Wellington Shatters Ironman-Distance World Record

Two-time Ironman World Champion and TYR-sponsored Chrissie Wellington captured the women’s title at the historic Quelle Challenge Roth Sunday, July 12th in her race debut, demolishing the women’s Ironman-distance world record by over 13 minutes. Wellington, who came off another record-breaking performance most recently at the Kansas 70.3 Ironman, entered the infamous Roth, Germany race that is known for having the fastest ironman-distance track on earth. During the 2.4 mile swim, Wellington was surrounded by Catriona Morrison and Rebekah Keat out of the water, clocking in at 50:28. With a quick T1, she entered the bike race and used the 112 miles to spread an immense distance between herself the rest of the field. With the fastest split (4:40.28), Wellington found herself well ahead the pack. The run portion of the Roth triathlon took the athletes along the “Lände” and the Canal Bridge near Eckersmühlen, where the crowd watched as Wellington held onto her lead over the field. Keat attempted to close her deficit on Wellington after splitting ten minutes slower during the bike, but was unable to get near. Keat did have the fastest run of the morning in 2:55:21, but Wellington’s 2:57:32 was not letting go of first. Crossing the finish line in 8:31:59 hours, the 32-year-old Wellington was greeted with excitement and awe by her astonishing feat. Undefeated at the ironman distance since her debut in 2007, the accomplishment further spoke to her dominance in the sport. Also breaking the world record was Keat, who came in second at 8:39:24 hours. Morrison took third. With Roth behind her, Wellington will look to repeat victory at the upcoming Ironman 70.3 Timberman in New Hampshire on Augst 23rd. From there, she will begin preparation for the World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii on October 10th. Continue to follow the accomplishments of our elite sponsored athletes as they continue to break barriers and make headlines at TYR.com.