The fact that Ironman Hamburg was a lightning-fast race that also saw a lot of Age Group successes was evident earlier. That a world record was also set among Age Groupers first had to be confirmed, but is now clear: never ever it did go faster than German winner Lars Wichert.
Wichert, who has previously competed in the Olympics twice as a rower and is also a three-time world champion within that sport, finished Ironman Hamburg in a time of 7:50:42, thus becoming the fastest Age Grouper ever. By comparison, a lot of pro athletes are aiming to finish races in such fast times, but not are able to do so. To finish in this stunning time, Wichert recorded a swim time of 57:48, bike time of 4:03:55 and run time of 2:41:48.
The former world record among Age Groupers stood at 7:56:56, but was thus pulverized by Wichert. The runner-up in Hamburg, Australian Chris Beckmans, was also still under the former world record with a finishing time of 7:55:55. China’s Miao Hao, who came in third, finished in a time of 7:58:04.
