Worlds Fastest?

Triathlon Forum
1

Guys

Can you help me out please, are these the fastest ever ‘official’ IRONMAN times?

SWIM: 41.26 Christof Wandratsch IRONMAN Austria (2006)

BIKE: 4:14:18 Jurgan Zack IRONMAN Roth (1999)
RUN: 2:35:21 Peter Reid IRONMAN Austria (1999)

World Record: 7:50:27 (Swim 44:51 Bike 4:28:47 Run 2:36:49) Luc Van Lierde IRONMAN Roth(1997)

Cheers AndyA

2

looks right, but that run split was on a course that everyone seems to acknowledge was a couple k short.

3

and the bike was a motor pacing exercice…

4

…and everyone swam awfully fast this year in Austria.

5

YMMV…
In this case, “mileage” would be course distance. Even in this day of wrist and bike mounted GPS devices, courses vary considerably. Roth, for example, is a notoriously short course.

Swim distances can vary tremendously. Last year at Treasure Island, I was pretty demoralized to find myself in T-1 about 5 minutes after I thought I should have been on the road. After the race I ran into a friend (George Tidmarsh, 45-49 oong-course world’s record holder at 1500M freestyle - 17:10). George had swum the leadoff for a relay.

“So George, did you think the swim might have been long…?”
George held up his wrist showing his watch stopped at 21:02…

At the Folsom International two years ago, the consensus was that the “1500M” swim was over 1900. Obiously it can go the other way. My half IM swim is usually right around 30:00 and at CaliMan 1 in Folsom a few years back I was really pumped to come out of the water in about 27:00. The Napa Half in year one I swam close to 25:00 (not positive, because I didn’t “click” the split, but I looked at my watch as I was tiptoeing over the razor sharp rocks in the transition area and it read 25:XX

So, Elwood, what’s your best half IM swim?
sub 25:00! I’m pretty fast for an old dude, huh?

6

Yeah, I hear you. My best 1/2IM swim is technically about 26 minutes, on a course that we all though was about 1600 meters or so. We got out of T1 and onto the bike to find the bike course was 58 miles! Funnily (is that a word?) I got my 1/2IM bike best split that day too on the long course!

-C

7

I have been off the scene for a while and thought the times may have been bettered since I last broke the tape.

I agree with you all, courses are often inaccurate, but its swings and roudabouts, some are hilly, some hot, some windy, some flat … but records are records. They are in the history books as the best until somebody beats them, probably on a short, flat course, with the wind behind them!

AndyA

8

"to find the bike course was 58 miles!

    • Don’t get me started on too long bike courses. At Caliman 1 I had my race plan locked into my head. When I came out of T-1 several minutes ahead of schedule, I had high hopes for the day. when I came out of T-2 I looked at my watch and just couldn’t have been any more demoralized. I was hoping for 2:40-2:45 bike split and it was 3:00 almost exactly. I think that really messed with my head on the run. The next day I found out it was 59 miles, which means I was right on track. I got a podium spot, but I think I would have placed higher (or at least finished faster) if my attitude hadn’t been spindled and mutilated…

Lesson there is that unless you really know the course (and even then things like wind can affect your time) you probably shouldn’t even be looking at your splits until afterwards. Just pay attention to how you’re doing relative to the field, especially anybody you know who’s about your speed.

Funnily (is that a word?) No it isn’t, and even if it was, there’s nothing funnily about riding an extra three miles. Even less so since Caliman 1 also had iron distance and those poor sots had to ride 118!!

9

Dude, you should have been CaliMan full! I think my bike computer was close to 120 miles.

10

I did Caliman 1/2 in 2005 in Davis and they had the mile markers completely screwed up! It was my first 1/2 IM and I remember getting to mile 50 on my bike computer and passing the sign that said “Mile 40” and going “WTF?”. I have to ride another 16 miles instead of 6 miles? Later the RD acknowledged that the bike course was long because they had to change the swim location at the last minute which added a few miles to the course after it had been marked. The bike ended up right around 60 miles.

11

Yep, I remember the day well. Rough roads, and a real strong wind if I remember right. And then to have the distance so far off.

Dave

12

Lotta busted wheels that day. That road was so rough that my adductors hurt for a week from the effort of trying to keep the bike between my legs. Worst thing was that they marked “some” of the potholes with orange paint or cones. So you’re thinking “Cool, no orange stuff in sight! Road must be good through this section…”

13

No thanks. That was a long time to stay bent over the aeros. My kinda course, really, because I suck on big hills, but my elbows were sore from all the road chatter and my neck hurt because there was no place where you had to sit up until you were headed back to go over the freeway.
I remember seeing Myles Murphy the next day and he was suffering from Tourrettes… “F%#^ing bike course… @$$ holes pointed me the wrong f%#^ing way on the second f%#^ing lap… about crushed my f%#^ing nuts with all those potholes. I can’t believe those f%#^ing @$$ wipes couldn’t measure any better than that…”
I thought he said 118. Shoot, if it was 60 for the half then I was even faster!!

Truthfully, I’d love to do an extra 8 on the bike if they’d shave it from the run. But just as “bonus” miles? I don’t think so.