DNF in Austria just a few weeks before that.

Continental Records

Male Athletes

Continent Athlete Nation Time Date Race
Africa Bradley Weiss ZAF 07:46:06 2023-06-25 Challenge Roth
Asia/Pacific Ivan Tutukin KAZ 08:01:39 2023-04-22 IM Texas
Oceania Max Neumann AUS 07:44:43 2022-10-08 IM World Championships
Europe Kristian Blummenfelt©
Jan Frodeno
NOR
GER
(07:21:11)
07:27:53
2021-11-21
2021-07-18
IM Cozumel
Tri Battle
North America Ben Kanute USA 07:37:01 2023-06-25 Challenge Roth
South America Andre Lopes©
Reinaldo Colucci§
Reinaldo Colucci
BRA
BRA
BRA
(07:43:30)
(07:45:15)
07:48:27
2021-11-21
2021-09-12
2022-05-29
IM Cozumel
Challenge Almere
IM Brasil

Female Athletes

Continent Athlete Nation Time Date Race
Africa Paula Newby-Fraser ZIM 08:50:53 1994-07-10 IM Europe (Roth)
Asia/Pacific Emi Shiono JPN 09:23:26 2008-03-01 IM New Zealand
Australia Melissa Hauschildt* 
Carrie Lester©
Sarah Crowley
AUS
AUS
AUS
(08:31:05)
(08:36:39)
08:38:11
2018-04-28
2021-11-21
2019-07-07
IM Texas
IM Cozumel
Challenge Roth
Europe Daniela Ryf SUI 08:08:21 2023-06-25 Challenge Roth
North America Chelsea Sodaro USA 08:33:45 2022-10-06 IM World Championships
South America Pamella Oliveira BRA 08:44:25 2023-05-28 IM Brasil

During her career, Paula Newby-Fraser has been racing for Zimbabwe and the USA and it’s a bit hard to assign her to one country or continent, but she is listed in the Roth 1994 results as racing for Zimbabwe. (In an earlier version of this post her time was erroneously listed as 8:55. Thanks to Shai Caller for letting me know her correct finishing time.) If you don’t want to count Paula for Africa, then the fastest time has been posted by Jeanni Metzler (8:58:03 at IM Texas 2019).

National Records

Male Athletes

Nation Athlete Finish Date Race
ARG Mario de Elias©
Luciano Taccone
(07:52:02)
07:55:37
2019-11-24
2023-05-28
IM Cozumel
IM Brasil
AUS Max Neumann 07:424:43 2022-10-08 IM World Championships
AUT Michael Weiss©
Thomas Steger§
Michael Weiss
(07:47:12)
(07:54:56)
07:57:39
2019-11-24
2021-09-12
2011-07-03
IM Cozumel
Challenge Almere
IM Austria
BEL Marino Vanhoenacker 07:45:58 2011-0703 IM Austria
BMU Tyler Butterfield©
Tyler Butterfield
(07:44:01)
07:58:29
2019-11-24
2017-04-22
IM Cozumel
IM Texas
BRA Andre Lopes©
Reinaldo Colucci§
Reinaldo Colucci
(07:43:30)
(07:45:15)
07:48:27
2021-11-21
2021-09-12
2022-05-29
IM Cozumel
Challenge Almere
IM Brasil
CAN Lionel Sanders 07:43:30 2021-07-18 Tri Battle
CZE Tomas Renc 07:54:05 2019-08-17 IM Sweden
DEN Magnus Elbaek Ditlev 07:24:40 2023-06-25 Challenge Roth
ESP Ivan Rana 07:48:43 2014-06-29 IM Austria
EST Kirill Kotshegarov 07:59:32 2017-04-22 IM Texas
FIN Henrik Goesch 07:52:09 2021-08-22 IM Copenhagen
FRA Sam Laidlow 07:42:23 2022-10-08 IM World Championships
GBR Alistair Brownlee 07:38:47 2022-08-20 IM Sweden
GER Jan Frodeno 07:27:53 2021-07-18 Tri Battle
ITA Gregory Barnaby 07:47:01 2022-11-25 IM Israel
LUX Dirk Bockel 07:52:01 2013-07-14 Challenge Roth
MEX Mauricio Mendez Cruz 08:04:08 2021-05-23 IM Tulsa
NED Evert Scheltinga§
Tristan Olij
(07:49:32)
07:53:28
2021-09-12
2023-06-25
Challenge Almere
Challenge Roth
NOR Kristian Blummenfelt©
Gustav Iden
(07:21:11)
07:40:23
2021-11-21
2022-10-08
IM Cozumel
IM World Championships
NZL Braden Currie 07:50:10 2023-06-18 IM Cairns
POL Robert Wilkowiecki©
Robert Wilkowiecki
(07:42:01)
07:45:03
2021-11-21
2023-04-22
IM Cozumel
IM Texas
SUI Ruedi Wild©
Jan van Berkel*
Jan van Berkel
(07:36:34)
(07:48:40)
07:50:57
2021-11-21
2018-04-28
2021-05-23
IM Cozumel
IM Texas
IM Tulsa
SWE Jesper Svensson§
Patrik Nilsson
(07:39:25)
07:49:18
2021-09-12
2016-08-21
Challenge Almere
IM Copenhagen
UKR Viktor Zyemtsev 07:58:03 2017-09-30 IM Barcelona
USA Ben Kanute 07:37:01 2023-06-25 Challenge Roth
ZAF Bradley Weiss 07:46:06 2023-06-25 Challenge Roth

Female Athletes

Nation Athlete Finish Date Race
ARG Romina Palacio Balena©
Barbara Buenahora
(08:57:19)
09:29:36
2021-11-21
2006-05-28
IM Cozumel
IM Brasil
AUS Melissa Hauschildt* 
Carrie Lester©
Sarah Crowley
(08:31:05)
(08:36:39)
08:38:11
2018-04-28
2021-11-21
2019-07-07
IM Texas
IM Cozumel
Challenge Roth
AUT Eva Wutti 08:37:36 2013-03-18 IM Copenhagen
BEL Sofie Goos 08:57:08 2014-06-29 IM Austria
BRA Pamella Oliveira 08:44:25 2023-05-28 IM Brasil
CAN Jen Annett*
Heather Fuhr
(08:49:27)
08:51:22
2018-04-28
2002-07-07
IM Texas
IM Austria
CHI Barbara Riveiros 08:55:48 2022-11-25 IM Israel
CZE Lucie Zelenkova 08:57:34 2013-10-06 Challenge Barcelona
DEN Maja Stage Nielsen 8:34:50 2023-04-22 IM Texas
ESP Gurutze Frades Larralde©
Judith Corachan Vaquera
(08:31:11)
08:46:29
2021-11-21
2022-07-03
IM Cozumel
Challenge Roth
FIN Kaisa Sali 08:46:49 2018-07-01 Challenge Roth
FRA Manon Genet§
Manon Genet
(08:34:22)
08:52:01
2021-09-12
2022-06-05
Challenge Almere
IM Hamburg
GBR Chrissie Wellington 08:18:13 2011-07-10 Challenge Roth
GER Laura Philipp 08:18:20 2022-06-05 IM Hamburg
HUN Erika Csomor 08:47:05 2008-07-13 Challenge Roth
IRL Eimear Mullan 08:56:51 2015-10-04 IM Barcelona
ITA Elisabetta Curridori§
Edith Niederfriniger
(08:41:08)
08:59:45
2021-09-12
2008-07-13
Challenge Almere
IM Austria
MEX Adriana Carreno Cruz©
Cibelle Hernandez* (AG)
Palmira Alvarez
(08:52:57)
(09:28:22)
09:34:44
2021-11-21
2018-04-28
2020-11-07
IM Cozumel
IM Texas
IM Florida
NED Sarissa De Vries§
Yvonne Van Vlerken
(08:32:04)
08:43:07
2021-09-12
2013-11-02
Challenge Almere
IM Florida
NZL Teresa Adam 08:38:42 2019-12-01 IM Western Australia
POL Agnieszka Jerzyk 08:48:49 2019-07-07 Challenge Roth
SUI Daniela Ryf 08:08:21 2023-06-25 Challenge Roth
SWE Sara Svensk©
Sara Svensk
(08:22:40)
08:34:10
2021-11-21
2019-10-06
IM Cozumel
IM Barcelona
USA Chelsea Sodaro 08:33:45 2022-10-06 IM World Championships
ZAF Annah Watkinson§
Jeanni Metzler
(08:51:07)
08:58:03
2021-09-12
2019-04-27
Challenge Almere
IM Texas

National Top 5

As suggested by the IMTalk hosts John Newsom and Bevan James Eyles, here are some more details for a few nations and their fastest athletes in Kona. Each athlete is only listed with her/his fastest time.

USA

Fastest Male Athletes Overall

  1. Ben Kanute, 07:37:01 at Challenge Roth 2023
  2. Rudy Von Berg,7:44:50 at IM Texas 2023
  3. Matthew Marquardt, 07:45:11 at IM Texas 2023
  4. Ben Hoffman, 07:48:29 at IM Florida 2019
  5. Matt Hanson, 07:49:47 at IM Arizona 2022

If you include IM Texas 2018, Matt Hanson would be the #2 athlete (he posted a 7:39:25).

Fastest Female Athletes Overall

  1. Chelsea Sodaro, 08:33:45 at IM World Championships 2022
  2. Heather Jackson, 08:39:18 at IM Arizona 2018
  3. Jocelyn McCauley, 08:39:41 at IM Texas 2019
  4. Sarah Piampiano, 08:40:48 at IM Brasil 2019
  5. Sarah True, 08:42:37 at IM Arizona 2022

If you include Chattanooga, the second-fastest time would be held by Skye Moench with a 8:34:06. (Skye’s next fastest time is a 8:46:35 from Florida 2020.)

Fastest Male Athletes in Kona

  1. Timothy O’Donnell, 07:59:41 in 2019
  2. Ben Hoffman, 08:02:52 in 2019
  3. Matthew Russell, 08:04:45 in 2018
  4. Matt Hanson, 08:04:54 in 2022
  5. Mark Allen, 08:07:46 in 1993

Fastest Female Athletes in Kona

  1. Chelsea Sodaro, 08:33:45 in 2022
  2. Sarah True, 08:43:43 in 2018
  3. Heather Jackson, 08:54:44 in 2019
  4. Paula Newby-Fraser, 08:55:28 in 1992
  5. Linsey Corbin, 08:58:58 in 2018

Germany

Fastest Male Athletes Overall

  1. Jan Frodeno, 07:27:53 at Tri Battle 2021
  2. Patrick Lange, 07:30:04 at Challenge Roth 2023
  3. Andreas Raelert, 07:41:33 at Challenge Roth 2011
  4. Patrick Lange, 07:41:59 at IM Israel 2022
  5. Florian Angert, 07:45:05 at IM Barcelona 2019

If you include Cozumel, the third fastest time would be by Paul Schuster who finished in 7:41:31. 

Fastest Female Athletes Overall

  1. Laura Philipp, 08:18:20 at IM Hamburg 2022
  2. Anne Haug, 08:21:09 at Challenge Roth 2023
  3. Daniela Bleymehl, 08:43:17 at Challenge Roth 2019
  4. Sandra Wallenhorst, 08:47:26 at IM Austria 2008
  5. Carolin Lehrieder, 08:48:23 at IM Italy 2019

Fastest Male Athletes in Kona

  1. Jan Frodeno, 07:51:13 in 2019
  2. Patrick Lange, 07:52:39 in 2018
  3. Sebastian Kienle, 07:55:39 in 2022
  4. Florian Angert, 08:01:52 in 2022
  5. Thomas Hellriegel, 08:06:07 in 1996

Fastest Female Athletes in Kona

  1. Anne Haug, 08:40:10 in 2019
  2. Laura Philipp, 08:50:30 in 2022
  3. Mareen Hufe, 09:06:35 in 2018
  4. Daniela Bleymehl, 09:08:30 in 2019
  5. Nina Kraft, 09:14:24 in 2002

Australia

Fastest Male Athletes Overall

  1. Max Neumann, 07:44:43 at IM World Championships 2022
  2. Cameron Wurf, 07:46:05 at IM Copenhagen 2021
  3. Steven McKenna, 07:50:48 at IM Western Australia 2022
  4. Nick Kastelein, 07:52:49 at IM Vitoria-Gasteiz 2022
  5. Chris McCormack, 07:54:23 at Challenge Roth 2007

Fastest Female Athletes Overall

  1. Sarah Crowley, 08:38:11 at Challenge Roth 2019
  2. Mirinda Carfrae, 08:38:53 at Challenge Roth 2014
  3. Rebekah Keat, 08:39:24 at Challenge Roth 2009
  4. Kylie Simpson, 08:40:52 at IM Cairns 2023
  5. Carrie Lester, 08:42:13 at Challenge Roth 2016

When including Texas 2018, Mel Hauschildt would have the fastest Australian time with her 8:31:05. At Cozumel, Carrie Lester had some faster times (2021: 8:36:39, 2019: 8:38:41).

Fastest Male Athletes in Kona

  1. Max Neumann, 07:44:43 in 2022
  2. Cameron Wurf, 08:00:50 in 2022
  3. Craig Alexander, 08:03:56 in 2011
  4. Pete Jacobs, 08:09:11 in 2011
  5. Chris McCormack, 08:10:37 in 2010

Fastest Female Athletes in Kona

  1. Sarah Crowley, 08:48:13 in 2019
  2. Mirinda Carfrae, 08:50:45 in 2018
  3. Carrie Lester, 08:58:40 in 2019
  4. Liz Blatchford, 09:03:35 in 2013
  5. Michellie Jones, 09:11:51 in 2005

Canada

Fastest Male Athletes Overall

  1. Lionel Sanders, 07:43:30 at Tri Battle 2021
  2. Brent McMahon, 07:46:10 at IM Brasil 2016
  3. Jason Pohl, 07:46:59 at Challenge Roth 2023
  4. Cody Beals, 07:58:34 at IM Mont Tremblant 2019
  5. Jeff Symonds, 08:04:29 at IM Melbourne 2015

Peter Reid won IM Austria in 1999 in 7:51:56 posting a 2:35 run split, but he himself acknowledges that the run course was short by a few k.

Fastest Female Athletes Overall

  1. Heather Fuhr, 08:51:22 at IM Austria 2002
  2. Jen Annett, 08:51:29 at IM Arizona 2018
  3. Kirsty Jahn, 08:54:57 at IM Brasil 2018
  4. Angela Naeth, 08:55:19 at IM Texas 2015
  5. Sara Gross, 08:56:35 at IM Brasil 2014

Counting IM Texas, Jen Annett would take over the #1 spot with her 08:49:27 finish. Angela Naeth would be 3rd with her 8:54:55 at IM Chattanooga 2014.

Fastest Male Athletes in Kona

  1. Lionel Sanders, 08:04:07 in 2017
  2. Peter Reid, 08:20:04 in 2005
  3. Brent McMahon, 08:30:13 in 2015
  4. Mike Neill, 08:47:57 in 2007
  5. Tom Evans, 08:48:36 in 2005

In St. George 2022, Lionel Sanders finished in 07:54:02.

Fastest Female Athletes in Kona

  1. Angela Naeth, 08:57:36 in 2018
  2. Lori Bowden, 09:11:56 in 2003 
  3. Samantha McGlone, 09:14:04 in 2007
  4. Heather Wurtele, 09:17:56 in 2011
  5. Lisa Bentley, 09:25:18 in 2006

New Zealand

Fastest Male Athletes Overall

  1. Braden Currie, 07:50:10 at IM Cairns 2023
  2. Terenzo Bozzone, 07:51:26 at IM Western Australia 2016
  3. Mike Phillips, 07:52:50 at IM Barcelona 2017
  4. Cameron Brown, 08:00:12 at IM Melbourne 2012
  5. Richard Ussher, 08:02:15 at Challenge Roth 2009

Fastest Female Athletes Overall

  1. Teresa Adam, 08:38:42 at IM Western Australia 2019
  2. Britta Martin, 08:56:34 at IM Western Australia 2014
  3. Gina Crawford, 08:57:18 at Challenge Roth 2008
  4. Joanna Lawn, 08:58:25 at Challenge Roth 2007
  5. Erin Baker, 09:05:28 at IM Canada 1990

Fastest Male Athletes in Kona

  1. Braden Currie, 8:04:41 in 2018
  2. Terenzo Bozzone, 08:13:06 in 2017
  3. Mike Philips, 8:17:54 in 2018
  4. Cameron Brown, 08:19:36 in 2005
  5. Simon Cochrane, 8:50:54 in 2018

In St. George 2022, Braden Currie finished in 07:54:18, Kyle Smith in 08:08:07.

Fastest Female Athletes in Kona

  1. Erin Baker, 09:08:04 in 1993
  2. Teresa Adam, 09:12:53 in 2018
  3. Gina Crawford, 09:14:47 in 2013
  4. Joanna Lawn, 09:14:53 in 2005
  5. Melanie Burke, 09:25:02 in 2018

United Kingdom

John Levison from Tri247.com has a lot more data on the British athletes overall and in Kona.

Fastest Male Athletes Overall

  1. Alistair Brownlee, 07:38:47 at IM Sweden 2022
  2. Tim Don, 07:40:23 at IM Brasil 2017
  3. Joe Skipper, 07:44:10 at Challenge Roth 2023
  4. Kieran Lindars, 07:50:53 at Challenge Roth 2023
  5. Will Crudgington, 07:57:40 at Challenge Roth 2023

Will Clarke’s Texas 2018 result (07:45:22) would see him climb into third place.

Fastest Female Athletes Overall

  1. Chrissie Wellington, 08:18:13 at Challenge Roth 2011
  2. Lucy Charles-Barclay, 08:31:09 at Challenge Roth 2019
  3. Fenella Langridge, 08:31:41 at Challenge Roth 2022
  4. Katrina Matthews, 8:32:51 at IM Texas 2023
  5. Ruth Astle, 08:41:12 at IM Israel 2022

Fastest Male Athletes in Kona

  1. Joe Skipper, 07:54:04 in 2022
  2. David McNamee, 08:01:09 in 2018
  3. Alistair Brownlee, 08:25:03 in 2019
  4. Will Clarke, 08:29:00 in 2019
  5. Tom Lowe, 08:29:02 in 2011

Fastest Female Athletes in Kona

  1. Lucy Charles, 08:36:34 in 2018
  2. Chrissie Wellington, 08:54:02 in 2009
  3. Fenella Langridge, 08:56:25 in 2022
  4. Rachel Joyce, 08:57:28 in 2013
  5. Corinne Abraham, 08:57:55 in 2018

Denmark

With the great 2023 results of the Danish athletes, I thought to add a new nation to this post – they still have some room for improvement in Kona, but their times on other courses are quite impressive!

Fastest Male Athletes Overall

  1. Magnus Elbæk Ditlev, 07:24:40 at Challenge Roth 2023
  2. Daniel Bækkegård, 07:39:59 at Challenge Roth 2023
  3. Thor Bendix Madsen, 07:51:13 at IM Sweden 2022
  4. Mathias Lyngsø Petersen, 07:52:29 at IM Sweden 2019
  5. Rasmus Henning, 07:52:36 at Challenge Roth 2010

If you want to count Almere 2021, then Kristian Høgenhaug would be in second place with his 07:37:46.

Fastest Female Athletes Overall

  1. Maja Stage Nielsen, 08:34:50 at IM Texas 2023
  2. Camilla Pedersen, 08:49:23 at IM Copenhagen 2019
  3. Helle Frederiksen, 08:55:35 at IM Arizona 2017
  4. Michelle Vesterby, 08:56:12 at IM Cozumel 2019
  5. Katrine Græsbøll Christensen, 08:57:27 at Challenge Roth 2023

Counting Almere 2021, Michelle Vesterby would be second with a 08:38:53.

Fastest Male Athletes in Kona

  1. Magnus Elbaek Ditlev, 07:56:37 in 2022
  2. Daniel Baekkegard, 08:02:05 in 2022
  3. Mathias Lyngsoe Petersen, 08:06:44 in 2022
  4. Torbjorn Sindballe, 08:21:30 in 2007
  5. Kristian Hogenhaug, 08:23:07 in 2022

Fastest Female Athletes in Kona

  1. Maja Stage Nielsen, 09:10:23 in 2018
  2. Michelle Vesterby, 09:11:13 in 2013
  3. Helle Frederiksen, 09:11:52 in 2018
  4. Camilla Pedersen, 09:25:41 in 2015
  5. Susanne Nielsen, 09:29:23 in 1999

5 thoughts on “Ironman-Distance Records”

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  4. Hello,
    i read this article about the “Ironman-Distance Records” and i realised that the all time 1. place swim record of another german athlete my fellow countryman Christof Wandratsch is missing in your table.
    He achieved that recordtime 00:41:26 on 16.07.2006 during Ironman Austria in Klagenfurt lake Wörthersee.
    Can you please check this and add it in your table please.
    Thank you very much.
    Best regards.
    Silvio

    1. Hello Silvio,
      I have added Christoph’s swim time in a comment below the table. Maybe there are more fast agegroup swims I may have missed?
      Thanks
      Thorsten

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