2017 Updates following IRONMAN South Africa 2017 (Daniela Ryf and Kaisa Lehtonen), IRONMAN Texas 2017 (Jodie Robertson and Michi Herlbauer), IRONMAN Cairns (Sarah Crowley), IRONMAN Brasil (Susie Cheetham, Sonja Tajsich and Hayley Chura), Challenge Roth (Daniela Ryf, Laura Siddall and Lisa Roberts ), Challenge Regensburg (Diana Riesler). Challenge Almere (Yvonne van Vlerken), IRONMAN Barcelona (Van Vlerken, Huetthaler, Sammler, Konschak), IRONMAN Hawaii (Ryf and Charles), IRONMAN Arizona (Sali, Frederiksen, Annett) and IRONMAN Cozumel (Lisa Roberts and Kirsty Jahn).

2018 Updates: IRONMAN South Africa (Lucy Charles).



It was – and will continue to be – widely written and reported that Chrissie Wellington “re-wrote the record books” at Challenge Roth in 2010, recording a breathtaking time of 8:19:13 for the iron distance. A year later, she did it again!

Well, here is one of those “record books”, and it too has been re-written once again.

Number of sub-nine hour ladies iron-distance finishes?

Sport and numbers seem to be a perfect marriage. Whatever your sport, or whatever your ability, sooner or later you’ll invariably be creating targets based on time. Whether that’s making the 17-hour Ironman cut-off, running a sub-three hour marathon or beating 25 minutes in your club ’10’, everyone likes to break a barrier and set a personal best.

And, following the excitement from Quelle Challenge Roth (2009), and the fantastic world best figures of Chrissie Wellington, I thought it was a great opportunity to look, in depth, at ladies iron-distance performances. Recording a ‘sub-nine’ (hours) time for ladies, is a natural goal for many of the elite athletes in our sport, (just as going ‘sub-eight‘ is for men), but, how often has it been done?

I didn’t know. I researched extensively, and as far as I could see, nobody else knew either. I even found websites dedicated to this very subject – and realised I knew more than them anyway!

And so, it started… many hours of head-scratching, web surfing and historic magazine research – too many hours! – and I realised, not quickly enough, that I’d embarked on an “I’d started, so I had to finish mission”. This definitely comes with a ‘don’t try this at home’ warning. But I digress.

What follows is a result of that mission. Should you think I’ve missed any, please send me the details (editor@tri247.com), as my aim is to create the definitive list of sub-nine hour female iron distance finishes. The only downside of all of this work? I then had to do the same task for the sub-eight hour men!

As at 15th April 2018, 74 women have now finished an iron-distance triathlon with an 8:XX:XX clocking, and we now have 172 sub-9 female finishes recorded .

Sub-Nine Hour Female Iron Distance Finishes

Name Country Location Year Time Chrissie Wellington GBR Roth 2011 08:18:13 Chrissie Wellington GBR Roth 2010 08:19:13 Daniela Ryf SUI Roth 2016 08:22:04 Chrissie Wellington GBR Roth 2009 08:31:59 Chrissie Wellington GBR Port Elizabeth 2011 08:33:56 Caroline Steffen SUI Melbourne 2012 08:34:51 Chrissie Wellington GBR Arizona 2010 08:36:13 Eva Wutti AUT Copenhagen 2013 08:37:36 Mirinda Carfrae AUS Roth 2014 08:38:53 Rebekah Keat AUS Roth 2009 08:39:24 Daniela Ryf SUI Roth 2017 08:40:03 Caroline Steffen SUI Roth 2013 08:40:35 Mirinda Carfrae AUS Klagenfurt 2016 08:41:27 Carrie Lester AUS Roth 2016 08:42:13 Rachel Joyce GBR Roth 2014 08:42:25 Linsey Corbin USA Klagenfurt 2014 08:42:42 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Florida 2013 08:43:07 Mary Beth Ellis USA Klagenfurt 2011 08:43:35 Meredith Kessler USA Arizona 2015 08:44:00 Rachel Joyce GBR Roth 2012 08:45:04 Eva Wutti AUT Klagenfurt 2015 08:45:37 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Roth 2008 08:45:48 Rachel Joyce GBR Melbourne 2012 08:46:09 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Barcelona 2017 08:46:18 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Roth 2013 08:46:22 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Barcelona 2015 08:46:44 Daniela Ryf SUI Hawaii 2016 08:46:46 Daniela Ryf SUI Port Elizabeth 2017 08:47:02 Erica Csomor HUN Roth 2008 08:47:05 Sandra Wallenhorst GER Klagenfurt 2008 08:47:26 Catriona Morrison GBR Roth 2009 08:48:11 Meredith Kessler USA Arizona 2016 08:48:23 Kaisa Lehtonen FIN Barcelona 2015 08:48:40 Caroline Steffen SUI Roth 2014 08:48:42 Leanda Cave GBR Arizona 2011 08:49:00 Ashley Clifford USA Florida 2013 08:49:03 Rachel Joyce GBR Texas 2013 08:49:14 Simone Brandli SUI Klagenfurt 2014 08:49:16 Eva Wutti AUT Barcelona 2014 08:49:21 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Roth 2016 08:49:35 Sonja Tajsich GER Roth 2012 08:49:47 Bella Bayliss GBR Klagenfurt 2009 08:50:13 Meredith Kessler USA Arizona 2014 08:50:41 Daniela Ryf SUI Hawaii 2017 08:50:47 Paula Newby Fraser USA Roth 1994 08:50:53 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Roth 2015 08:50:53 Daniela Ryf SUI Frankfurt 2015 08:51:00 Eva Wutti AUT Barcelona 2013 08:51:01 Diana Riesler GER Regensburg 2017 08:51:02 Julia Gajer GER Roth 2013 08:51:04 Erica Csomor HUN Klagenfurt 2011 08:51:11 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Almere 2017 08:51:13 Bella Bayliss GBR Klagenfurt 2008 08:51:17 Lisa Huetthaler AUT Barcelona 2017 08:51:21 Lori Bowden CAN Klagenfurt 2002 08:51:22 Chrissie Wellington GBR Frankfurt 2008 08:51:24 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Arizona 2016 08:51:27 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Florida 2012 08:51:35 Laura Siddall GBR Roth 2017 08:51:38 Daniela Ryf GBR Zurich 2016 08:51:50 Kaisa Sali FIN Arizona 2017 08:51:54 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Roth 2007 08:51:55 Laura Siddall GBR Roth 2016 08:51:59 Susie Cheetham GBR Brasil 2017 08:52:00 Rebekah Keat AUS Roth 2010 08:52:10 Mirinda Carfrae AUS Hawaii 2013 08:52:14 Kaisa Lehtonen FIN Port Elizabeth 2017 08:52:26 Amanda Stevens USA Arizona 2015 08:52:31 Caroline Steffen SUI Frankfurt 2012 08:52:33 Corinne Abraham GBR Frankfurt 2014 08:52:40 Rebekah Keat AUS Copenhagen 2011 08:52:42 Julia Gajer GER Arizona 2013 08:52:49 Melissa Hauschildt AUS Melbourne 2015 08:52:51 Carrie Lester AUS Roth 2015 08:53:09 Lisa Huetthaler AUT Klagenfurt 2014 08:53:20 Daniela Ryf SUI Copenhagen 2014 08:53:33 Diana Riesler GER Klagenfurt 2011 08:53:35 Lisa Roberts USA Cozumel 2017 08:54:00 Jodie Swallow GBR Kalmar 2013 08:54:01 Kate Allen AUT Klagenfurt 2003 08:54:01 Chrissie Wellington GBR Hawaii 2009 08:54:02 Elisabeth Gruber AUT Barcelona 2015 08:54:03 Elizabeth Lyles USA Brasil 2016 08:54:10 Astrid Stienen GER Barcelona 2016 08:54:27 Linsey Corbin USA Arizona 2011 08:54:33 Rebekah Keat AUS Copenhagen 2010 08:54:36 Melissa Hauschildt AUS Busselton 2016 08:54:39 Kelly Williamson USA Texas 2014 08:54:42 Angela Naeth CAN Chattanooga 2014 08:54:55 Mary Beth Ellis USA Texas 2012 08:54:58 Paula Newby Fraser USA Roth 1992 08:55:00 Lori Bowden CAN Forster-Tuncurry 2000 08:55:08 Chrissie Wellington GBR Hawaii 2011 08:55:08 Jessica Jacobs USA Florida 2011 08:55:10 Daniela Sammler GER Barcelona 2017 08:55:11 Angela Naeth CAN Texas 2015 08:55:19 Anja Beranek GER Roth 2015 08:55:19 Paula Newby Fraser USA Hawaii 1992 08:55:28 Thea Sybesma NED Roth 1991 08:55:29 Helle Frederiksen DEN Arizona 2017 08:55:35 Meredith Kessler USA Arizona 2013 08:55:47 Carrie Lester AUS Chattanooga 2015 08:56:00 Camilla Pedersen DEN Frankfurt 2013 08:56:01 Ines Estedt GER Detern/Jumme 1995 08:56:05 Lucy Charles GBR South Africa 2018 08:56:06 Meredith Kessler USA New Zealand 2016 08:56:08 Heleen Bij de vaate NED Klagenfurt 2011 08:56:12 Julia Wagner GER Roth 2011 08:56:23 Irma Heeren NED Almere 1999 08:56:23 Jodie Robertson USA Texas 2017 08:56:32 Britta Martin NZL Busselton 2014 08:56:34 Elizabeth Lyles USA Frankfurt 2014 08:56:36 Sara Gross CAN Brasil 2014 08:56:41 Erica Csomor HUN Florida 2013 08:56:41 Leanda Cave GBR Kalmar 2014 08:56:50 Eimear Mullan IRL Barcelona 2015 08:56:51 Katinka Wiltenburg NED Almere 1996 08:56:57 Julia Gajer GER Roth 2012 08:57:02 Sofie Goos BEL Klagenfurt 2014 08:57:08 Chrissie Wellington GBR Port Macquarie 2009 08:57:10 Katja Konschak GER Barcelona 2017 08:57:12 Gina Ferguson NZL Roth 2008 08:57:18 Malindi Elmore CAN Arizona 2016 08:57:22 Michi Herlbauer AUT Klagenfurt 2016 08:57:23 Michelle Vesterby DEN Arizona 2013 08:57:24 Rachel Joyce GBR Hawaii 2013 08:57:28 Lucie Reed CZE Barcelona 2013 08:57:34 Mareen Hufe GER Busselton 2016 08:57:36 Sonja Tajsich GER Brasil 2017 08:57:36 Thea Sybesma NED Roth 1992 08:57:37 Catriona Morrison GBR Texas 2011 08:57:51 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Almere 2007 08:57:54 Mirinda Carfrae AUS Hawaii 2011 08:57:57 Caroline Steffen SUI Melbourne 2014 08:57:57 Daniela Ryf SUI Hawaii 2015 08:57:57 Gina Crawford NZL Frankfurt 2014 08:58:06 Belinda Granger AUS Roth 2008 08:58:08 Sandra Wallenhorst GER Frankfurt 2009 08:58:08 Leanda Cave GBR Texas 2015 08:58:12 Sarah Crowley AUS Cairns 2017 08:58:14 Paula Newby Fraser USA Hawaii 1993 08:58:23 Kate Allen AUT Klagenfurt 2002 08:58:24 Joanna Lawn NZL Roth 2007 08:58:25 Kirsty Jahn CAN Cozumel 2017 08:58:27 Mirinda Carfrae AUS Hawaii 2010 08:58:36 Nina Kraft GER Frankfurt 2004 08:58:37 Jodie Swallow GBR Frankfurt 2013 08:58:43 Lucy Gossage GBR Barcelona 2012 08:58:43 Haley Chura USA Brasil 2017 08:58:45 Camilla Pedersen DEN Barcelona 2014 08:58:46 Lisa Huetthaler AUT Arizona 2014 08:58:46 Sarah Piampiano USA Busselton 2016 08:58:51 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Melbourne 2015 08:58:58 Caroline Steffen SUI Melbourne 2015 08:59:08 Ariane Monitceli BRA Florianopolis 2015 08:59:08 Rebekah Keat AUS Roth 2011 08:59:22 Gina Ferguson NZL Busselton 2008 08:59:24 Jen Annett CAN Arizona 2017 08:59:27 Erica Csomor HUN Klagenfurt 2013 08:59:31 Sue Latshaw USA Roth 1997 08:59:31 Michi Herlbauer AUT Texas 2017 08:59:31 Gina Crawford NZL Roth 2012 08:59:35 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Roth 2014 08:59:36 Lucy Charles GBR Hawaii 2017 08:59:38 Lori Bowden CAN Klagenfurt 2001 08:59:41 Erica Csomor HUN Roth 2009 08:59:42 Elizabeth Lyles USA Busselton 2013 08:59:44 Edith Niederfriniger ITA Klagenfurt 2008 08:59:45 Sonja Tajsich GER Klagenfurt 2009 08:59:45 Diana Riesler GER Vichy 2013 08:59:48 Michelle Vesterby DEN Copenhagen 2015 08:59:49 Michi Herlbauer AUT Klagenfurt 2014 08:59:57

Fastest Female Iron Distance Athletes (Best Time Only)

Athlete Country Event Year Time Chrissie Wellington GBR Challenge Roth 2011 08:18:13 Daniela Ryf SUI Challenge Roth 2016 08:22:04 Caroline Steffen SUI Ironman Melbourne 2012 08:34:51 Eva Wutti AUT Ironman Copenhagen 2013 08:37:36 Mirinda Carfrae AUS Challenge Roth 2014 08:38:53 Rebekah Keat AUS Challenge Roth 2009 08:39:24 Carrie Lester AUS Challenge Roth 2016 08:42:14 Rachel Joyce GBR Challenge Roth 2014 08:42:25 Linsey Corbin USA Ironman Austria 2014 08:42:42 Yvonne van Vlerken NED Ironman Florida 2013 08:43:07 Mary Beth Ellis USA Ironman Austria 2011 08:43:35 Meredith Kessler USA Ironman Arizona 2015 08:44:00 Erica Csomor HUN Challenge Roth 2008 08:47:05 Sandra Wallenhorst GER Ironman Austria 2008 08:47:26 Catriona Morrison GBR Challenge Roth 2009 08:48:11 Kaisa Lehtonen FIN Ironman Barcelona 2015 08:48:40 Leanda Cave GBR Ironman Arizona 2011 08:49:00 Ashley Clifford USA Ironman Florida 2013 08:49:03 Simone Brndli SUI Ironman Austria 2014 08:49:16 Sonja Tajsich GER Challenge Roth 2012 08:49:47 Bella Bayliss GBR Ironman Austria 2009 08:50:13 Paula Newby Fraser USA Ironman Europe (Roth) 1994 08:50:53 Diana Riesler GER Challenge Regensburg 2017 08:51:02 Julia Gajer (nee Wagner) GER Challenge Roth 2013 08:51:04 Lisa Huetthaler AUT Ironman Barcelona 2017 08:51:21 Lori Bowden CAN Ironman Austria 2002 08:51:22 Laura Siddall GBR Challenge Roth 2017 08:51:38 Susie Cheetham GBR Ironman Brasil 2017 08:52:00 Amanda Stevens USA Ironman Arizona 2015 08:52:31 Corinne Abraham GBR Ironman European Champs (Frankfurt) 2014 08:52:40 Melissa Hauschildt AUS Ironman Melbourne 2015 08:52:51 Lisa Roberts USA Ironman Cozumel 2017 08:54:00 Kate Allen AUT Ironman Austria 2003 08:54:01 Jodie Swallow GBR Ironman Kalmar 2013 08:54:01 Elisabeth Gruber AUT Ironman Barcelona 2015 08:54:03 Elizabeth Lyles USA Ironman Brasil (South American Champs) 2016 08:54:10 Astrid Stienen GER Ironman Barcelona 2016 08:54:27 Kelly Williamson USA Ironman Texas 2014 08:54:42 Angela Naeth CAN Ironman Chattanooga 2014 08:54:55 Jessica Jacobs USA Ironman Florida 2011 08:55:10 Daniela Sammler GER Ironman Barcelona 2017 08:55:11 Anja Beranek GER Challenge Roth 2015 08:55:19 Thea Sybesma NED Ironman Europe (Roth) 1991 08:55:29 Helle Frederiksen DEN Ironman Arizona 2017 08:55:35 Camilla Pedersen DEN Ironman European Champs (Frankfurt) 2013 08:56:01 Ines Estedt GER Euro Champs Detern/Jumme 1995 08:56:05 Lucy Charles GBR Ironman South Africa (African Champs) 2018 08:56:06 Heleen Bij De Vaate NED Ironman Austria 2011 08:56:12 Irma Heeren NED Almere 1999 08:56:23 Jodie Robertson USA Ironman Texas 2017 08:56:32 Britta Martin NZL Ironman Western Australia 2014 08:56:34 Sara Gross CAN Ironman Brasil 2014 08:56:41 Eimear Mullan IRL Ironman Barcelona 2015 08:56:51 Katinka Wiltenburg NED Almere 1996 08:56:57 Sofie Gooes BEL Ironman Austria 2014 08:57:08 Katja Konschak GER Ironman Barcelona 2017 08:57:12 Gina Ferguson NZL Challenge Roth 2008 08:57:18 Malindi Elmore CAN Ironman Arizona 2016 08:57:22 Michi Herlbauer AUT Ironman Austria 2016 08:57:23 Michelle Vesterby DEN Ironman Arizona 2013 08:57:24 Lucie Reed CZE Challenge Barcelona 2013 08:57:34 Mareen Hufe GER Ironman Western Australia 2016 08:57:36 Belinda Granger AUS Challenge Roth 2008 08:58:08 Sarah Crowley AUS Ironman Cairns 2017 08:58:14 Joanna Lawn NZL Challenge Roth 2007 08:58:25 Kirsty Jahn CAN Ironman Cozumel 2017 08:58:27 Nina Kraft GER Ironman Frankfurt 2004 08:58:37 Lucy Gossage GBR Challenge Barcelona 2012 08:58:43 Haley Chura US Ironman Brasil 2017 08:58:45 Sarah Piampiano USA Ironman Western Australia 2016 08:58:51 Ariane Monitceli BRA Ironman Latin American Championship 2015 08:59:08 Jen Annett CAN Ironman Arizona 2017 08:59:27 Sue Latshaw USA Ironman Europe (Roth) 1997 08:59:31 Edith Niederfriniger ITA Ironman Austria 2008 08:59:45

Athlete & Race Analysis

Name Country Sub 9 hour finishes Yvonne van Vlerken NED 14 Chrissie Wellington GBR 9 Daniela Ryf SUI 9 Caroline Steffen SUI 6 Rebekah Keat AUS 5 Erica Csomor HUN 5 Rachel Joyce GBR 5 Mirinda Carfrae AUS 5 Meredith Kessler USA 5 Julia Gajer (nee Wagner) GER 4 Gina Crawford (nee Ferguson) NZL 4 Eva Wutti AUT 4 Paula Newby Fraser USA 4 Leanda Cave GBR 3 Lori Bowden CAN 3 Elizabeth Lyles USA 3 Carrie Lester AUS 3 Michi Herlbauer AUT 3 Sonja Tajsich GER 3 Diana Riesler GER 3 Lisa Huetthaler AUT 3 Kaisa Sali (nee Lehtonen) FIN 3 Catriona Morrison GBR 2 Bella Bayliss GBR 2 Mary Beth Ellis USA 2 Sandra Wallenhorst GER 2 Thea Sybesma NED 2 Jodie Swallow GBR 2 Linsey Corbin USA 2 Camilla Pedersen DEN 2 Angela Naeth CAN 2 Michelle Vesterby DEN 2 Kate Allen AUT 2 Melissa Hauschildt AUS 2 Laura Siddall GBR 2 Lucy Charles GBR 2 Belinda Granger AUS 1 Edith Niederfriniger ITA 1 Heleen Bij de vaate NED 1 Ines Estedt GER 1 Irma Heeren NED 1 Jessica Jacobs USA 1 Joanna Lawn NZL 1 Katinka Wiltenburg NED 1 Lucy Gossage GBR 1 Nina Kraft GER 1 Sue Latshaw USA 1 Lucie Reed CZE 1 Ashley Clifford USA 1 Kelly Williamson USA 1 Sara Gross CAN 1 Simone Braendli SUI 1 Sofie Gooes BEL 1 Corinne Abraham GBR 1 Britta Martin NZL 1 Ariane Monitceli BRA 1 Anja Beranek GER 1 Elisabeth Gruber AUT 1 Eimear Mullan IRL 1 Amanda Stevens USA 1 Astrid Stienen GER 1 Malindi Elmore CAN 1 Mareen Hufe GER 1 Sarah Piampiano USA 1 Jodie Robertson USA 1 Susie Cheetham GBR 1 Haley Chura USA 1 Sarah Crowley AUS 1 Lisa Roberts USA 1 Daniela Sammler GER 1 Katja Konschak GER 1 Helle Frederiksen DEN 1 Jen Annett CAN 1 Kirsty Jahn CAN 1

Year Sub 9 hour finishes 1991 1 1992 3 1993 1 1994 1 1995 1 1996 1 1997 1 1998 0 1999 1 2000 1 2001 1 2002 2 2003 1 2004 1 2005 0 2006 0 2007 3 2008 9 2009 9 2010 5 2011 15 2012 10 2013 21 2014 23 2015 20 2016 17 2017 23 2018 1

Location Sub 9 hour finishes Roth 41 Klagenfurt 22 Arizona 16 Barcelona 14 Hawaii 12 Frankfurt 10 Texas 8 Melbourne 6 Busselton 6 Brasil (Florianopolis) 6 Florida 5 Copenhagen 5 Almere 4 Port Elizabeth 4 Chattanooga 2 Kalmar 2 Cozumel 2 Detern/Jumme 1 Forster-Tuncurry 1 Vichy 1 Port Macquarie 1 Taupo 1 Zurich 1 Cairns 1 Regensburg 1

Commentary

Not surprisingly, Roth wins in terms of course speed. Thirty four sub-nine’s in the past ten races (2008-2017), 41 in total, the four fastest times ever plus six of the top-10…

However Ironman Austria (Klagenfurt) comes closest now with 22 following the 2016 edition. Roth was also the venue of the first ever sub-nine clocking from Thea Sybesma (NED) in 1991, in what at the time was ‘Ironman Europe’.

Following Chrissie’s quite staggering performances at Roth 2009, Roth in 2010 and Roth 2011, added to her figures from Ironmans Arizona and South Africa, Chrissie held the five fastest iron-distance times ever.

Those top five times, along with her Kona course record (2009) were all achieved in consecutive races…which she followed up with arguably her greatest performance ever at the 2011 Ironman World Championships, even if it wasn’t (quite!) a Kona record. Quite a form line.

Want some more Chrissie stats? 2011 was the second time (2009 being the first) that Chrissie has achieved three sub-nine hour finishes in one year.

Indeed, you have to go back to Kona 2008 for the last time Chrissie didn’t finish with 8:XX on the clock – and that was the year that she spent 10+ minutes on the side of the road with a puncture… and still won with a finish time of 9:06:23. It’s now eight consecutive sub-nine finishes 2009-2011 inclusive (and nine in total). Raising the bar for sure – though no more following Chrissie’s Ironman retirement.

In 2008, Chrissie Wellington received much comment about celebrating ‘too much’ on the run-in to the line in Frankfurt, and thus missing the then world best of Paula Newby-Fraser (8:50:53).

Things have moved on so quickly that Chrissie’s 8:51:24 from that race doesn’t even make the top-50 now anyway – and following Daniela Ryf’s 2015 efforts, it isn’t even the course record any longer!

The performance of Cat Morrison at Roth 2009 was surpassed by Mary Beth Ellis as the fastest debut iron-distance performance following her Klagenfurt 2011 win (8:43:35).

That said, Eva Wutti’s 8:37:36 at Ironman Copenhagen 2013 was her first Ironman finish – but not technically a debut, having been a DNF earlier in the year at Ironman Austria.

Eva has since added a second entry to this listing with another win, this time at Challenge Barcelona 2013 (8:51:01), a third at the same race (this time under ‘Ironman Barcelona’ branding) to defend that title a year later in a new course record of 8:49:21 – and now a fourth on home soil at Ironman Austria 2015.

American Krista Whelen missed out on this list my just one second – she recorded nine hours exactly in 1992 at Roth. Ironically, for 17 years her bike time of 4:45:59 that day was the fastest women’s Ironman bike split – smashed by Chrissie with a 4:40:28 at Roth 2009, and then again (4:36:33) in 2010.

Chrissie’s marathon (2:48:54) was also a world’s best… until 10th July 2011 when she improved that yet again to 2:44:35. That bike mantle has now been taken by Caroline Steffen though, her 4:35:29 (Melbourne 2012) is now the gold standard, though Yvonne Van Vlerken was just 20 seconds short of that at Ironman Florida 2013. All change following Roth 2016 – Daniela Ryf producing a stunning 4:31:29 bike split. That, is, fast.

Yvonne Van Vlerken recorded her first sub-9 clocking for more than four years when winning Ironman Florida 2012, which was the fourth time she has achieved that, leaving her tied for third place (with Paula Newby Fraser) behind Chrissie Wellington (nine) and Rebekah Keat (five) in the “most sub-9 finishes” all-time list.

Not content with that, Yvonne came within seconds of her own PB figures while finishing second to Caroline Steffen at Challenge Roth 2013 (8:46:22) to join Rebekah Keat on five sub-nine’s, only to then recorded her best ever time (8:43:07) when winning Ironman Florida 2013, just weeks after taking fourth place at Kona.

That was six, but with Challenge Roth 2014 (8:59:36) and now Melbourne 2015, Yvonne Van Vlerken was just one short of Chrissie’s record, with eight sub-nine finishes to her name. No longer… as another Challenge Roth victory in 2015 means that Yvonne now pulled level with Chrissie, only to become the first woman into double figures with her tenth sub-nine finish at Ironman Barcelona 2015. She is showing no signs of stopping and went to eleven following Challenge Roth 2016, twelve at Ironman Arizona 2016, 13 at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam and 14 at Ironman Barcelona!

Erika Csomor made it three sub-nine clocking’s at Ironman Austria 2011 (and added a fourth in 2013 at the same event…. and then a fifth at Ironman Florida!), while Gina Crawford (née Ferguson) made it three for her at Challenge Roth 2012 and four at Ironman Frankfurt 2014.

Rachel Joyce achieved her third at Ironman Texas 2013 a fourth at the Ironman World Champs 2013 and a fifth at Challenge Roth 2014, where third placed Caroline Steffen has matched her with five. (One ‘might’ (!) argue that it should/could be six – but her win at Ironman Cozumel in 2013 was on a shortened swim course due to sea conditions).

Steffen sat alone in third place in the ‘most Sub-9’s’ with six, following her third place in Melbourne 2015.

The 36th name to join the ‘Sub-9 Club’ was Lucie Reed, Challenge Barcelona 2013 (second place, 8:57:34), with the 37th member Ashley Clifford with second place (8:49:03) at Ironman Florida 2013.

Members 38 and 39 came via Ironman Arizona 2013 via Meredith Kessler (second place, 8:55:47) and Michelle Vesterby (third, 8:57:24). Elizabeth Lyles, winner Ironman Western Australia 2013 was the 40th time on the list while more recent additions are (#41), Kelly Williamson courtesy of a win (8:54:42) at Ironman Texas 2014 and (#42), Sara Gross at Ironman Brasil (8:56:35).

Ironman Austria 2014 added four more names. While Linsey Corbin won in 8:42:42 (a PB time, and her second Sub-9, currently ranked as the 12th fastest time on record), positions two thru five in that race saw four more Sub-9 club members in Simone Brändli (#43), Lisa Hütthaler (#44), Sofie Goos (#45) and Michi Herlbauer (#46).

The very latest additions to the listing is include yet another fast British athlete, as Corinne Abraham’s 8:52:40 at Ironman Frankfurt makes her member #47.

Behind her, Gina Crawford (her fourth) and Elizabeth Lyles (her second), added to their totals. Member #48 goes to Daniela Ryf, thanks to her 8:53:33 and second Ironman victory, at Ironman Copenhagen 2014, #49 is Angela Naeth (Ironman Chattanooga 2014), #50 is Britta Martin, winner at Ironman Western Australia 2014 and the latest new names from 2015 are, #51, Melissa Hauschildt (Melbourne), #52, Ariane Moniticeli (Brazil), #53, Carrie Lester (Roth), #54, Anja Beranek (Roth), #’s 55-57 (Kaisa Lehtonen, Elisabeth Gruber and Eimear Mullan) at Ironman Barcelona and #58 is Amanda Stevens (Arizona).

Athlete #59 and #60 to this list (Laura Siddall (Roth 2016) and Astrid Stienen (Barcelona 2016) are both ‘first timers’ in 2016, while #61 is Malindi Elmore (CAN) at Ironman Arizona 2016, with Mareen Hufe and Sarah Piampiano (both Ironman Western Australia), members #62 and #63 respectively.

Something new – Daniela Ryf becomes the first female athlete to break the 9-hour barrier twice in a week, following Challenge Roth and Ironman Switzerland. Would that impact her efforts in Kona – not at all, as she went on to break the course record and defend her title in Hawaii.

Following Ironman South Africa 2017 she now had seven career sub-nine hour finishes – now up to eight at Challenge Roth 2017.

After winning Ironman Texas, Jodie Robertson joined the Sub-9 Club as member #64, with Michi Herlbauer recording her third 8:XX for second place.

Members #65 and #66 are Susie Cheetham (winner) and Haley Chura (third) at IRONMAN Brasil, while second placed Sonja Tajsich (GER) recorded her third 8:XX finish in Florianopolis. Sarah Crowley (AUS) won IRONMAN Cairns (Asia-Pacific Champs), to become member #67 of the Sub-9 Club. The latest addition (#68), is Lisa Roberts courtesy of third place at Challenge Roth 2017 – a race in which Laura Siddall set a PB, improving on her figures from 12 months previously on what was widely regarded as a much tougher new run course.

Member #69 is Daniela Sammler and #70 is Katja Konschak, both at the IRONMAN Barcelona 2017.

While Daniela Ryf racked up her ninth career Sub-9 finish when winning a third consecutive IRONMAN World Championship, Great Britain’s Lucy Charles joined the Sub-9 Club as member #71 thanks to her brilliant second place finish. What’s more, she is part of a select club of just six athletes to have finished with an 8:XX time in Kona.

Member #72 (Helle Frederiksen) and #73 (Jen Annett) joined the Sub-9 Club at IRONMAN Arizona 2017, where they finished second and third respectively behind Kaisa Sali (FIN), who won with her third career 8:XX finish.

Tri247 Iron-Distance Statistics Library

Do you believe there is a performance missing here? If so, please do let me know via editor@tri247.com.