You may have seen these shorts and wondered as I did, "Will I need them?" So what are they for? The simple answer would be as a training tool that replaces the need for a pull buoy to give the swimmer a more natural alternative to gripping a float device between their legs. The answer to the first question will probably be, maybe. Why? Well, at nearly £50 (£47.50), these represent a slightly bigger financial investment than a standard pull buoy. In fact as a direct replacement for a pull buoy you might question the value of investing in a pair of these shorts. The point of the shorts is to not just replace the float but to allow a natural leg kick and they are for any level of triathlete who wants to work on their open water swimming technique whilst in a pool. It gives a sense of the buoyancy offered by a wetsuit. On reflection the price is not really that high; some good quality swim shorts might be a similar price point and they offer far more in the way of function. I am not sure how your local pool would react to you sporting your wetsuit during a normal swim session - you'd probably cook too - however these shorts will go (almost) unnoticed by fellow swimmers. I have to confess to being terrible at any form of swimming training and the thought of floats and so forth holds little interest, hence my curiosity and interest in these shorts. While the humble pull buoy is still an essential and valid training aid, mine never seems to make it poolside and stays at the bottom of my kit bag. So do they work? Yes, rather well in fact. Despite my initial skepticism they were pretty darn good. They did exactly what I was told they would do, mimicking a wetsuit's floaty feeling. The only initial advantages I can see for the pull buoy would be the low price in comparison (which you can discard as the shorts offer more functionality), and the second would be if you were using the float to completely isolate any leg movement (which of course the shorts don't). I can see a valid purpose for both. For me the shorts offered a far better training tool than the pull buoy... as an item in my kit bag I would actually use regularly! I seldom get out in the open water for wetsuit practice other than at a race and so wetsuit training has been limited! Designed using 3mm neoprene down the centre and 5mm neoprene down the sides. The 3mm provides additional buoyancy whilst the 5mm side panels complement this by promoting hip rotation through each stroke. They also have a rather essential drawstring, it stops water being funnelled through the shorts and the reason why you cannot simply cut up an old wetsuit as someone has suggested. In conclusion the shorts offer you a very good training tool, allowing natural movement and freedom. If you want to find out more click here www.racezone3.com/products/neoprene-buoyancy-shorts.html

Are you racing at the ETU European Middle Distance Champs at Challenge Barcelona this weekend? Here is a challenge for you - beat Martyn Edwards and he'll give you a free entry to a race by F3 Events... The Smackdown Challenge... This weekend sees F3 Events (www.f3events.co.uk) main man Martyn Edwards in action at Challenge Barcelona, the ETU European Middle Distance Triathlon Championships. He has agreed to accept my challenge. Anyone who beats Martyn at Challenge Barcelona in entitled to a FREE entry into one of F3’s events (worth up to £110)… offer valid for 12 months. The event will be streaming live at www.challenge-barcelona.es/es so you can track your athlete's progress as it happens. Best of luck to all competitors. Email alice@f3events.co.uk post-race if you fit the criteria and we will get you sorted! Check out www.f3events.co.uk for our full events listing. Offer only valid if successful challengers: Do not use physical contact to ‘usher’ Martyn off the course! Do not impede his performance by ‘adapting’ his equipment in transition! Offer not valid if: Mechanical issues put an end to his race. A finish time for M EDWARDS renders the offer LIVE.

Nottingham's popular middle distance event sold out in just a few days last September, but entries are available today and tomorrow only (15-16 May) by telephoning the One Step Beyond office between 10am and 4pm. The event starts and finishes at the National Water Sports Centre on 2 June and covers a 1.2mile swim, 56mile bike ride and 13.1mile run. The swim will start in three waves, ensuring that the many novices taking part can enjoy a smoother get away. The bike ride is almost entirely flat, with just one short climb. However, the area can be prone to windy conditions, so the bike section should not be underestimated. The run is UK Athletics certified as an accurate 13.1miles and tracks the River Trent path, goes over the Suspension Bridge and onto the Victoria Embankment before returning to the Water Sports Centre's grand stand finish area. As well as many novices, the event has attracted entries from athletes training for the Outlaw Triathlon on 7 July (2.4mile swim, 112mile bike, 26.2mile run) and some professional triatheltes. Spectators are invited to watch the event free of charge on Sunday 2 June. To add your name to the start list please call 01427 718888 today or tomorrow between 10am and 4pm. To view the Outlaw Half race information visit http://www.onestepbeyond.org.uk/outlaw-half-triathlon.php. Entries for the Outlaw Triathlon are currently closed, but may reopen in a similar fashion to this if places become available. Entries for the Outlaw Half and the Outlaw 2014 are expected to open in September.

The final chance to qualify for the ITU World Aquathlon Championships takes place at the Tri it / Redvenom.co.uk Aquathlon on Saturday 25th May at Hetton, County Durham. At present there are seven or less entries in many of the Age Groups so this represents an excellent chance to qualify at the only remaning qualifier with entries available. Entries and the current start list are available HERE

Could we have a British Ironman win this weekend at Ironman Texas? 2011 ITU Long Distance World Champ and 2012 Challenge Roth winner Rachel Joyce is lining up this weekend, having obviously changed her early season plans which intially had Ironman Brasil has her pre-Roth target when we spoke to her in February. The Texas event based in the Woodlands is a P-2000 status / $75,000 race ($15k for first place) on the Kona Pro Rankings, so a decent pay day for the top finishers this weekend. The 2012 event saw a sub-nine hour finish for Mary Beth-Ellis and was also the breakthrough race for this years Ironman Melbourne winner, Corinne Abraham, who took fourth place. Just outside that mark in 9:01:32 was Caitlin Snow (USA), and while Beth-Ellis isn't listed, the fast running Snow (and 2012 third placer Amy Marsh), is. They would appear to be the the clear picks for the podium spots, though as she showed in South Africa, Jessie Donavan can recover from a very - by Pro standards - slow swim, and still win. With wins also last year at Lake Placid and Mont-Tremblant, she has a knack of getting the result... poor swim or not! We'll go for a Joyce / Snow / Marsh top three though. In the men's race, Daniel Halksworth [UPDATE - Daniel isn't racing now] and Paul Amey are listed alongside Ireland's Robbie Wade. As with the ladies, the highest returning athlete is 2012 second placer Justin Daerr (USA). South Africa's James Cunnama returns to Ironman racing after his disappointing 'home' race in Port Elizabeth, and will be hoping to return to the form and fitness that saw him record 7:59:59 at Challenge Roth last year. I watched Germany's Jan Raphael win Ironman Kalmar last year in a swift 8:04:01, which he backed up with an 8:08:49 for second at Ironman Florida in November. That is a very impressive form line and he will be right in the mix for the $15,000 first prize. Both Halksworth and Amey will look at the start list and not be intinidated...but so will Mathias Hecht (SUI), Chris McDonald (AUS) and several others in what looks as though it could be a very open an interesting race. Picking a podium from the 41 listed starters is a tough ask... ... we'll go for Raphael / Cunnama / Hecht... but believe that both Halksworth and Amey can contend strongly. START LIST 2012 Podium Pos Men Women 1st Jordan Rapp (USA) 8:10:44 Mary Beth Ellis (USA) 8:54:58 2nd Justin Daerr (USA) 8:22:15 Caitlin Snow (USA) 9:01:32 3rd Matthias Hecht (SUI) 8:22:58 Amy Marsh (USA) 9:04:00 4th Jozsef Major (HUN) 8:27:19 Corinne Abraham (GBR) 9:18:39 5th Brandon Marsh (USA) 8:30:18 Charisa Wernick (USA) 9:27:43

With a father known as 'The Man', how will son Drew Scott fair in the professional ranks? Boardman bikes think very well, and have signed him up... Boardman Bikes signs Ironman Nº3 – Drew Scott Boardman Bikes - the world-class, award-winning British bicycle brand is proud to announce the signing of Drew Scott, son of legend and six-time World Ironman champ Dave Scott. Drew joins the outstanding Boardman Elite triathlon sponsorship program - which won men's Olympic Gold and Bronze medals and the Ironman & ITU World titles in 2012. “Drew is an awesome talent and has been on my radar for quite sometime. His father is a complete living legend and a total inspiration for the sport and a personal hero of mine. And his mother, Anna Scott-Kube is equally inspiring - swimming for the US national team between 87-88. It's just fantastic to see Drew's pedigree and talent also being recognized with his ‘breakthrough season' seeing him win amateur triathlete of the year.  (USA Triathlon 2012 - Triathlete of the Year) From a Boardman brand's perspective supporting an emerging new talent is just so exciting. And as we have seen and done with Pete Jacobs and the Brownlee Brothers we are here to support him and help him win. A real bright star with a phenomenal future…” enthuses Alan Ingarfield, Co-Founder Boardman Bikes. Drew will be riding the Kona winning AiR/TT/9.8 and the flagship of the Tri/TT range designed by British cycling legend Chris Boardman. “Working with Drew and all our elite athletes always proves to be an inspiring, informative and valuable process and allows us to address the specific tri-focused challenges in our pursuit to perfect pure performance with the latest technology, engineering and R&D programs - all of which are Designed to Win.” states Chris Boardman, R&D Director and Co-Founder. “I'm very excited to be partnering with Boardman Bikes and fortunate to have the opportunity to work with them as I begin my professional triathlon career. The work and dedication that has been put into the development of their bikes, led by Chris Boardman, is extremely impressive. To be able to learn from someone like Chris as I continue to progress in the sport will be fantastic. I can't wait to be racing aboard the AiR TT/9.8” adds Drew. Drew will be focusing on a race schedule that builds to the 70.3 World Championships in September. Drew will be joining fellow US race focused Boardman riding triathletes including Kyle Leto (USA), Jimmy Archer (USA), Josh Rix (Aus), James Hadley (UK) and Richard Allen (UK). More information is available at www.boardmanbikes.com facebook.com/BoardmanBikes.1st twitter.com/Boardman_Bikes

The growth in the sport and the impact of the London 2012 Olympics will attract more novices to our sport than ever before in 2013. With the help of Virgin Active and the team at the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research Blenheim Palace Triathlon and Virgin Active London Triathlon's, we are going to follow the progress of just one of the thousands of 'newbies' that will be taking the first steps into swim / bike / run this summer. Meet Rodger Bowen, who will be tracking his progress with us from the perspective of the 'newbie'! And So It Begins... It's been a while since the London 2012 Olympics wrapped up and passed the baton on to Rio. Like millions of my fellow Brits I was captivated by the coverage and inspired to get out there and realise some athletic potential! I got back into swimming and soon thereafter started swim training with my local triathlon group. It wasn't long before the gateway drug that is swimming lead to harder and equally addictive running. Things quickly went downhill when one Monday afternoon I emerged from a bike shop significantly poorer than I care to reveal to my family, close friends or administrative receiver. So 2013 is my very first year in triathlon. I am to plunge head first into the world of TT's, PB's, A&E and Weil's Disease. This post marks the beginning; this is Pheidippides doing his stretches just before he sets off on the road to Athens but hopefully without me getting pronounced DOA at the finish! I'm signed up to Blenheim and London and it's fair to assume I've got a difficult few weeks ahead. Fortunately the good folks at Virgin Active and Tri247 are going to help me with my training along the way and turn me into a full-blown triathlete! Over the next few weeks I'm going to be reporting on different aspects of my training regime and progress. I'm hoping to answer some of the burning questions that befuddle the absolute beginners in this sport. I want to cover everything from technique and nutrition to aero bars and wet suits. Be reassured that this is going to be a comprehensive low-down on everything I can think would matter to us newbies; no matter is too small! Watch this space Rodge General entries to the Virgin Active London Triathlon are now closed...howver, thanks to Tri247, you CAN still enter! Click below for details on the exclusive Tri247 Mixed Olympic Distance Wave on Saturday 27th July.

Are you planning your 2014 season already? If you are - and the Toshiba Windsor Triathlon is part of your plans - then you can secure your place for next year if you enter two Human Race triathlon events at Dorney Lake this year. Here are the details... Enter two Human Race 2013 triathlons at Dorney Lake before 1st July and be offered a priority entry period for the prestigious 2014 Windsor Triathlon Human Race, the UK's largest mass participation sports events company and organisers of the sold-out 2013 Toshiba Windsor Triathlon, are offering triathletes the opportunity to be included in a priority booking window for the 2014 event and effectively guarantee their place. With increasing numbers of people entering more than one triathlon each year, this will offer those taking the sport more seriously a reward of a priority window into the seven times BTF ‘Event of the year'. To be eligible for the priority booking period participants will need to have entered two Human Race triathlon events, which take place at Dorney Lake, before the 1st of July. The offer will include 2013 events that have already been participated in, as well as future 2013 events, providing  the participant has signed up for both events before the 1st of July deadline. Human Race are organising 11 triathlons at Dorney Lake this year including the new Wiggle Tri Challenge on Sunday 26th May, with a range of distances for triathletes of all abilities and an early season Olympic Distance race, and a number of September triathlons including the Diamond Triathlon on the 8th, supported by Olympic Legend Daley Thompson. The event attracts a mix of both elite and amateur triathletes and this year the event will also double up as the Elite National Triathlon Championships. Seen on television for the last six years, the race is expected to be back on TV screens again this year and several thousand spectators will pack the streets to watch the race on the summer's morning. A handful of relay places are still available for the 2013 Toshiba Windsor Triathlon, which takes places on 16th June. Below is the list of events that will count towards eligibility, for the priority booking window, for the 2014 Windsor Triathlon. GARMIN ETON SUPERSPRINT SATURDAY - 18TH MAY 2013 (Entries Closed) GARMIN ETON SUPERSPRINT SUNDAY - 19TH MAY 2013 (Entries Closed) DORNEY SUPERSPRINT - 25TH MAY 2013 WIGGLE TRI CHALLENGE - 26TH MAY 2013 BRITISH TRIATHLON YOUTH & JUNIOR SUPER SERIES TRI - 26TH MAY 2013 MAA MARKETING INDUSTRY TRIATHLON - 5TH JULY 2013 STEELMAN TRIATHLON - 6TH JULY 2013 SUPERTRI CHILDREN'S, YOUTH & JUNIOR TRIATHLON - 7TH JULY 2013 LIDL BANANAMAN TRIATHLON - 13TH JULY 2013 SHOCK ABSORBER WOMENONLY TRIATHLON - 14TH JULY 2013 DIAMOND TRI - 8TH SEPTEMBER 2013 HSBC TRIATHLON - 15TH SEPTEMBER 2013 For more information on the events and terms and conditions visit www.humanrace.co.uk/triathlon

In March this year we announced that there would be three new additions to Team Freespeed Virgin Active (www.teamfreespeed.com) for 2013, as Catherine Faux, Charlie Pennington and Dion Harrison joined the existing eight members which includes winners of the past two '220 Male Age Group Athlete of the Year' awards, Matt Molloy and Sam Baxter. That announcement included a teaser that their twelth member could be YOU. Well, here is the news on how to apply... Team Freespeed Virgin Active search for Number 12In the last three years, Team Freespeed Virgin Active has grown to be the highest performing and most aspirational amateur team racing in the UK and is set to expand further for the 2013 season. The recent additions of Charlie Pennington, Dion Harrison and Catherine Faux to the existing eight members – Stuart Anderson, Tim Bishop, Jenny Gowans, Declan Doyle, Sam Baxter, Matt Molloy, Alison Rowatt and Richard Hobson – leaves the team with one more place to fill that the team are opening up exclusively to a Virgin Active member. Richard Melik, Team Manager of Team Freespeed Virgin Active, explains: “We are very proud of our association with headline sponsor Virgin Active and have decided that the twelfth member of the team should be one of their 500,000 plus club members. We are not necessarily looking for high performance – simply someone who has the ability to inspire and to train and race with a smile on their face.” The chosen person will receive and enjoy the benefits* of an existing team member including: A Virgin Active Classic membership providing access to all Virgin Active Health Clubs in the UK Full Team Freespeed Virgin Active training and race kit Entry to the Virgin Active London Triathlon 2013 A Sailfish G-Range wetsuit worth £575 A selection of Compressport compression clothing A season's supply of Clif Bar nutrition A personal hydration test and supply of product by H2Pro A choice of a Speedfil hydration system A selection of Lezyne products Additional support from theTrilife.com and California Raisins Nick Stocker, Sponsorship Manager at Virgin Active Health Clubs commented; “Triathlon is such a key part of our offering at Virgin Active; no matter what your level of ability. As an amateur team, Team Freespeed Virgin Active are living proof that it is possible to successfully balance training with a job and family commitments. This competition takes that principle a step further, providing one lucky member with the ultimate Triathlon prize.” To enter visit: www.virginactive.co.uk/campaigns/team-freespeed Do not contact Team Freespeed or Virgin Active direct with race CVs - only applications through the official competition page will be considered *See terms and conditions for details For further press information please contact richard@freespeed.co.uk / virginactive@beigelondon.com @TeamFreespeed / @VirginActiveUK www.teamfreespeed.com / www.virginactive.co.uk

Did you miss out on a place in the 2013 Virgin Active London Triathlon ballot? We are delighted to announce that an exclusive Mixed Olympic Distance Tri247 sponsored wave is now open for entries. The wave, which is offered in celebration of a five year partnership between The Virgin Active London Triathlon and Tri247, gives triathletes a unique opportunity to enter the world’s biggest and most iconic triathlon. CLICK HERE TO ENTER NOW Triathletes will be pleased to hear that the wave will be taking place on the ever popular Saturday, a first for a Mixed Olympic Distance wave. Race date: Saturday 27th July 2013. With general entries to the 2013 Virgin Active London Triathlon now closed, these places are expected to go very fast - so enter now to secure your place. See you there!

Craig Twigg is set to take on the Outlaw Half on 2nd June, and is targeting a win. The 41 year old local athlete from Sileby in Leicestershire races represents the Racetime/USN Race Team and compets professionally in long distance events all around the world. One Step Beyond, organisers of the Outlaw Half, are looking forward to seeing what he can do in his own back yard. We caught up with him to see how the Outlaw Half fits into his season plans: What attracted you to do the Outlaw Half? "I actually wanted to do the full Outlaw but can't because of a family wedding. I'm doing Ironman Austria at the end of June and the Outlaw Half just fitted in perfectly, plus it's very local for me being just up the road. I've been around the bike course as well and it's a good course and one that will suit me." You've had a few tough races so far this season, what are you plans for the rest of the year? "Yeah a tough start, and certainly not what I was planning, but the season is still early and I have plenty of time to turn it around. For the rest of the year I've got a few TT's planned then the Outlaw Half. The following week I'm doing the Beaver at Belvoir Castle, another fairly local event for me. Then a few more TT's then onto Ironman Austria at the end of June. After that I'm signed up to do the Vachery Triathlon in July. After that I'm not sure yet, I'll see how Austria pans out and how well I recover after." What's a typical training week for you? "Well that's a pretty difficult question to answer! No two weeks are the really the same. I don't necessarily do a great amount of training but I do work hard with the training I do. Every session is a specific session with a specific goal to it, even recovery sessions! I've learnt over the years that recovery is a massive part to the overall training process and sometimes learnt the hard way! "I don't total up the hours I do so couldn't tell you that, I think a lot of athletes so caught up in how many hours they do rather than what they're actually doing with the hours! I just hit my session, achieve the goal for the session, complete it, assess and review it, recover, then onto the next session. Constantly looking and moving forward." What's your main strength in triathlon? "I guess the bike, but I've been working hard on my running and will run well this year. I'm trying to be good all round. It's no good having one of the fastest bike splits if you end up running slow. It's a triathlon not a bike race!" (© crankphoto) How did you get into tri – did you do any other sports before that? "I got into tri when I met a guy called Terry Vaughn from Leicester. I was a swimmer and a runner as a kid and gave up for a few years. I then started swimming again to try and get fitter and met Terry at the pool where we swam. He encouraged me to have a go and started coaching me. I started doing pretty well and it went from there. That was back in the early 90's. As well as that I did all the usual school boy stuff, football, rugby etc, but was crap at all that!" How do you approach a middle distance tri in terms of your pacing and nutrition? "Well nothing goes on in terms of pacing, I just go hard, simple! Although I have now got a power meter so things might change a bit there. As far as nutrition goes, when I do a half I use it as an opportunity to practice my Ironman nutrition. I use USN products to get my calories in. I make sure I'm taking on enough salt too. I'm also careful not to drink too much and use thirst as a signal to drink! The amount of calories, salt and fluid will change depending on the conditions. I will have a plan but that can change on the fly!" What bike do you ride, and what would be your dream upgrades to it? "I'm lucky enough to have a great bike sponsor in Holdsworth Bikes. They've given me two great bikes, a Holdsworth Firenze road bike and a prototype Holdsworth Triathlon TT/Tri bike! I've just had a power meter as an upgrade so other than that I guess a bit of electronic shifting would be nice to try! Would love to get a wheel sponsor as well. Apart from that I can't fault the bikes, they are both great rides and really enjoy taking them out training and racing." You do a bit of coaching with Team Dillon, so how would you recommend novices and less experienced triatheltes approach the Outlaw Half? "The short and simplest answer is to enjoy it! Loads of athletes both novice and experienced get far too nervous and anxious about racing but there's just no need to! We do this sport because we enjoy it, the training is the hard part and the race is the cherry on top. I know we all have expectations of ourselves and want to achieve what we've set out to do, but at the end of the day its only sport and we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves! "There are a lot of people who take themselves far too seriously and forget what it's all about. Just go out there with a big smile (grimace!) on your face and have a great day! Hopefully we'll have some nice weather and all our friends and family will be out there cheering us along." What's your goal at the Outlaw half? "Well I'm going to completely contradict myself now...... I'm going out there to win!" What is your ultimate goal in triathlon? "I'm kind of searching for my perfect performance. The race where I'm completely healthy, no injuries etc, I have no mechanicals on the bike and everything falls into place. I want to cross that line knowing that I've squeezed everything thing out of my body and I've performed to the best of my ability in all three disciplines. I just want to be the best that I can be. And I haven't even come close yet!" Craig would like to thank his supporters and wife, Marija. He is sponsored by Racetime events, USN Nutrition, Dent-Technique, Zone3, Aqua Spehere, Eaststep Stairlifts, Holdsworth Bikes, Sketchers, Compress yourself, Sunwise, Ashmei, Speedhub, Bonk, Greeper Laces, Powerbreathe, 1bandID, Magicshine and Allsports Massage.

Premier off-road triathlon event to be screened on Channel 4, Eurosport and Sky Sports The XTERRA England Championship triathlon, held in Cranleigh, Surrey on the 7th-8th September has today announced that it will be televised across Channel 4, Sky Sports and Eurosport. The one-hour highlights package will incorporate the entire weekend of off-road fun, including the XTERRA England Championship race, Try-a-Tri X-triathlon, six-hour endurance mountain bike race and the open water lake swim races. XTERRA England triathlon is a fantastic multisport event in the heart of England. Set in the stunning grounds of the Vachery Estate, Surrey (in an ‘Area of Outstanding Beauty’) age-groupers and elite triathletes will compete over the 1.5km spring-fed lake swim, before taking on the 30km mountain bike course through the un-touched Vachery Estate, before hitting the trail runs in the surrounding private woodlands. There will be great drama on the day as the elite racers battle for the XTERRA England title (the European series finale), whilst the countries best amateurs will be racing for world championship qualification at the subsequent XTERRA World Championships in Maui, Hawaii on October 27th 2013. So far, confirmed to race are former world-champion Nico Lebrun, the 2-time Asia-Pacific Triple Crown Champion Ben Allen, local-resident and the most successful XTERRA Champion in British history in Sam Gardner and also international athlete Jacqui Slack. Behind the fast-racers are hundreds of amateur triathletes of all shapes and sizes having great fun on the challenging XTERRA course. Race Director, Mark Davis said: We are really excited that Channel 4 will be filming XTERRA England and our festival of off-road fun. It demonstrates the prestige of the event and it is the biggest off-road triathlon event in this country. Pro-triathlete and favourite for the win, Australia’s Ben Allen said of the race weekend: The variety that XTERRA offers is amazing. You get a beautiful swim, an ever changing environment and turns and obstacles are great. The pristine, untouched run is very unique to XTERRA. My top tip for someone is to come in to XTERRA England with an open mind, looking forward to the challenge and enjoy the challenge and the atmosphere and cool vibe. The XTERRA England weekend festival will be filmed by Dream Team Television on behalf of Channel 4. The 1-hour highlights programme will be screened soon after on the Sunday morning and the following Tuesday. There will be regular repeats on associated channel’s including 4+1, 4oD and 4Music. The programme will also be repeated throughout the year on the Sky Sports network and also Eurosport – up to 40 times throughout the year. The event will be seen by millions of sports fans and will introduce XTERRA England to a wide audience. Find out more about XTERRA England and sign up to this race weekend at the event website: www.xterra-england.co.uk View a course guide filmed by pro-triathlete and course designer Sam Gardner here: XTERRA England are seeking companies and organisations who would like to partner with the event and reach a world-wide audience. Sponsorship of the XTERRA England Championship Festival will deliver your brand leverage over a number of months and an indelible brand experience to deservedly proud finishers and a captive live and TV audience. The XTERRA England website is packed with this year’s race information www.xterra-england.co.uk Contact: Mark Davis, Telephone: 07932 662792, Mail: markdavis@braveevents.co.uk

The 'Gentle Giant' Ain-Alar Juhanson of Estonia was one of the fastest cyclists in the sport of triathlon - as well as the biggest professional triathlete on the circuit! Ain-Alar finished 13th in Kona in 2008 where he recorded the fastest bike split of the day, a scorching 4:26:15, and we spoke to Ain-Alar at the TCR Show the following February. Fast forward fourward four years and once again we sat down with Ain-Alar at the Triathlon Show in March, where Simon Ward talked about his new career as a race director, his big event of the season being the Tartu Mill Triathlon (www.tartutriatlon.ee) which his is organising on the weekend of 20th-21st July. If you are looking for a stunning evnue for an overseas trip this summer and long distance isn't your thing, Estonia would be a superb choice. While no longer a professional triathlete, Ain-Alar will be racing as an Age Grouper at Ironman Lanzarote this weekend - an event he has won twice before - hoping to make it to Kona... because his wife wants a proper honeymoon! Find our more about Ain-Alar, his new career and much more in this video.

Hercules Events (www.herculesevents.com) are offering TRI247 readers a fantastic prize of free places at their Standard, Sprint or Novice event in Welwyn Garden City on 26 May 2013. The event won rave reviews last year and is drawing competitors from around the country, including a Government Minister! To enter the competition they go to their "contact us" via their website - www.herculesevents.com/contact-us - answer the following question, and let them know if you would like to win a place in the Standard, Sprint or Novice event. And the question is... How many times has Chrissie Wellington won the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii? *** CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES IS WEDNESDAY 22ND MAY 2013 *** www.herculesevents.com (Entants must be over 18, there are no cash alternatives to the prizes offered, and the judge's decision is final).

If you're sitting in a comfy chair at the office and reading this on Friday then you are probably in the wrong profession! Why? Well, because if you were in the property business you could be down at Dorney Lake for the Jones Lang La Salle Property Triathlon with near-on 2,000 of your colleagues. It's always a big start to Human Race's extended residency at the venue which will continue with the Eton SuperSprints tomorrow and Sunday. One slight tweak to the normal operation is that the whole event will be based at the far end of the lake (where the mid-week events are held) as the newly-laid turf isn't yet ready for that much footfall. But we are getting ahead of ourselves here - there's a packed international programme to talk about first. The ITU have a Triathlon World Cup race at Huatulco in Mexico but there seem to be no British (or Irish) athletes listed for that one. There's an ITU Paratriathlon event at Besançon in France where Chris Frost (TRI-4) and Adrian Heathfield (TRI-5) are set to compete. The main event of the weekend for many is the ETU's European Middle Distance Championship which is incorporated into the half-distance Challenge Barcelona. The elite listings show Ritchie Nicholls, Joe Skipper, Mark Threlfall and Chris Goodfellow plus Holly Lawrence and Eleanor Haresign with Eimear Mullan (IRL) up for some pretty serious competition. The headline act - in a marketing sense at least - is the (Javier) Gomez versus (Chris) McCormack head-to-head. New distance or not, we can't predict anything other than a Gomez victory as he really is that good, and if he needs any help then he has home support on his side. The revised bike course looks epic (see below), which should help the 'cyclists' like Massimo Cigana (ITA), and the Danish pairing of Jen Toft and Martin Jensen. Unfortunately no Joerie Vansteelant due to injury. Men's top three? We'll go with Gomez, Toft and McCormack - with Joe Skipper to be first Brit male... Denmark's Camilla Pedersen looks to be the favourite for the ladies title. A recent winner of the Volcano Triathlon in Lanzarote, she had a great 2012 season which included winning the Challenge Barcelona event - on the old course - last year. Germany's Ricarda Lisk will be one to watch in her first race at the distance, a regular in the ITU World Series usually, will Spain's Eva Ledesma is usually strong on home soil. We think that Ireland's Eimear Mullan will have been happier than anyone when the revised and tough (over 1000m of climbing) course was announed though. She has moved up a level with full time training this winter, made significant progress on her weak(er) swim and, looking at the start list, has no reason to fear anyone or be intimidated. A definite podium contender. Having passed up the opportunity of racing 70.3 Mallorca last weekend, she'll be fully focussed on this race. Prediction? Ok... Pedersen, Mullan, Ledesma. The race will be streamed live on the internet. The long distance calendar is dominated by Ironman Lanzarote and Ironman Texas with support from Ironman 70.3 Florida. Lanzarote has a decent pro field with Stephen and Bella Bayliss, Phil Graves, Martin Cain and Joyce Wolfe (IRL) for domestic interest. Tucked in there (sorry...) and doubtless racing in his trademark 'budgie smuggglers' is Faris Al-Sultan but were I to risk a prediction the presence of Bert Jammaer might be enough to tip it - purely because I watched him win there in 2008 and 2009. Plus there will be the usual army of GB age groupers tackling the legendary wind, hills, wind, heat and, did I mention it?, the wind. The Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas pro list includes Paul Amey, Robert Wade (IRL) and Rachel Joyce (sees separate preview piece HERE), while the Florida 70.3 has no currently published list that includes any pros that we've found at least. Racing on Saturday has a definitely Irish spin to it with both the Irish Middle Distance Championships and the Galway Triathlon: Spiddall Sprint popping into the listings but Sunday concentrates on England, Wales and Scotland with events of all formats for all ages. For those with a taste for longer distance there's the Bedford Priory Middle Distance and the Marazion Middle Distance - both of these also have shorter versions as well. Standard distance racing is also starting to get in on the action with races at Bradford on Avon, Chichester, Primera New Forest, Roadford Lake, the Selkirk Standard and the Snowdonia Slateman all featuring on Sunday. There are some classic shorter races on the list as well and here's a few that stand out from the crowd on the basis or personal experience or reputation: The Crystal Palace Triathlon in South London, the Francis Clark Taunton Triathlon, the first of the Hillingdon Triathlon series with its unusual swim/run/bike format, the Leicester Flashman, the first of the Nicetri St Neots races, the Salisbury Fast Twitch and the St Annes Triathlon. The second of the aquathlon qualifiers for Hyde Park in September will be the Crosby Lakeside Aquathlon organised by Mersey Tri while pure swimmers get a choice of three distances at the Hackney Splash. FULL WEEKEND RACE LISTINGS

There was double British success at Ironman Texas on Saturday, as British Ironman record holder Paul Amey, who turns 40 this year, won his first Ironman race while Rachel Joyce won her second (and third over the distance), to add to previous victories at Ironman Lanzarote 2011 and Challenge Roth 2012. In the process Joyce record a swift 8:49:14 - good enough for eighth overall - her third time under the nine-hour barrier, making her the eighth female to achieve that feat. The Joyce win came in some style too and what was a very hot day too. Fastest swim, in the company of Amy Marsh started the day and to that she added a 4:42:29 bike split, a exceptional ride if you consider that men's winner Amey rode 4:29:07. Amy Marsh tried gamely to go with Joyce and she too put together an impressive 4:48:56 to give up just over six minutes. The results of those efforts was very different however, as Joyce ran strongly (3:07:27) while Marsh took almost exactly an hour longer, which resulted in her dropping to fifth in the process as the Joyce lead mushroomed to over 35 minutes and a new course record. The next big target for Rachel is to defend her Challenge Roth title where she will face Caroline Steffen, Ironman World Champion Leanda Cave and a very impressive female Pro start list. With over 20 years in the sport, Amey has twice made the Ironman podium with second places at Ironman France (2012) and his British record setting Ironman Arizona performance in 2011- but he can now call himself an Ironman Champion. Congratulations Paul. It was a strong effort too, as a 54:54 swim to start the day wasn't his finest effort, leaving him over five minutes in arrears on the early leaders and well back on Challenge Roth winner James Cunnama (50:17 - very impressive James!) and our pre-race pick Jan Raphael (GER). He pulled himself pack into contention with the 4:29:07 bike split before sealing the deal with a 2:56:18 run. That was the only 'sub-three' of the race which shows something about the tough conditions, but it was needed as he still had to run his way through to the lead after reaching T2 three minutes back, with the fast running Cunnama ahead. A hard earned win from Amey, and a performance from Rachel Joyce which will - or certainly should - have her competitors thinking very hard about her chances of victory in Kona this year. Ironman Texas, Saturday 18th May 2013 Pos Men Women 1st Paul Amey (GBR) 8:25:06 Rachel Joyce (GBR) 8:49:14 2nd James Cunnama (RSA) 8:27:35 Jennie Hansen (USA) 9:25:35 3rd Ian Mikelson (USA) 8:30:06 Kimberley Schwabenbauer (USA) 9:33:01 4th Justin Daerr (USA) 8:30:35 Ashley Clifford (USA) 9:36:51 th Swen Sundberg (GER) 8:37:30 Christine Anderson (USA) 9:44:51

[Updated following Ironman Texas 2013 (Rachel Joyce)] It was - and will continue to be - widely written and reported that Chrissie Wellington "re-wrote the record books" at Challenge Roth in 2010, recording a breathtaking time of 8:19:13 for ironman distance. A year later, she did it again! Well, here is one of those "record books", and it has been re-written - again. The Ironman World Championships 2011 was the first time that two ladies have finished under nine hours in the same Kona race - and now means that Chrissie Wellington, Mirinda Carfrae and Paula Newby Fraser have two 8:XX Kona clocking's each of the six instances it has ever been achieved on the big island. Ironman Austria 2011 saw an all-time World Record from Marino Vanhoenacker in the men's race, which slightly overshadowed a fantastic win in the ladies race from Mary Beth-Ellis. Her 8:43:35 replaced the 2009 8:48:11 of Catriona Morrison (Challenge Roth) as the fastest debut iron-distance time ever and is currently ranked as the eighth fastest iron-distance time ever. She was followed home by Erika Csomor, Diana Riesler and Heleen Bij de Vaate who all broke the nine hour mark. Thus, Austria 2011 was only the third time ever (after Roth 2008 and 2009), that four ladies have recorded sub-nine hour times in one event. You can now make that four - as Joyce, Tajsich, Gajer and Crawford all broke nine hours at Roth 2012, while Erika joins a select group of eight ladies that have recorded three or more sub-nine times. In total, 32 ladies have now finished an iron-distance triathlon with an 8:XX:XX clocking, and we now have 68 sub-9 female finishes recorded. Number of sub-nine hour ladies iron-distance finishes? Sport and numbers seem to be a perfect marriage. Whatever your sport, or whatever your ability, sooner or later you'll invariably be creating targets based on time. Whether that's making the 17-hour Ironman cut-off, running a sub-three hour marathon or beating 25 minutes in your club '10', everyone likes to break a barrier and set a personal best. And, following the excitement from Quelle Challenge Roth (2009), and the fantastic world best figures of Chrissie Wellington, I thought it was a great opportunity to look, in depth, at ladies iron-distance performances. Recording a 'sub-nine' (hours) time for ladies, is a natural goal for many of the elite athletes in our sport, (just as going 'sub-eight' is for men), but, how often has it been done? I didn't know. I researched extensively, and as far as I could see, nobody else knew either. I even found websites dedicated to this very subject - and realised I knew more than them anyway! And so, it started... many hours of head-scratching, web surfing and historic magazine research - too many hours! - and I realised, not quickly enough, that I'd embarked on an "I'd started, so I had to finish mission". This definitely comes with a 'don't try this at home' warning. But I digress. What follows is a result of that mission. Should you think I've missed any, please send me the details (editor@tri247.com), as my aim is to create the definitive list of sub-nine hour female iron distance finishes. The only downside of all of this work? I then had to do the same task for the sub-eight hour men! Sub-Nine Hour Female Iron Distance Finishes   M-Dot Name Country Location Year Swim T1 Bike T2 Run Total 1   Chrissie Wellington GBR Roth 2011 00:49:49 00:01:56 04:40:39 00:01:17 02:44:35 08:18:13 2   Chrissie Wellington GBR Roth 2010 00:50:28 00:01:56 04:36:33 00:01:25 02:48:54 08:19:13 3   Chrissie Wellington GBR Roth 2009 00:50:28 00:02:10 04:40:28 00:01:23 02:57:32 08:31:59 4 * Chrissie Wellington GBR South Africa 2011 00:51:40 00:01:56 04:45:23 00:02:03 02:52:54 08:33:56 5 * Caroline Steffen SUI Melbourne 2012 00:53:29 00:02:25 04:35:29 00:02:06 03:01:22 08:34:51 6 * Chrissie Wellington GBR Arizona 2010 00:51:56 00:02:48 04:47:06 00:01:28 02:52:55 08:36:13 7   Rebekah Keat AUS Roth 2009 00:50:21 00:02:16 04:50:10 00:01:11 02:55:28 08:39:24 8 * Mary Beth Ellis USA Klagenfurt 2011 00:48:07 00:03:09 04:48:09 00:02:38 03:01:28 08:43:35 9   Rachel Joyce GBR Roth 2012 00:47:37 00:01:39 04:54:07 00:01:20 02:59:53 08:45:04 10   Yvonne van Vlerken NED Roth 2008 00:53:47 00:02:07 04:54:11 00:01:22 02:54:22 08:45:48 11 * Rachel Joyce GBR Melbourne 2012 00:52:34 00:01:59 04:44:57 00:01:37 03:05:02 08:46:09 12   Erica Csomor HUN Roth 2008 00:53:37 00:02:09 04:54:10 00:01:17 02:55:54 08:47:05 13 * Sandra Wallenhorst GER Klagenfurt 2008 00:57:19 00:02:13 04:50:43 00:02:24 02:54:49 08:47:26 14   Catriona Morrison GBR Roth 2009 00:51:46 00:02:09 04:48:55 00:01:25 03:03:57 08:48:11 15 * Leanda Cave GBR Arizona 2011 00:52:08 00:04:50 04:51:07 00:02:05 02:58:52 08:49:00 16 * Rachel Joyce GBR Texas 2013 00:54:02 00:02:21 04:42:29 00:02:55 03:07:27 08:49:14 17   Sonja Tajsich GER Roth 2012 00:55:50 00:01:38 04:55:14 00:01:24 02:55:43 08:49:47 18 * Bella Bayliss GBR Klagenfurt 2009 00:54:04 00:03:31 04:49:41 00:02:35 03:00:20 08:50:13 19 * Paula Newby Fraser USA Roth 1994 00:50:55   04:49:48   03:10:10 08:50:53 20 * Erica Csomor HUN Klagenfurt 2011 00:52:06 00:03:00 04:53:59 00:02:11 02:59:53 08:51:11 21 * Bella Bayliss GBR Klagenfurt 2008 00:53:11 00:02:42 04:48:12 00:02:21 03:04:49 08:51:17 22 * Lori Bowden CAN Klagenfurt 2002 00:55:46 00:02:19 04:50:58 00:02:22 02:59:55 08:51:22 23 * Chrissie Wellington GBR Frankfurt 2008 00:48:34 00:02:45 04:57:17 00:01:04 03:01:44 08:51:24 24 * Yvonne van Vlerken NED Florida 2012 01:01:26 00:02:52 04:40:20 00:02:12 03:04:45 08:51:35 25   Yvonne van Vlerken NED Roth 2007 00:57:55 00:01:56 04:51:48 00:01:19 02:58:55 08:51:55 26   Rebekah Keat AUS Roth 2010 00:52:14 00:01:50 04:56:44 00:01:19 03:00:06 08:52:10 27 * Caroline Steffen SUI Frankfurt 2012 00:48:58 00:02:54 04:52:34 00:01:15 03:06:52 08:52:33 28   Rebekah Keat AUS Copenhagen 2011 00:49:33 00:02:15 04:54:41 00:01:13 03:05:02 08:52:42 29 * Diana Riesler GER Klagenfurt 2011 00:58:20 00:03:33 04:43:50 00:02:09 03:05:41 08:53:35 30 * Kate Allen AUT Klagenfurt 2003 00:49:14 00:01:51 05:03:28 00:02:14 02:57:12 08:54:01 31 * Chrissie Wellington GBR Hawaii 2009 00:54:31 00:02:15 04:52:06 00:02:05 03:03:05 08:54:02 32 * Linsey Corbin USA Arizona 2011 00:57:00 00:03:23 04:50:11 00:01:34 03:02:28 08:54:33 33   Rebekah Keat AUS Copenhagen 2010 00:50:21 00:02:05 04:48:04 00:00:59 03:13:09 08:54:36 34 * Mary Beth Ellis USA Texas 2012 00:53:32 00:02:03 04:45:52 00:02:22 03:11:09 08:54:58 35 * Paula Newby Fraser USA Roth 1992 00:50:49   04:50:09   03:14:02 08:55:00 36= * Lori Bowden CAN Forster-Tuncurry 2000 00:56:42   04:51:40   03:06:46 08:55:08 36= * Chrissie Wellington GBR Hawaii 2011 01:01:03 00:02:05 04:56:53 00:02:26 02:52:41 08:55:08 38 * Jessica Jacobs USA Florida 2011 01:02:03 00:03:08 04:53:42 00:02:51 02:53:26 08:55:10 39 * Paula Newby Fraser USA Hawaii 1992 00:53:30   04:56:34   03:05:24 08:55:28 40 * Thea Sybesma NED Roth 1991 00:55:01   04:46:22   03:14:06 08:55:29 41   Ines Estedt GER Detern/Jumme 1995 00:50:32   05:03:47   03:01:46 08:56:05 42 * Heleen Bij de vaate NED Klagenfurt 2011 00:58:54 00:03:16 04:52:16 00:02:03 02:59:40 08:56:12 43=   Irma Heeren NED Almere 1999 01:00:48   04:59:47   02:55:48 08:56:23 43=   Julia Wagner GER Roth 2011 00:51:28 00:01:45 04:54:27 00:01:20 03:07:25 08:56:23 45   Katinka Wiltenburg NED Almere 1996 00:55:29   05:00:39   03:00:49 08:56:57 46   Julia Gajer GER Roth 2012 00:50:14 00:01:33 05:02:11 00:01:10 03:01:55 08:57:02 47 * Chrissie Wellington GBR Port Macquarie 2009 00:50:48 00:02:01 05:03:01 00:02:05 02:59:15 08:57:10 48   Gina Ferguson NZL Roth 2008 00:48:52 00:02:23 05:01:42 00:01:14 03:03:08 08:57:18 49 * Thea Sybesma NED Roth 1992 00:53:56   04:47:01   03:16:40 08:57:37 50 * Catriona Morrison GBR Texas 2011 - - 05:51:15 00:02:22 03:04:14 08:57:51 51   Yvonne van Vlerken NED Almere 2007 00:58:30 00:02:10 04:45:49 00:02:17 03:09:11 08:57:54 52 * Mirinda Carfrae AUS Hawaii 2011 00:57:17 00:01:54 05:04:16 00:02:21 02:52:09 08:57:57 53 * Sandra Wallenhorst GER Frankfurt 2009 00:54:22 00:03:15 04:54:02 00:00:56 03:05:33 08:58:08 54   Belinda Granger AUS Roth 2008 00:48:49 00:02:01 04:50:24 00:01:45 03:15:10 08:58:08 55 * Paula Newby Fraser USA Hawaii 1993 00:53:29   04:48:30   03:16:24 08:58:23 56 * Kate Allen AUT Klagenfurt 2002 00:51:11 00:02:43 04:55:12 00:02:40 03:06:38 08:58:24 57   Joanna Lawn NZL Roth 2007 00:51:46 00:01:58 04:52:48 00:01:12 03:10:40 08:58:25 58 * Mirinda Carfrae AUS Hawaii 2010 00:55:53 00:01:56 05:04:59 00:02:18 02:53:32 08:58:36 59 * Nina Kraft GER Frankfurt 2004 00:48:35 00:02:26 05:05:11 00:01:30 03:00:53 08:58:37 60   Lucy Gossage GBR Barcelona 2012 00:57:30 00:01:49 04:55:47 00:00:40 03:02:57 08:58:43 61   Rebekah Keat AUS Roth 2011 00:51:27 00:01:50 04:51:05 00:01:11 03:13:51 08:59:22 62 * Gina Ferguson NZL Busselton 2008 00:50:30 00:01:30 04:56:42 00:01:36 03:09:06 08:59:24 63 * Sue Latshaw USA Roth 1997 00:52:44   04:55:52   03:10:55 08:59:31 64   Gina Crawford NZL Roth 2012 00:50:17 00:01:57 05:04:55 00:02:23 03:00:05 08:59:35 65 * Lori Bowden CAN Klagenfurt 2001 00:54:44 00:01:56 04:57:59 00:02:06 03:02:55 08:59:41 66   Erica Csomor HUN Roth 2009 00:53:16 00:02:20 04:54:37 00:01:02 03:08:29 08:59:42 67= * Sonja Tajsich GER Klagenfurt 2009 00:56:32 00:02:18 04:49:05 00:02:43 03:09:05 08:59:45 67= * Edith Niederfriniger ITA Klagenfurt 2008 00:49:05 00:02:15 05:04:17 00:02:51 03:01:16 08:59:45 Fastest Female Iron Distance Athletes (Best Time) Rank Best Time Athlete Event 1 08:18:13 Chrissie Wellington Challenge Roth 2011 2 08:34:51 Caroline Steffen Ironman Melbourne 2012 3 08:39:24 Rebekah Keat Challenge Roth 2009 4 08:43:35 Mary Beth Ellis Ironman Austria 2011 5 08:45:04 Rachel Joyce Challenge Roth 2012 6 08:45:48 Yvonne van Vlerken Challenge Roth 2008 7 08:47:05 Erica Csomor Challenge Roth 2008 8 08:47:26 Sandra Wallenhorst Ironman Austria 2008 9 08:48:11 Catriona Morrison Challenge Roth 2009 10 08:49:00 Leanda Cave Ironman Arizona 2011 11 08:49:47 Sonja Tajsich Challenge Roth 2012 12 08:50:13 Bella Bayliss Ironman Austria 2009 13 08:50:53 Paula Newby Fraser Ironman Europe 1994 (Roth) 14 08:51:22 Lori Bowden Ironman Austria 2002 15 08:53:35 Diana Riesler Ironman Austria 2011 16 08:54:01 Kate Allen Ironman Austria 2003 17 08:54:33 Linsey Corbin Ironman Arizona 2011 18 08:55:10 Jessica Jacobs Ironman Florida 2011 19 08:55:29 Thea Sybesma Ironman Europe 1991 (Roth) 20 08:56:05 Ines Estedt Euro Champs - Detern/Jumme (1995) 21 08:56:12 Heleen Bij De Vaate Ironman Austria 2011 22= 08:56:23 Irma Heeren Almere 1999 22= 08:56:23 Julia Gajer (nee Wagner) Challenge Roth 2011 24 08:56:57 Katinka Wiltenburg Almere 1996 25 08:57:18 Gina Ferguson Challenge Roth 2008 26 08:57:57 Mirinda Carfrae Ironman World Champs 2011 27 08:58:08 Belinda Granger Challenge Roth 2008 28 08:58:25 Joanna Lawn Challenge Roth 2007 29 08:58:37 Nina Kraft Ironman Frankfurt 2004 30 08:58:43 Lucy Gossage Challenge Barcelona 2012 31 08:59:31 Sue Latshaw Ironman Europe 1997 (Roth) 32 08:59:45 Edith Niederfriniger Ironman Austria 2008 Athlete / Race Analysis ATHLETE YEARS VENUES Chrissie Wellington 9 1991 1 Roth 24 Rebekah Keat 5 1992 3 Klagenfurt 13 Paula Newby Fraser 4 1993 1 Hawaii 6 Yvonne van Vlerken 4 1994 1 Frankfurt 4 Lori Bowden 3 1995 1 Almere 3 Erica Csomor 3 1996 1 Arizona 3 Gina Crawford (née Ferguson) 3 1997 1 Texas 3 Rachel Joyce 3 1998 0 Copenhagen 2 Caroline Steffen 2 1999 1 Melbourne 2 Sonja Tajsich 2 2000 1 Florida 2 Julia Gajer (née Wagner) 2 2001 1 Busselton 1 Bella Bayliss 2 2002 2 Detern/Jumme 1 Kate Allen 2 2003 1  Forster-Tuncurry 1 Sandra Wallenhorst 2 2004 1  Port Elizabeth, SA 1 Thea Sybesma 2 2005 0 Port Macquarie 1 Catriona Morrison 2 2006 0 Barcelona 1 Mirinda Carfrae 2 2007 3 (16 courses)   68 Mary Beth Ellis 2 2008 9     Irma Heeren 1 2009 9     Joanna Lawn 1 2010  5     Katinka Wiltenburg 1 2011 15     Sue Latshaw 1 2012 10     Nina Kraft 1  2013 1     Belinda Granger 1 68     Ines Estedt 1     Edith Niederfriniger 1     Diana Riesler 1     Heleen Bij de Vaate 1     Jessica Jacobs 1         Leanda Cave 1         Linsey Corbin 1         Lucy Gossage 1         (32 Athletes) 68         Commentary Not surprisingly, Roth wins in terms of course speed. Nineteen sub-nine's in the past six races (2007-2012), 24 in total and of course the three fastest absolute times ever from Chrissie, plus six of the top-10... However Ironman Austria (Klagenfurt) comes closest now with 13 following the 2011 edition. Roth was also the venue of the first ever sub-nine clocking from Thea Sybesma (NED) in 1991. Following Chrissie's quite staggering performances at Roth 2009, Roth in 2010 and Roth 2011, added to her figures from Ironmans Arizona and South Africa, Chrissie held the five fastest iron-distance times ever and is the only athlete with more than one in the top ten. Those top five times, along with her Kona course record (2009) were all achieved in consecutive races...which she followed up with arguably her greatest performance ever at the 2011 Ironman World Championships, even if it wasn't (quite!) a Kona record. Quite a form line... Caroline Steffen's heroics at Melbourne 2012 however mean that she now has the fifth fastest time ever, pushing Chrissie's Arizona result down to sixth. Want some more Chrissie stats? 2011 was the second time (2009 being the first) that Chrissie has achieved three sub-nine hour finishes in one year. Indeed, you have to go back to Kona 2008 for the last time Chrissie didn't finish with 8:XX on the clock - and that was the year that she spent 10+ minutes on the side of the road with a puncture... and still won with a finish time of 9:06:23. It's now eight consecutive sub-nine finishes 2009-2011 inclusive. Raising the bar for sure - though no more following Chrissie's Ironman retirement. Chrissie also now stands alone as the head of the most sub-9's list; her 8:33:56 at Ironman South Africa 2011 - the fastest M-Dot Ironman time to date - added to her absolute World Best at Roth 2011 plus 2011 Kona victory means nine times (in her thirteen unbeaten attempts at the distance), that Chrissie has crossed the line to see 8:XX on the clock nine times. In 2008, Chrissie Wellington received much comment about celebrating 'too much' on the run-in to the line in Frankfurt, and thus missing the then world best of Paula Newby-Fraser (8:50:53). Things have moved on so quickly that Chrissie's 8:51:24 from that race doesn't even make the top 20 now anyway... The performance of Cat Morrison at Roth 2009 has now been surpassed by Mary Beth Ellis as the fastest debut iron-distance performance following her Klagenfurt 2011 win (8:43:35). American Krista Whelen missed out on this list my just one second - she recorded nine hours exactly in 1992 at Roth. Ironically, for 17 years her bike time of 4:45:59 that day was the fastest women's Ironman bike split - smashed by Chrissie with a 4:40:28 at Roth 2009, and then again (4:36:33) in 2010. Chrissie's marathon (2:48:54) was also a world's best... until 10th July 2011 when she improved that yet again to 2:44:35. That bike mantle has now been taken by Caroline Steffen though, her 4:35:29 (Melbourne 2012) is now the gold standard. Though somewhat lost in the majesty of the world best ahead of her at Roth in 2010, Rebekah Keat in second place (8:52:10) still recorded what is currently the 26th best time in history, and she also became one of just 11 (at the time, it's now 18...) athletes to have broken the nine hour mark more than once, to which she then added another at Challenge Copenhagen just weeks later. Another sub-9 at Challenge Roth 2011 brought her total to four and with a second consecutive win at Challenge Copenhagen 2011 (8:52:42), she has now moved past the legendary Paula Newby Fraser and into sole second place on the 'most sub-9's' rankings with five. Erica Csomor made it three sub-nine clocking's at Ironman Austria 2011 while Gina Crawford (née Ferguson) made it three for her at Challenge Roth 2012. Rachel Joyce themed at Ironman Texas 2013. Yvonne Van Vlerken recorded her first sub-9 clocking for more than four years when winning Ironman Florida 2012, which was the fourth time she has achieved that, leaving her tied for third place (with Paula Newby Fraser) behind Chrissie Wellington (nine) and Rebekah Keat (five) in the "most sub-9 finishes" all-time list. Tri247 Iron-Distance Statistics Library Sub-9 iron ladies: a history the definitive list of sub-nine hour female iron distance finishes Sub-8 iron men: a history the definitive list of sub-eight hour male iron distance finishes British Ironman success: Ladies the definitive record of Ironman® podium finishes by British female athletes British Ironman success: Men the definitive record of Ironman® podium finishes by British male athletes Home Nations Iron Distance Records the fastest ironman distance times achieved by each of the Home Nations (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales) Fastest British Iron Ladies every sub-nine hour 15 minute iron-distance finish by British female athletes ever recorded. Fastest British Iron Men every sub-eight hour 30 minute iron-distance finish by British male (and female...) athletes ever recorded Do you believe there is a performance missing here? If so, please do let me know via editor@tri247.com.

That was a busy weekend... so much so we're still uploading results into our extensive database (check out the link at the bottom of this article for the latest results), and will be adding more to the weekend update through the rest of today... and we suspect, possibly into tomorrow! Right, onto the action... International Racing We've got separate reports online for Ironman Lanzarote HERE (Philip Graves fourth). Ironman Texas HERE (TWO British wins through Paul Amey and Rachel Joyce) and Half Challenge Barcelona HERE (classy Gomez and a Silver for Ireland's Eimear Mullan). The Barcelona event incorporated the ETU European Middle Distance Championships, were the Great Britain Age Group team collected nine medals - check them out HERE, while the efforts of Amey and Joyce in The Woodlands has meant a rapid update to our Iron-Stats database... which include the third sub-nine iron-distance race from Rachel. Elsewhere, Ironman 70.3 Florida was won my Terenzo Bozzone and Mary Beth-Ellis. Pos Men Women 1st Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 3:45:51 Mary Beth-Ellis (USA) 4:14:03 2nd Kevin Collington (USA) 3:47:12 Mandy McLane (USA) 4:19:10 3rd Dirk Bockel (LUX) 3:48:16 Jo Lawn (NZL) 4:20:51 Lesley Paterson continued her dominance of the XTERRA scene by winning the XTERRA Southeast Championship in Shelby County, Alabama. Domestic Racing - Saturday Day one of the Eton Supersprints saw some close racing where Chris Nicholls was the winner, and a certain Jenson Button was two minutes back in fifth place... Nicola Boyd (ONE Triathlon RDS was the ladies winner). Saturday was also the Irish Middle Distance Championships and it was Niall Somers and Jennifer Duffy fastest on the day. Full results HERE. We've also got the Derwent Island Swim results HERE and the Galway Triathlon results HERE. Domestic Racing - Sunday The Crosby Lake Aquathlon in Liverpool attracted a full field, the vast majority looking to qualify for the ITU World Champs later this year. After a very 'grey' Saturday and an intimidating looking lake, Sunday was perfect weatherwise and super still water awaited. The lake was though, somewhat chilly (I'm told!). Neither Greg Turner (Ayrodynamic) or Maria Barrett (Liverpool Harriers AC) were first out of the water, but superb runs brought them home to wins. Full results HERE. Pos Men Women 1st Greg Turner (Ayrodynamic) 26:11 Maria Barrett (Liverpool Harriers AC) 28:40 2nd David Bartlett (Club Cycleogic) 26:43 Hannah Kitchen (Hillingdon Triathletes) 28:54 3rd Paul Savage (Manchester Tri) 26:49 Sarah Lewis 29:49 We've got a report online from the Banbury Triathlon HERE where Daniel Bigham (Oxford Brookes) and Eloise Du Luart (Stratford Upon Avon AC) were the winners. Full results HERE. The ever popular Crystal Palace Triathlon had attracted 600 plus entries and some close racing in this London League event. Full results - including the Tristar events - available HERE. Pos Men Women 1st Gary Laybourne (SLH Tri Club) 1:06:06 Rachel Coe-O'Brien (SLH Tri Club) 1:12:53 2nd Rob Parry (Crystal Palace Tri) 1:06:51 Susan Fairfax (Crystal Palace Tri) 1:13:39 3rd Richard Evans (Met Police Tri Club) 1:07:31 Ellen Greaves (London Fields Tri Club) 1:13:47 Another popular and significant event is the Snowdonia Slateman which offers Full and Sprint courses. Stephen Skates and 'new mum' Rhian Roxburgh took top honours in the main event. Day two of the Eton Supersprints saw another big field and Sunday's speediest were Oliver Mytton and Laura Fidler. Results HERE. Bedford hosted a new Middle Distance event at Priory Country Park along with a Sprint. Results here: Middle | Sprint. Lots more in the database including results from Swanage Bay, St. Neots, Bradford on Avon, Keswick, Chichester, New Forest, Selkirk, East Grinstead... and much more!! FULL WEEKEND RESULTS LISTINGS

Planet X has joined forces with the award-winning Outlaw Half and Outlaw Triathlon as their exclusive bike sponsor. Competitors and spectators at the sold out events taking place on 2 June and 7 July can see the top of the range Planet X Exocet 2 carbon framed triathlon bike, a version of which Harry Wiltshire rode to victory at Outlaw last summer. Planet X is already the most popular bike amongst Outlaw competitors. The UK largest builder of performance bikes, Planet X was founded over 25 years ago in Sheffield. With an immense northern road heritage, performance has always been at the heart of Planet X. As well as aerodynamic bikes and wheels, Planet X designs, builds and retails performance road, mountain, track and urban bikes. Visit http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk. Competing in the Outlaw Half on 2 June are Barry Dunn, Planet X's Chief Operating Officer and Planet X sponsored triathlete, Luke Dragstra. Luke, who is originally from Canada, will be amongst the favourites to set the pace at the front of the race. He commented: "I will racing on the Planet X Exocet 2. It is light, stiff and slick. "I feel better on this bike than any TT bike, and I have ridden lots of them. I hope I am fit enough to do this bike justice. It'll get me onto run faster than any other bike that's for sure." David Hanney, Chief Executive of Planet X commented: "I'm thrilled to support Outlaw and Outlaw Half. Harry Wiltshire demonstrated last year that the Exocet 2 is ideally suited to the Outlaw course." Iain Hamilton of Outlaw organisers, One Step Beyond added: "I can't speak highly enough of Planet X bikes, other than to say that I have been riding them myself for many years. But I will reiterate that the Outlaw bike courses are suited to aero equipment and we hope that a few competitors can shave a bit of time off by making use of their bikes." The Outlaw Half is completely sold out, with over 1000 athletes ready for the challenge of a 1.2mile swim, 56mile bike ride and 13.1mile run, starting and finishing the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham. Spectators are encouraged to support the athletes with free of charge parking and an event expo available on site. For more information on the Outlaw and Outlaw Half, visit http://www.onestepbeyond.org.uk.

Philip Graves returned to an Ironman finish line for the first time since October 2009 on Saturday, when finishing fourth at Ironman Lanzarote. Starting the race lacking confidence after a recent half marathon 'destroyed' his legs, Philip wasn't too sure of even starting a race that he has failed to finish on two previous occasions. Racing smartly though and avoiding a 'do or die' attempt on the bike course, Philip finished with a result he is very happy with and importantly, is looking ahead to more racing later in the year confident that there is more to come. Here is his report on his day. Fourth at my favourite race of the year, Ironman Lanzarote; a great result, but most importantly a finish in an Ironman where I managed to force myself over that finish line without completely blowing my doors off. It was touch-and-go whether I would even start the race, with six days to go I still hadn't booked my flights. After the Keswick Half Marathon - which left my legs utterly destroyed just 13 days before Ironman Lanzarote - I thought to myself, how on earth are my legs going to manage double that, never mind riding the 112miles beforehand?! So, confidence wise I was a little low but my Dad talked me round, as he so often does, and I came to simply get an Ironman finish under my belt to stand me in good stead for the rest of the season. Things were in my favour too, it was rather cold all the week before, not the usual 30°c every day. There was even torrential rain on race morning and as we were in the swim, very unusual, but it made a very nice change after last year where heat waves seemed to follow me to every race I went to! Race wise I wasn't too stressed at all, I love spending my time here at Club La Santa so I it was great to just spend all the time hanging out here with my friends and then go race on Saturday. It definitely made the whole race week very special and took my mind off having to race, not always a bad thing! It's also so nice knowing a race inside out; I have my pre race routine here now so I knew exactly what to expect, even if I was still very nervous for the race start. It all went well though and I ended up swimming with Faris Al-Sultan and Stephen Bayliss for the entire swim, not taking things too hard, it is such a long day after all! After my usual mediocre transition, I'll be honest, I did not feel too great at all when I got on my bike. It felt as if I still had that Keswick race in my legs from 13 days before, compounded by the fact I did Yorkshire 10mile TT champs just six days before and they felt a little dead even though I couldn't really go full gas because of the super wet and very slippy road. It was like an ice rink out there and I could feel my bike sliding all over the place. Thankfully I got settled into my own little race. Faris by this point had gone up the road but I was determined to listen to the advice I give everyone and just do my own race. So that's exactly what I did, and even though Faris rode far into the distance I tapped along in my own little world, sticking to my nutrition plan, and came off the bike second. After riding so far you simply never know how your legs are going to feel but after T2 and a quick bottle shower - basically just dumping a bottle of water over my head to try and feel a bit fresher - I didn't feel too bad at all. The run course at Ironman Lanzarote, even though its flat, is very tough going but I planned to run as close to three hours as I could, which I did for the first half marathon. I was right on target and even had a few seconds in my back pocket to play with for the second half, though that's when it started to get really tough! Going past the exact sport where I dropped out last year was the worst and I started to have some not so good thoughts; "god I've got 20k to run now" inter-spaced with ‘OW this hurts' was sort of the mind set but I managed to get through it even though I had to start walking a few aid stations as things started to shut down. It was with 5k to go that Krill Kotsegarov (EST) passed me for third place. To be honest I was amazed I had run in third place for the last 37km as I had just been racing to finish, so to be so far up the standings was great for my confidence. By that sort of point in an Ironman though, everything is hurting and after collecting my thoughts at the last aid station I went full gas for the last 2km, mainly because I didn't know how far behind me Bert Jammaer was running in fifth. I ended up being only eight seconds back of Krill who did a great race, I couldn't be more chuffed for him, though anyone thinking it was a sprint finish I'm sorry to disappoint; he walked the last few meters and only saw me coming like a steam train when he was one metre from the line. I couldn't be disappointed though, fourth is still a great result, particularly when that was my first Ironman I had finished since Hawaii in 2009 and the first one I have been really competitive in since I won IMUK a few months before that. I cant wait to race a bit more later in the season, anyway, I still have a lot of conditioning to do before I get in top shape too so its great knowing there is something still here in the bag. Finally, I just want to say a big thank you to all my sponsors: Cervélo, Shimano, Pearl Izumi, Profile Design, Bell, Madison, Club La Santa and Powerbar for the all the support, I wouldn't be able to do it without you guys. Also to all the people cheering for me out there, it seemed like I could have been racing in York, it was out of this world, so thanks for making it seem like a home race, and I really did appreciate every single world of encouragement out there! Thank you!