Search
shop

The best Age-Group performance from Rotterdam?

After being inducted to the ITU Hall of Fame, Rob Barel proved just days later that at approaching 60 years of age, he's still an incredible athlete
Chief Correspondent
Last updated -
STRENGTH. ENDURANCE. PERFORMANCE.

Advertisement

Rob Barel is still crushing it at (almost) 60

To be fair, how you select the ‘best’ in Age-Group triathlon is highly debatable. Sure, the clock gives you one (objective) measure, but how do you then factor in gender, age, race distance and more?

Analogous to Boxing’s mythical pound-for-pound champion, it’s an interesting discussion rather than a mathematically solved solution. Thus, consider this a “significant performance of note” rather than a precision definition of “best”!

Ahead of the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Rotterdam, the ITU Hall of Fame inducted six new members – one of whom was the seemingly ever-young Rob Barel.

Rob has been a true pioneer of the sport in Europe, winning the first three European Championship in 1985/6/7, winning the first ever ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championship in 1994, and he finished third (to Great Britain’s Simon Lessing) at the ITU World Championships in 1992 (Muskoka). Thinking that the introduction of Triathlon to the programme of the Olympic Games in 2000 had probably come too late in his career, he proved that wrong by qualifying for and racing in Sydney aged 42. Eight years later, he was the European ELITE Cross Triathlon Champion.

Retiring gracefully and letting go is athletic life after a long career would have been the norm… but at approaching 60 years of age, Rob Barel is still racing incredibly fast!

We noted last year (HERE), Rob’s fantastic performance at IRONMAN 70.3 Budapest when he won the 55-59 AG with a stunning 4:06:51 clocking, to win by 30 minutes. At IRONMAN France, Nice, earlier this year Rob – now in 60-64 – finished in 9:56:01 to win that category by well over two hours.

Rob Barel

Kona-bound this year (which will be an added challenge for anyone racing in his category), Rob also raced over the Standard Distance in Rotterdam and (no surprise), took the Gold (2:05:03) by almost eight minutes, setting the fastest swim, bike, run and T1 times in the process. ‘Only’ (!) second fastest in T2, he might have completed the ‘grand slam’ had he not gone down the wrong aisle in transition. As I joked with him on Facebook, always room for improvement….!

I look forward to watching Rob race again in Hawaii next month.

Rob Barel

John Levison
Written by
John Levison
TRI247's Chief Correspondent, John has been involved in triathlon for well over 30 years, 15 of those writing on these pages, whilst he can also be found commentating for events across the UK.
Discover more
Challenge The Championship Marjolaine Pieree
How to qualify for Challenge The Championship – and why it should be on your triathlon bucket list
Cadomotus aero triathlon cycling shoes
Can your triathlon cycling shoes make you faster? How shoe choice could speed up your triathlon finish times
French Riviera T100 bike course Esterel
Is this the ultimate middle distance triathlon bike course? We rode the French Riviera T100 bike course and it’s EPIC
Ironman gear guide – everything you need to get to the finish line of a full distance triathlon
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!)
latest News
The PTO's CEO Sam Renouf
PTO reveal ambitions of matching Roth and Kona as French Riviera T100 triathlon course details unveiled
Sam Long St George 2024 photo credit Getty Images for IRONMAN
‘No No No’ – Sam Long says he felt ROBBED by swim cancellation at ‘69.1 Chattanooga’
IRONMAN World Championship 2024 Nice Age Group Swim Start
IRONMAN to review World Championship slot allocation model after fears raised for Age Group women
Jonny Brownlee / Jonathan Brownlee - Super League Triathlon London 2023
Did the Brownlee brothers nearly join pro cycling’s Team Sky after 2012 Olympic heroics?
Kristian Hogenhaug interviewed after The Championship 2025
Danish triathlon star highlights blistering bike split as key to The Championship success.
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...