Home > Feature

Tim Don shatters Ironman world record in Brazil

The Brit shattered Lionel Sanders' world record by four minutes.

The Ironman South American championship in Florianopolis, Brazil is one of the fastest courses on the circuit and produces low times every year, but this year’s performance from Great Britain’s Tim Don was enough to shatter the Ironman world record by four minutes. The seasoned long course star, who consistently places well in the half and full distance, clocked a blistering 7:40:23 this morning, crushing the Ironman world record set by Lionel Sanders in November (7:44) on his way to taking the South American title and punching his ticket to Kona.

Don held strong for the entire race, coming out in the lead for a 44:16 swim, a 4:06:56 bike and a 2:44:46 run. Across all disciplines, he held the fastest times of the day with his bike split coming in exceptionally strong at 20 minutes faster than the second fastest.

Don was joined on the podium by Kyle Buckingham in second (8:05:43) and hometown favourite Igor Amorelli in third (8:06:58).

It was a disappointing day for Brent McMahon, defending champ, who fell ill earlier during the week and pulled out on the run.

On the women’s side, Britain’s Susie Cheetham set a course record on her way to winning the title today in 8:52:00. In her Ironman debut, Canada’s Magali Tisseyre ran herself into the top 10 in 9:09:49.

Full results are available here and we will have more coverage from the race up later today and tomorrow.