5 fast run times posted by professional triathletes
These pro triathletes have thrown down some incredible times on the track
Last weekend, Cassandre Beaugrand, a member of France’s bronze-medal triathlon relay team at the Tokyo Olympics, returned to her running roots at the Meeting Elite de Miramas in France. It was the 24-year-old’s first indoor professional race, where she set a personal best of 9:08:54 in the 3,000m.
Beaugrand is a five-time junior national cross-country champion and will be one of France’s big hopes at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Her run got us thinking about some other fast times posted by triathletes:
Beth Potter: 14:41 – 5 km
Remember the race that sent a message to the world that the Asics Metaspeed shoes would provide some competition to the Nike dominance in the world of carbon-plate shoes? Great Britain’s Beth Potter, a former national team runner, blasted to what would have been a new world record for 5 km on the road had the course been certified. It was hardly a surprise to see Potter running so fast – she represented Team GB at the Rio Games in the 10,000m and represented Scotland at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in track and triathlon.
Cassandre Beaugrand: 9:02.97 – 3,000 m indoors
Beaugrand finished fourth in her return to track racing last weekend and was the top French athlete in the field.
To give you an idea of just how fast that is – Canada’s Gabriela Debues-Stafford shattered the Canadian record over the distance last weekend with her 8:33:92; the Canadian record for the event was 8:46:50.
Alex Yee: 27:51.94 – 10,000 m
The world junior duathlon champion from 2016 was balancing life as a triathlete and elite runner in 2018 when he set a PB for 10,000m with his 27:51, just under five seconds slower than the British U23 record of 27:47.0 set by Dave Bedford in 1971. (Bedford would go on to set the world record for the distance in 1973 when he ran 27:30.80.) Yee also ran a 5K Parkrun time that year of 13:57, which at the time, was the fastest-ever run at a Parkrun event.
Gwen Jorgensen: 32:12, 10,000 m
The 2016 Olympic gold medallist in the triathlon was a track runner at the University of Wisconsin, so it comes as no surprise that she could post some speedy times on the track. She set her sights on making it to Tokyo as a runner after her Olympic win and set some excellent times, including 8:48:48 for 3,000 m, 15:08:28 for 5,000 m, 31:55.68 for 10,000 m on the track, 1:10:58 for a half marathon and 2:36:13 for a marathon. In May 2015, when she was still very much a triathlete, Jorgensen ran a 32:12 10K at the Sydney 10 in Australia.
Richard Murray: 28:04 – 10 km
Before his heart problems dealt a cruel blow to his Olympic preparations, South Africa’s Richard Murray put together some incredible run splits in training in the fall of 2020 as he was preparing for the games. Among those was a solo 10K time trial run in 28:04. It was the 13th fastest time of 2020, but also the third-fastest in South African history. Although his time was unofficial, it certainly served notice that he was among the country’s best runners.
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