Triathlon and the Olympics II

From the raw numbers we can see that males have improved tremendously over the last two years, since the Brownlees started competing as a team. The factor Brownlee raises the bar for the rest of the competitors, as we see the time of first four competitors:

1 Alistair Brownlee GBR 01:46:25 00:17:04 00:00:39 00:59:08 00:00:27 00:29:07

2 Javier Gomez ESP 01:46:36 00:17:00 00:00:36 00:59:16 00:00:28 00:29:16

3 Jonathan Brownlee GBR 01:46:56 00:17:02 00:00:38 00:59:11 00:00:28 00:29:37

4 David Hauss FRA 01:47:14 00:17:24 00:00:38 00:58:50 00:00:29 00:29:53

7 Alexander Bryukhankov RUS 01:47:35 00:17:22 00:00:40 00:58:51 00:00:32 00:30:10

A year before the 2012 Olympics on the same course, Alistair was almost four minutes slower.  Considering the temperature, wind, etc., the time employed on the swimming, biking and running is by far faster during the London Olympics.  I am not applying any statistic treatment to the numbers but if we do not lie to ourselves, it is more than clear what we see or the tendency toward improvement.

1 Alistair Brownlee GBR 01:50:09 00:18:09 00:00:36 01:01:02 00:00:34 00:29:50

2 Alexander Bryukhankov RUS 01:50:34 00:18:14 00:00:37 01:00:56 00:00:33 00:30:15

3 Jonathan Brownlee GBR 01:51:04 00:18:10 00:00:35 01:02:15 00:00:30 00:29:35

4 Javier Gomez ESP 01:51:16 00:18:06 00:00:39 01:02:16 00:00:31 00:29:46

It has not been the case with the female triathletes.  The time employed has been almost the same than last year.

1 Nicola Spirig SUI 01:59:48 00:19:23 00:00:39 01:05:33 00:00:29 00:33:41

2 Lisa Norden SWE 01:59:48 00:19:17 00:00:46 01:05:33 00:00:29 00:33:42

3 Erin Densham AUS 01:59:50 00:19:24 00:00:39 01:05:33 00:00:29 00:33:42

4 Sarah Groff USA 02:00:00 00:19:20 00:00:36 01:05:40 00:00:31 00:33:52

5 Helen Jenkins GBR 02:00:19 00:19:19 00:00:43 01:05:35 00:00:31 00:34:10

Helen Jenkins did almost the same time than last year and Nicola Spirig went over a minute faster than last year.  The bar for females has been almost the same for the last eight years since Emma Snowsill started competing.  This exercise tells us that the margin for improvement is big for the females.  What we saw in the London Olympics is not really a “wet run,” but it is similar to the 1,500 meters in the London Olympics that became a 600 meters race; the first 400 meters for females was 1:15 running the 1,500 meters.

1 Helen Jenkins GBR 02:00:34 00:19:31 00:00:39 01:06:06 00:00:33 00:33:48

2 Gwen Jorgensen USA 02:00:41 00:19:40 00:00:42 01:05:57 00:00:40 00:33:43

3 Anja Dittmer GER 02:00:49 00:19:49 00:00:43 01:05:42 00:00:35 00:34:01

4 Emma Jackson AUS 02:00:51 00:20:24 00:00:38 01:05:17 00:00:37 00:33:57

5 Emma Snowsill AUS 02:00:52 00:19:23 00:00:41 01:06:12 00:00:36 00:34:02

 6 Andrea Hewitt NZL 02:00:54 00:19:31 00:00:41 01:06:02 00:00:36 00:34:06

 7 Sarah Groff USA 02:00:58 00:19:19 00:00:41 01:06:17 00:00:40 00:34:04

8 Nicola Spirig SUI 02:01:04 00:19:51 00:00:38 01:05:46 00:00:36 00:34:16