Monthly Archives: January 2011

Triathlete Height to Weight Ratios for 2001-2010 Men’s Ironman Hawaii and ITU Olympic Distance World Champions

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For some of you guys who have already been following my blog, you may have seen my highly unscientific survey of height to weight ratios of male and female elite triathletes.  Since those blogs posts took random samples from across the sport, I didn’t think they really said much about specific height to weight ratios for Ironman and Olympic Distance triathlon.  I thought a much more interesting survey would be to take the men’s and women’s champions from Hawaii over the past ten years, and compare them to the men’s and women’s ITU Olympic Distance World Champions.  So here are the men, and I think this does make a fairly interesting comparison.  Surprisingly, Ironman athletes appear to be slightly taller and heavier than their Olympic Distance counterparts.  I would love to have people comment on this and possibly share some viewpoints on why this is the case.  Also, it would appear that if you want to find your ideal Ironman weight (at least according to the height to weight ratio that on average has been most successful over the past decade), you’d need to multiply your height in inches by 2.25.  I’m 6’2″, so in my case I’d multiply that by 2.25 to find that my ideal Ironman weight should be about 166 pounds.  So, four pounds to go before the season begins, then!

MEN’S IRONMAN HAWAII CHAMPIONS 2001-2010

Tim Deboom: 5’11”/155 lbs=2.18 pounds per inch of height

Peter Reid: 6’3”163 = 2.17

Normann Stadler: 5’11”/167=2.35

Faris al Sultan: 5’10”/158=2.26

Chris McCormack: 5’11”/171=2.41

Craig Alexander: 5’11”/150=2.11

Average: 2.25

MEN’S ITU OLYMPIC DISTANCE WORLD CHAMPIONS 2001-2010

Peter Robertson: 5’8”/132=1.94

Ivan Rana: 5’8”/135=1.99

Bevan Docherty: 6’2”/154=2.08

Tim Don: 5’8”/142=2.09

Daniel Unger:6’1”/165=2.32

Javier Gomez: 5’9”/151=2.19

Alistair Brownlee: 6’0”/154=2.20

Average: 2.12

*Please remember that this is for informational and entertainment use only!  All the information that I’ve listed here was found on the internet, which doesn’t necessarily guarantee its reliability.  I’ve only put this together as a fun project that I thought would be interesting to read about, please don’t go and do anything crazy to lose weight to get to your “ideal” height to weight ratio, as I don’t believe that there really is such a thing.  If you notice, there’s a pretty wide varience even between the pros.  Be smart, be healthy, and train happy.


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Beginner Triathlon Tips: Single Leg Drills for strength, balance, and stabilty.

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Here are a few triathlon tips to make each run a little more productive.  By performing these simple drills, you can improve functional strength in your feet and ankles, and improve your stability. These drills also prepare your body and mind for the workout to come, and help make your workout more effective from the very first step! Here’s the routine:

Before your run, do two to three sets of the following drills:

  1. One Leg Hops: Balance on one leg, then hop 12 inches forwards and 12 inches backwards 10-15 times. Then on the same leg hop 12 inches right then 12 inches left another 10-15 times. Repeat the drill with the opposite leg. Take 30 seconds rest interval (RI) between sets.

  2. Square Hops: Balance on one leg, then hop 12 inches forward, 12 inches to the right, 12 inches backwards, and 12 inches to the left. Go around the square three times, then switch legs and perform the drill with the opposite leg. Take a 30 second RI between sets.

  3. Forwards and Backwards One Leg Hops: Balance on one foot, then take 10-15 hops forwards. Then, still facing the same direction, immediately take the same number of hops backwards. Do the same drill with the opposite leg. Take 30 seconds rest between sets.

Take a 2-3 minute RI between exercises. For all drills, strive to stay light on your feet (or foot, as it were). Your foot should strike the ground slightly behind the ball of your foot, and the ball of your foot should land directly beneath your knee. Try to let your foot stay on the ground only for the shortest amount of time possible, like you’re jumping on a scorching hot pool deck in the middle of summer. These drills are great for improving balance, foot and ankle strength, and secondary supportive muscles throughout your lower body. Include these before each run and your form and strength will be sure to improve!

Height and Weight for Elite Female Triathletes

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Okay, so as promised here’s part two of the comparisons of height and weight for elite triathletes.  I’ve taken the old rule of thumb for runners that they should have two pounds of weight per inch of height, and in the last blog entry I calculated the height to weight ratio of some of the top male triathletes.  So here are the height to weight ratios of a few of the top female pros:

Chrissie Wellington:  5’8″, 133 lbs: 1.95 lbs. per inch.

Natasha Badmann:  5’6″, 115 lbs: 1.76 lbs. per inch.

Desiree Ficker:  5’7″, 125 lbs: 1.86 lbs. per inch.

Michelle Jones: 5’10”, 133 lbs: 1.90 lbs. per inch.

Mirinda Carfrae: 5’3″, 114 lbs: 1.81 lbs. per inch.

Yvonne Van Vlerken: 5’3″, 125 lbs: 1.98 lbs. per inch.

Emma Snowsill:  5’3″, 105 lbs: 1.66 lbs. per inch.

Vanessa Fernandez:  5’6″, 126 lbs.: 1.90 lbs. per inch.

Laura Bennett:  5’10”, 125 lbs.:  1.78 lbs. per inch.

Erin Densham:  5’6″, 112 lbs.:  1.72 lbs. per inch.

Michelle Dillon: 5’8″, 146 lbs.: 2.14 lbs. per inch.*

(After I posted this, it was brought to my attention [Thanks, Jackie!] that Michelle Dillon’s correct weight is 125 lbs, which puts her ratio at 1.83.  That’s a lot lower, but still very slightly higher than Laura Bennett, so I think that my comment below still has some validity).

Some interesting things that I noticed were that the lightest athletes weren’t necessarily the best runners.  And also, some of the lightest athletes were the best swimmers, for example Laura Bennett, one of the leading swimmers on the World Cup Circuit, has a height to weight ratio of 1.78 lbs. per inch, while Michelle Dillon, one of the leading runners on the World Cup Circuit, has a ratio of 2.14 lbs. per inch.  So I guess the conclusion that I would draw from this information (and please keep in mind that this is only based on information I found on the internet, which is in no way guaranteed to be completely accurate, at best this is a rough impression) is that there are many factors that are more important than weight as determiners of performance.  So rather than starting your new year with goals of weight loss, maybe a better way forward would be to consider improving your strength, perfecting your technique, and improving you mental skills.  I’ll be writing more about all that later!  Until then, be safe, be healthy, keep smiling, and above all, never give up on your dreams!  Train happy!