Does anyone know offhand the weight at which a dude becomes eligible for the Clydesdale division in Ironman events?
thanks
Ironman discontinued the division a few years ago, for reasons I do not know.
The weight limit had been 200 lbs.
Here in NC, our local tri series defines Clydesdale division as men 200lbs (90.7kg) and over. Women’s Athena category is 150lbs (68kg) and over. Different series have their own rules, and like a previous poster said, Ironman stopped these categories altogether.
Thanks. This weekend’s Pocono Mountains IM 70.3 has both a Clydesdale and Athena divisions.
Interesting.
Maybe they have the division for selective 70.3 events.
Pointless division, why give a 200lb guy an division of his own…I can’t see the need, what makes him special compared to the 196lb’er. Same for the athena’s…
Why have age groups then? Why give anyone other than the first three any recognition? The idea of that class or any class is to recognize people within a set competitive group-be it age or weight or limitation. If you have never competed at 230 plus lbs, then you may not fully understand how difficult that is.
To answer the question asked-200 lbs for males is considered Clydesdale.
Yes, I race as a Clydesdale (230 lbs).
Pointless division, why give a 200lb guy an division of his own…I can’t see the need, what makes him special compared to the 196lb’er. Same for the athena’s…
I think all the divisions should be weight based…I think that weight is a much better indicator for speed and competition than age…
I race clydesdale at 220
Wait until you’re over 60…
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Wait until you’re over 60…
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You could have a cut off age where you race in your weight class but only against other races over XX age…that would be the only age marker
All the races around here have a 39 and under Clydesdale division and a 40+ Clydesdale.
If you have never competed at 230 plus lbs, then you may not fully understand how difficult that is.
To answer the question asked-200 lbs for males is considered Clydesdale.
Yes, I race as a Clydesdale (230 lbs).
This is sooo true. At 6’6" I look “unhealthy” at anything under 200 lbs, so I at least started tris as a barely-Clydesdale.
Then when I lost 10-15 lbs, I noticed a HUGE difference. It’s not that I even lost fat, but muscle that I wasn’t using to swim, bike, or run.
I have been saying for years everybody is “open” till 40 then, 40 to 55, and 55 and up. Age groups are silly. If you aren’t first you are last. Anybody can be a winner if you divide the field fine enough. I might even win the left handed, forester, born on Oct 3rd, that rides a blue bike, takes Lipitor, and has a Joe Namath rookie card in the front spokes at Ironman next year.
Why have age groups then? Why give anyone other than the first three any recognition? The idea of that class or any class is to recognize people within a set competitive group-be it age or weight or limitation. If you have never competed at 230 plus lbs, then you may not fully understand how difficult that is.
To answer the question asked-200 lbs for males is considered Clydesdale.
Yes, I race as a Clydesdale (230 lbs).
What makes competing at 230 versus 196, any harder than a 196 versus 163…? Nothing, so why focus on a particular group of folks that weigh over 200lbs (or 145lbs for athenas).
No I’ve never been at 230, but 228 at my max. It easy to be heavy when you are tall.
The biggest issue with Clydesdale and Athena categories is that tall fit males and females usually win that category.
A female close to 6 feet is quite lean at 150 pounds, but could compete as an Athena (ie Karin Thuerig). The same thing is true for a 6’5" guy.
If races really want to have that category, it should be based on girth or BMI. 
Ironman discontinued the division a few years ago, for reasons I do not know.
The weight limit had been 200 lbs.
Perhaps because it was fast becoming redundant…
I thought that was exactly who the division is for, the tall lean man and women.
Looking at the average American male, it would appear that 300 is the new 200
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I’m 5’10, 208 and win Clydes in some of the races I enter. I don’t care if you’re 6’5, 5’5, or something in between, if you weigh over 200lbs, you can race as a Clyde. It all comes down to who is fastest.
Of course at 5’10, 208 my BMI puts me in the “morbbidly obese” category…And my girth, well, let’s keep this a family friendly thread.
Bob
The first time I ever heard about a Clydesdale division was in the early days of mtn biking. A group of older guy were racing and due to age, weight, late to endurance sports etc, they didn’t have a chance in their AG, but they all started racing each other at the back of the pack, just informally.
Finally one of them put together a formula which included age weight (including bike) height and I think something else. It was never really meant to be anything other than bragging rights amongst friends.
Styrrell