Search
shop

IRONMAN Kona course record SMASHED by Australian Age Group triathlon PHENOM

Editor-In-Chief
Last updated -
Get the ultimate guide to destination racing

The IRONMAN World Championship in Kona saw another record-breaking day on Saturday as the sport continues to evolve into ever faster and faster racing.

The professional men produced an epic ‘testosterone fest’, just as six-time champion and triathlon great Mark Allen had predicted. We got record-breaking times, epic risk-taking and epic blowups. It was quite the spectacle as Patrick Lange roared through the field on the marathon to claim a third Kona title.

Advertisement

Record-breaking Kona

Lange’s spectacular performance saw him breaking the overall Kona course record with a lung-bursting 7:35:53 – almost five minutes faster than the previous best set by Norway’s Gustav Iden in 2022.

The bike course best time also fell in spectacular fashion as France’s Sam Laidlow took almost seven minutes off the record he had set in 2022 – clocking a quite incredible 3:57:22. It may have been too fast of course, judging by the way the defending champ then blew up on the marathon.

Those performances rightly drew plenty of headlines, but before that there was another spectacular new course record set on Saturday – and this time it came courtesy of an AGE GROUPER, the Australian Sam Askey-Doran.

Aussie star blitzes swim record

Askey-Doran had already shown his swim prowess in Ironman combat this year with a blistering 44:43 at Cairns. And on Saturday in Hawaii – racing in the 18-24 category – he cut through the ocean faster than any Pro or Age Grouper in Kona history.

The previous Kona swim course record had been set by Germany’s Jan Sibbersen in 2018 when he clocked a sensational 46:29. But that was easy meat on Saturday for Askey-Doran, as he destroyed that mark with a quite incredible 45:43.

That opening leg was undoubtedly the highlight of Sam’s day as he added a 4:40:29 bike leg and then a 3:47:03 marathon to finish 17th in his Age Group and 275th overall with a time of 9:26:29.

The key point there though is finish – unless you cross the line to finish the race that record does stick. So Askey-Doran does now go into the Kona record books as the fastest swimmer ever in the history of the iconic race.

Graham Shaw
Written by
Graham Shaw
Graham has been involved with TRI247 & RUN247 since the summer of 2021. Since then he has provided strategic direction for all news and is passionate about the growth of triathlon as a fan sport.
Discover more
TRI247 podcast p/b Challenge Family episode 2
Go behind the scenes at Challenge Roth with the latest episode of the TRI247 podcast
Cadomotus Chronos triathlon cycling shoes
The triathlon cycling shoe that promises a 10-watt saving: Cadomotus Chronos Aero triathlon cycling shoes review
Challenge Family Roth
Five things you need to know about the Challenge Roth bike course
Challenge St. Pölten 2024 - image credit Jose Luis Hourcade / Challenge Family
Expert swim coach on the three most common swim mistakes age group triathletes make (and how to fix them!)
TRI-FIT VANGUARD tri suit review
The entry-level tri suit with a serious amount of performance for the price point – TRI-FIT VANGUARD review
latest News
Georgia Taylor Brown wins supertri Toulouse 2024
British Olympic legend Georgia Taylor-Brown to make triathlon return
Gwen Jorgensen reflective World Triathlon Cup Vina del Mer 2023
‘Unbreakable’ Gwen Jorgensen ‘bruised’ after bike crash but vows to bounce back
IRONMAN CEO Scott DeRue Women For Tri 2024
IRONMAN announce new age-group qualification system for Kona and 70.3 Worlds
IRONMAN World Championship 2019 / Kona 2019
IRONMAN’s new age-group system for Kona – all the big questions answered
Frederic Funk finish line Challenge Samarkand 2023 photo credit Challenge Family
Challenge Roth 2025: German star goes into the unknown in iconic triathlon showdown
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

Share to...