Ironman Kona 2017 Results Analysis: Finish Times, Splits, by Age Group, vs Previous Years

Ironman Kona 2017 saw a record 2235 athletes cover the grueling 140.6 mile course, finishing in an overall average time of 11:39.

• It was tougher than the average 11:31 finish time spanning the 16-year period 2002 to 2017, 
• A near-record 132 athletes did not finish, more than 80 qualifiers did not start  
• Average splits indicate athletes suffered most on the run -- 1:11 swim, 5:49 bike, 4:27 run
• Things could have been worse -- a far cry from 2004 finishers' 12:06 experience in the wind-laced, blast-furnace heat, 
• But it was a long way from what would be considered fast, a full 25 minutes slower than the wind-aided 11:06 average time turned in by finishers in 2013. 

We dove into details of the 2017 race, overall, by split, by division, and did side-by-side comparisons across each dimension going as far back as 2002. For extra credit, we conducted a bike vs run correlation analysis, illustrating the degree to which bike speed strategy impacted run splits for each athlete.

For more, see our Comprehensive Historical Ironman Kona Coverage.

Ironman Kona 2016 Detailed Results Analysis: Overall, by Division, by Split, vs Previous Years and more

It's the ultimate triathlon experience: Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona. We've raced Kona three times, and know the unforgettable feeling. We've also been analyzing and sharing detailed Kona race results for several years. Here's the story of Ironman Kona 2016:

• Finishers: Over 2207, most ever, slightly 2015's 2002
• DNF: 4.5% compared with 6.7% in 2015
• Average Finish Time: 11:27 vs 11:44 in 2015
• Swim: 1:09
• Bike: 5:52
• Run 4:14
• The difference between 2015 and 2016 average splits were 7 minute faster swim, 9 minutes faster on the run
• For perspective, compare 2016 results and stats vs several previous years, overall and by division
• Compared with overall averages since 2002, 11:30 finish time, 2016's 11:27 was right on target

Jan Foreno and Daniela Ryf Win Ironman Kona Triathlon World Championship

By Raymond Britt

Congratulations to Ironman Triathlon World Champions Jan Frodeno, with an 8:06 victory time, and Daniela Ryf, who won with an impressive 8:46. Top 25 Men and Women Pro Finisher Splits and rank are presented below.

We'll be adding to our comprehensive results analysis throughout the race, which is still in progress,

Ironman Chattanooga 2016 Results Analysis by Division, by Split, DNS, DNF, Compared to 2014 and more

Quite an astonishing day at Ironman Chattanooga 2016. Relentlessly harsh heat led to a 13:59 average finish time for 1688 triathletes, and an exceptionally high 19% DNF rate, considering all finishers under the typical 17 hour Ironman cutoff time.

But, wait: the official cutoff time, it turned out, was determined to be 16 hours 15 minutes (I have no idea why). That meant another 50 or so athletes who happily finished under 17 hours but after 16 hours 15 minutes got the staggering news they would not be considered Ironman finishers, but instead were classified DNF.

My analysis and charts reveal how brutal it was out there for all Ironman Chattanooga 2016 triathletes. And it's based on results for all who finished under 17 hours.

Best Rio Olympics Coverage: Wall Street Journal (featuring our Analytics)

By Raymond Britt

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The Wall Street Journal's Pulitzer Prize winning Kevin Helliker has written an excellent article, entitled 'At the Rio Olympics, Women Athletes Bump Against a Gold Ceiling'.

While putting the comprehensive article together, as he and others at WSJ reached out to me with a request to conduct analysis that confirmed the ultimate headline.

Seeing that many events in the Rio Olympics appeared to clearly differ by gender, such as womens' notably shorter cycling road course.

In present day endurance events in which both genders complete the same distance, Kevin wondered, do percent of women finish relatively close to men with higher rates/fewer DNFs.


We dove deep into our archives, and analyzed results by gender and division for Boston Marathon (1996-2016) and Ironman Triathlon World Championship (2000 to 2015).

Our striking conclusion: Women have hammered their way to match male finisher rates.

Women endurance athletes have battled year by year to prove mens' equal as measured by finisher rates with the gap sharply narrowing obviously on the historical and trending analysis.

Indeed, there is no reason for differences in event length or course type.

Here's an overview of our analytics findings the Journal relied on:

1. Big Picture 40 Year Evolution of Boston Marathon Finisher rates
-- 1970s: men 20% more likely to finish
-- 1980s: gap closing but still wide, 10% area
-- 2000s: gap slowly disappears

2. Boston Marathon 2016 DNF Rates (see chart, including rates by Division)


-- overall: 3.1%
-- Women 3.5%
-- Men: 2.8%
-- and by division, under 1% most often


3.  Ironman Kona (see 3 charts: DNF Bike, DNF Run, Overall DNF)
-- Overall: 6.7%
-- Women: 6.0% excluding Women Pros
-- Men: 6.2% excluding men pros

For more details, see our comprehensive analyses of
-- Boston Marathon
-- Ironman Kona
-- 500+ analytic/stats Articles, posts, for more than 100

Ironman Kona 2015 Results Analysis and Comparative Statistics

Ironman Kona 2015 Results Analysis: Overall,  Splits, by Division, Correlation, Annual Comparisons

By Raymond Britt

The 2015 Ironman Triathlon World Championship proved once again to be one of the most exciting, challenging, unpredictable and majestic in the world of endurance sports. This year lived up to these elements, with surprise first-time winners, a record number of starters and finishers, a higher than average finish time (overall and by age group).

Before and after my years of qualifying for and racing in Kona: 2002 to 2004) I've compiled comprehensive analysis on the path to qualifying for Ironman Kona, To provide this unique view, I've gone deep into annual race data to provide detailed and exclusive analysis for triathletes who want to understand the true dynamics of the event.

Our initial analysis of the somewhat more comparatively difficult 2015 race is below in thirteen charts. Here are just some the highlights:

1. Starters: Most in Ironman History: 2,370, 12.3% over 2014, and most since at least 2002
2. Finishers Most in Ironman History: 2,000+, 10.8% growth over 2014, most since at least 2002 
3. DNF rate, 6.7 vs 6.0% in 2014, and only topped in years 2004 and 2009 since 2002
4. Average Finish Time for all Finishers: 11:44, other than 2004 lowest going back to 2002
5. Average Overall Splits: Swim 1:16 (11%), Bike 5:53 (50%), Run 4:23 (37%), Transitions 0:11
6. Splits for each race division are shown, and by and large, reveal a similar pattern vs overall
7. Comparing Splits 2009 to 2015: the 5:53 bike is about average, but the 4:23 run is worst
8. Finish Times by Division 2014 vs 2015: notably slower in typically stronger divisions 30s-40s
9. Total Finishers, Growth 2013 to 2015: new trend vs a many years of limits around 1800
10. DNF Rates for each Division 2014 vs 2014
11. Correlation Between Bike snd Run Splits for each athlete plotted on a single chart that illustrates the tendency of more athletes cycling too fast, followed by slower runs
12. Division Comparisons (2 pages): Average Finish Times by age group 2009 to 2015
13. Everything Else For all of our comprehensive Kona posts of past years, see www.RaceKona.com