The world’s best short-course triathletes take to the streets of Paris to battle it out for Olympic Games gold this week. And while quirks of the course, weather conditions and race dynamics will certainly come into play when it comes to the overall finish times. One thing that’s for sure is these athletes certainly won’t be on the go slow.
We’ve seen split times across the three triathlon disciplines get faster and faster over the years. Even at the long distance end of the sport, the PROs just seem to be able to hold impossibly fast paces for the swim, bike and run considering they’re executing three sports back to back. But when we’re watching from the comfort of our couches, it’s hard to really put into context just how fast these elite men and women are going in a triathlon.
To get an idea, we’ve been talking to triathlon data guru Graeme Acheson from Sports4Cast to find out how the fastest paces we’ve seen from triathletes across swimming, cycling and running would stack up against athletes specialising solely in each sport. Plus, we’ve taken a look at some age-group (amateur) results to give ourselves an idea of just how far up the road the elites would be should we ever be tasked with attempting to keep up with them!
Swim: How do elite triathletes compare with world-class swimmers?
An Olympic distance triathlon starts with a 1500m open water swim. Choppy water, fast-flowing tides and visibility can all have an impact on the athletes’ pace. But that hasn’t stopped some seriously speedy splits being posted.
According to Graeme, the fastest individual swim split we’ve seen from the men is Pierre Le Corre’s 17:01 from the 2014 ITU World Triathlon in Cape Town – that’s an average pace of 1 mins 8s per 100m. And for the women, Natalie Van Coevorden set a blisteringly quick 1500m time at the Leeds ITU race in 2017 – posting an 18:01 which equates to 1 mins 11s per 100m.
According to Sports4Cast data, France’s Pierre Le Corre has posted the fastest 1500m swim split in an Olympic distance triathlon to date. [Photo Credit: Wagner Araujo / World Triathlon]
Comparatively, the fastest time for 1500m we’ve seen from a male elite swimmer is 14:31:04 – set by China’s Sun Yang in 2012. And the world record time from a female swimmer was set by Katie Ledecky at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis in 2018, finishing in 15:20 with an average pace of 1:01/100m .
And while a 2:30-2:40 gap is fairly significant in swimming terms, Graeme notes: “Needless to say, this was in a 50m pool in pristine conditions, not in open water, having to sight and navigate buoys and also fight your way through 40 or so other athletes.
“Pierre Le Corre’s 17:01 would have been fast enough to set the world record in 1964. Natalie Van Coevorden’s 18:01 would have been fast enough to beat the world record in the pool as recently as 1967, a remarkable feat given they still have two disciplines still to go!”
Bike: How would Olympic triathletes fare in PRO cycling?
Given that Tokyo 2020 triathlon champion Kristian Blummenfelt is reportedly set to focus his efforts on cycling in 2025 with his sights set on the Tour de France. And we’ve just seen triathlon star Taylor Knibb compete against cycling specialists in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games cycling individual time trial. It’s perhaps more interesting than ever to see how professional triathletes match up against professional cyclists.
On the women’s side, the fastest bike split we’ve seen came from Julie Derrons at the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series in Cagliari, covering the 40km distance in 53:39 – an average pace of 44.7kph. And Derrons isn’t an anomaly. Graeme highlights that over the last 18 months Britain’s Beth Potter has been the best cyclist, averaging 42.6kph over her last 4 races.
Over the last 18 months it’s been Beth Potter who’s been dominating on two wheels. Averaging over 42kph! [Photo Credit: World Triathlon]
For the men, Paris 2024 gold medal hopeful Hayden Wilde (NZ) and Csongor Lehmann (HUN) are tied for that fastest bike split – both posting a 49:36 which equates to 48 kilometres an hour.
As a comparison, in 2023 pro cyclist Vittoria Bussi beat the UCI Hour Record time – covering 50.2 kilometres in a hour (and notably becoming the first woman to break the 50kph barrier). The men’s record is held by Fillip Ganna, who averaged 56.8kph in 2022.
Given that the likes of Wilde and Derrons were tagging a 1.5km swim and a 10km run either side of their cycling splits, those times are impressively close to the cycling records. And, Graeme highlights, “similar to the swim this is in pristine conditions in an indoor velodrome, not battling 40 or so other athletes round a twisty-turny (which is, I believe, the technical term) bike course, so the fastest times here are not far off the speeds averaged for the triathlon bike leg.”
Run: Triathletes versus track stars
Perhaps what’s most likely to blow your mind while watching the Paris 2024 Olympic Games triathlon is how fast these triathletes are able to run a 10km when they’ve already got a 1.5km swim and a 40km bike ride under their belts. More often than not, triathlon can be won – or lost – during the run.
In the women’s field, Team France’s Leonie Periault has been the fastest over 10km, completing the distance in 31:27 at the 2016 Weert ETU Triathlon European Cup – an average pace of 3:08 min/km. For the men, it’s Team GB’s Alex Yee with a fastest 10km time during a triathlon of 28 mins 31s (2:51 mins/km).
Hands up if you can make a sub-30 minute 10km after a 40km bike ride look easy! [Photo Credit: Tommy Zaferes / World Triathlon]
To put that into context, the world record for 10,000m on the track – again creating optimal conditions compared to the varied elevation and road surfaces the triathletes would have been negotiating – is 28:54 for women, set by Beatrice Chebet in 2024 – an average pace of 2:53min/km. And 26:11 for men, set by Joshua Cheptegei in 2020 – an average pace of 2:37min/km.
“Leonie Periault’s time of 31:27 would have been enough to set the world record on the track as recently as 1983,” says Graeme. “Imagine that (granting a little artistic license…) athletes are lining up at the 1984 LA Olympics for the 10,000 final before a late entrant on a bike enters the arena. She quickly transitions to her running kit setting off with the rest of the athletes, quickly distancing herself from the field, running away to not only gold, but setting a world record in the process. Remarkable!”
To add a little extra context, the average 5km parkrun finish time is reported to be around 32 minutes. So the likes of Yee and Periault would have time to run double the distance, and still be first in line at the post-run coffee shop!
Potter’s got pedigree
It’s also worth knowing that Beth Potter, who we probably expect to see locked in a run battle with Cassandre Beaugrand in the women’s Olympic triathlon in Paris on Wednesday, competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics as a 10,000m runner. And ran a 14:41 for 5km in 2021 – an unofficial world record at the time (the result was unratified). The current 5km road world record for women was set by Beatrice Chebet at the end of 2023, who ran a 14:13. That gives you an idea of just how fast Beth is, even since adding two extra sports to train for into the mix!
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How do top-level Age Group triathletes match up to the PROs?
Of course, comparing amateurs to PROs is never going to be a fair comparison. But to give us some extra context as we watch the likes of Yee, Wilde, Beaugrand and Potter race their hearts out on the streets of Paris. We thought we’d take a look at the results from top level age groupers to see just how much of another level the elites are operating on.
Taking a look back at last year’s standard distance age group World Triathlon Championship final in Pontevedra, the fastest overall amateur female posted a 22:33 swim, 1:07:27 bike and a 37:44 run. That compares to an 18:01 swim, 53:39 bike and 31:27 run from our various speedy PRO women. A 22 mins 54 second gap – though the bike for age-groupers was non-draft legal which would have cost some time.
The fastest age group male in Pontevedra brought it home with a 20:10 swim, 58:41 bike and a 36:18 run. Compared to the fastest collection of male PRO times of 17:01 swim, 49:36 bike and 28:31 run. Leaving a 20 minute and 1 second gap (again, with the additional time cost of non-drafting).
The conclusion: those age-groupers in Pontevedra were fast. But the PROs are, of course, even faster. All eyes on Paris, then, to see if any of those fastest split records are demolished in the pursuit of some shiny gold hardware.
Head to our Paris 2024 section to get all the latest Olympic Games Triathlon news, race previews and interviews.
Source : Tri247