It’s difficult to call the fastest times at triathlon events “world records” because, unlike at a track meet or in a swimming pool (or even certified road racing courses), the distances can vary quite a bit. The conditions for the various parts of the race can change, too – for example the swims at Ironman Chattanooga and Ironman Cozumel are often very fast due to the down-river (Chattanooga) or with-the-current (Cozumel) nature of the course. We’re going to forget all that, though, and run through the 10 quickest times recorded for full-distance races, including even the times from the 2018 Ironman Texas race, where the bike course was a few miles short (among other issues, including the lack of drafting officials on the bike course).
To give you an idea of how fast the course was in Cozumel, four of the 10 fastest men’s times ever came from that race, while two of the top-10 women’s times were done in Cozumel this year. Other interesting notes: Jan Frodeno has two times in the men’s top 10, while Chrissie Wellington has three.
Men:
Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) 7:21:12 Ironman Cozumel 2021
Jan Frodeno (GER) 7:27:53 Tri-Battle Royale 2021
Jan Frodeno (GER) 7:35:39 Challenge Roth 2016
Ruedi Wild (SUI) 7:36:35 Ironman Cozumel 2021
Kristian Hogenhaug (DEN) 7:37:46 Challenge Almere-Amsterdam 2021
Matt Hanson (USA) 7:39:25 Ironman Texas 2018
Jesper Svensson (SWE) 7:39:26 Challenge Almere-Amsterdam 2021
Ivan Tutukin (RUS) 7:39:57 Ironman Texas 2018
Tim Don (GBR) 7:40:23 Ironman Brazil 2017
Paul Schuster (GER) 7:41:32 Ironman Cozumel 2021
Women:
Chrissie Wellington (GBR) 8:18:13 Challenge Roth 2011
Chrissie Wellington (GBR) 8:19:13 Challenge Roth 2010
Daniela Ryf (SUI) 8:22:04 Challenge Roth 2016
Sara Svensk (SWE) 8:22:41 Ironman Cozumel 2021
Daniela Ryf (SUI) 8:26:18 Ironman World Championship 2018
Melissa Hauschildt (AUS) 8:31:05 Ironman Texas 2018
Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) 8:31:09 Challenge Roth 2019
Gurutze Frades Larralde (ESP) 8:31:12 Ironman Cozumel 2021
Sarissa de Vries (NED) 8:32:05 Challenge Almere-Amsterdam 2021
Chrissie Wellington (GBR) 8:33:36 Ironman South Africa 2011
