Brazil’s Manoel Messias has shattered the men’s world record for the fastest marathon in an IRONMAN race – or any full-distance triathlon.
No man had ever previously gone under the two-and-a-half hours mark for the marathon, which follows a 3.8km swim and a 180km bike ride.
Germany’s reigning IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange went closest when he clocked 2:30:27 at Challenge Roth in 2023.
But on Sunday at IRONMAN Brazil, something remarkable happened.
Manoel Messias’ record-breaking splits
For Messias, in what was his debut at the distance, registered an astonishing 2:26:50.
A post on the race’s official Instagram page said: “He raced the distance for the first time – and made history! Manoel Messias ran the fastest marathon in IRONMAN history worldwide, an unbelievable 2:26:50. He broke the record and finished second in his debut. Simply incredible. Congratulations!”
That equates to 3:29 per kilometre over the 42.2km distance and the splits for Manoel looked like this after he crossed the line in Florianapolis on Sunday:
| Split | Time | min/km (as per IRONMAN tracker) |
|---|---|---|
| 3K | 00:10:02 | 03:09 |
| 9K | 00:31:52 | 03:33 |
| 13K | 00:44:55 | 03:24 |
| 19K | 01:06:42 | 03:32 |
| 23K | 01:19:34 | 03:20 |
| 29K | 01:41:38 | 03:35 |
| 33K | 01:54:41 | 03:24 |
| 39K | 02:17:13 | 03:39 |
| Finish | 02:26:50 | 03:29 |
Who is Manoel Messias – and what shoes did he wear?
Most of Messias’ racing has been short course – including the Olympics in Paris last year where he finished 45th.
But this season has now seen him cover the full spectrum distance-wise – he raced ‘Super Sprint’ at WTCS Abu Dhabi in February where he was 14th behind Hayden Wilde, ending it with a 14:26 5km run.
And he was third at IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon when speedsters Tyler Mislawchuk and Jason West both outran him as they filled the top two steps on the podium. And in the build-up to his first IRONMAN he was also 10th behind Sam Long at 70.3 Chattanooga.
The 28-year-old has multiple short course wins to his name since becoming the Junior World Champion in 2015.
The most recent ones include this year’s Americas Triathlon Cup and South Americas Triathlon Championships Santiago and the 2024 World Triathlon Cup Brasilia last November.
A question on everyone’s lips will be which carbon-plated shoes did he wear for his record breaking run? And the answer appears to be Puma’s Fast-R Nitro Elite 3.
But for the record, his 2:26:50 marathon still wasn’t enough to net the race victory at IRONMAN Brazil as he had to settle for second behind Argentina’s Luciano Taccone, with home favourite Pamella Oliveira taking the women’s title.
Messias’ run follows hot on the heels of compatriot Miguel Hidaldo’s historic victory at WTCS Alghero on Saturday, Brazil’s first ever at that level.
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