IRONMAN Kona records: Detailing the best ever World Championship times on the Big Island

Steeped in history, the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona has long been regarded as one of the toughest days of racing in endurance sports, as the best of the best battle it out on the Big Island of Hawaii for the right to be crowned world champion.

Up against not only some of the fittest competitors in the world, athletes in Kona also battle sweltering heat and humid conditions, with average highs of over 30 degrees celsius in October making the race a true test of attrition.

To shed some light on just how incredible the best in the world are on the biggest stage, listed below are the course records for Kona and the fastest times for each respective discipline.

And of course the list contains some new entries after an incredible 2024 men’s race in which German great Patrick Lange claimed his third title.

IRONMAN Kona course records

For the full course in Kona, the records are held by Germany’s Patrick Lange and British great Lucy-Charles Barclay.

Lange took nearly five minutes off the previous record, set by Gustav Iden in 2022, as he came back from a nine-minute deficit at the start of the run for a famous success. Lange was close to the front after a terrific 47:09 to get his day under way, and he followed it up with a stellar 4:06:22 bike. It is the run where Patrick really excels though, and he blitzed his way through the field in a baking hot marathon to clock a fantastic 2:37:34. When the dust settled Lange took the tape in a mind-boggling time of 7:35:53 – smashing that 7:40:24 mark set by Iden two years ago.

On the women’s side, Charles-Barclay set her record time of 8:24:31 in 2023, lowering the mark of 8:26:16 which had been set by the great Daniela Ryf in 2018. Lucy produced a brilliant performance across all three disciplines, starting by blasting out with her trademark rapid swim – this time a 49:36. The bike was also superb as Charles-Barclay clocked 4:32:29, before she finished off with a 2:57:38 marathon to claim her first pro victory in Kona.

The swim, bike and run record splits

For each discipline at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, there is also a respective course record holder.

In the swim, Aussie Age Grouper Sam Askey-Doran set a new best of 45:43 for the men in 2024. For the women, the aforementioned Charles-Barclay set the record with a time of 48:14 in 2018.

[Photo credit:The IRONMAN Group]

On the bike, Sam Laidlow has the course record in Kona thanks to a spectacular 3:57:22 in 2024. On the women’s side Swiss star Ryf set the all-time bike best in 2018, when she produced a blistering 4:26:07 split.

Finally, on the run, Iden holds the fastest marathon time thanks to a staggering 2:36:15 split en route to victory in 2022. The women’s run course record is now the 2:48:23 set by brilliant German Anne Haug in 2023 – breaking the nine-year-old mark of 2:50:26 set by Mirinda Carfrae back in 2014.

So to recap, these are all the current Kona records – some of which could be under threat on Saturday:

RecordAthleteTimeYearWomen CourseLucy Charles-Barclay (GBR)8:24:312023Women SwimLucy Charles-Barclay (GBR)48:142018Women BikeDaniela Ryf (SUI)4:26:072018Women RunAnne Haug (GER)2:48:232023Men CoursePatrick Lange (GER)7:35:532024Men SwimSam Askey-Doran (AUS)45:432024Men BikeSam Laidlow (FRA)3:57:222024Men RunGustav Iden (NOR)2:36:152022