We recently reported that Jolien Vermeylen dropped a 9:13 800m freestyle (long course). Similarly, Lotte Miller also swam a 1500m over the weekend.
To add a bit of context, we wanted to investigate where these times fit into the broader constellation of the women’s WTCS.
As Vermeylen was an elite swimmer for many years prior to her switch to triathlon, it would be fair to expect her to be towards the top of the rankings. How fast, then, do the best swimmers in the women’s WTCS field swim?
To make the comparisons as direct as possible, we will stick to the 800m freestyle (50m). One of the reasons for this is that it is an event that several of the elite field have results for, at least slightly more so than the 1500m (25m). Moreover, as Vermeylen swam a fast time recently, it feels a topical distance.
This also is not meant to be a comprehensive survey of every personal best in the women’s field. If there is any WTCS triathlete with an outstanding PB that we have missed, feel free to mention them in the comments below.
We will start with Vermeylen herself. While she swam a 9:13.88 at the Flemish Championships, her personal best actually stands at 8:57.71. She is therefore one of the few members of the women’s field to have dipped under the 9 minute barrier.
The French team are also home to a number of talented swimmers and both Emma Lombardi and Cassandre Beaugrand have produced fast times in their careers.
In November 2020, Lombardi swam a 9:08:78 for the 800m (50m) which stands as her best time. Beaugrand, meanwhile, produced a best time of 9:24.51 in 2012. It should be noted that she had not quite turned 15 at this time, so there is a good chance she could have swam a faster time in the years since, particularly since 2016, had she attempted to.
Another athlete with a PB from 2012 is Maya Kingma. That year Kingma swam a 9:32.74 and it has been almost ten years since her last 800 so it is hard to gauge how quick she could now go.
Alongside this, Jessica Learmonth swam 9:11.41 in 2005.
One of the fastest personal bests, though, comes from Lizeth Rueda Santos. In 2011, the Mexican athlete swam 8:58.39, narrowly missing out on pipping Vermeylen’s best time.
We then come to the athlete that we feel might be, on recent form, one of the best swimmers in the field.
On paper, Bianca Seregni has a best time of 9:25.57, which she swam in 2019. However, it should be noted that in Seregni’s 1500m freestyle PB of 17:17.99 (short course), she swam 9:10.93 to feet at the 800m mark. Given that, it would be reasonable to assume she would be in 9:10-9:15 territory at least in a flat long course 800.
What do the above times show us?
The first point to note is an obvious caveat. Several of the personal bests were swam a decade ago and prior to the athletes’ entry into the world of elite triathlon. The path from elite swimmer to elite triathlete is a common one; on the men’s side it includes athletes such as Vincent Luis and Tommy Zaferes.
The fact that the times are so old does limit their utility to an extent.
However, that should not discount them entirely. The best times still provide a strong indicator of what it takes to be a leading swimmer in the women’s WTCS.
Over the long course 800m, it is fair to say that if an athlete has shown the ability to go under 9:25 they have a good chance of becoming a front pack swimmer. If we look at the recent times of Vermeylen and Lombardi as well as the qualified times of Seregni and Beaugrand (Seregni due to her 1500 and Beaugrand due to her age when setting her 800 PB), the target time over 800m should be 9:15 or better for any female athletes hoping to set the pace at the front.
This is not a hard and fast rule. After all, Flora Duffy does not really have comparable pool personal bests yet often leads races into T1. Similarly, open water swimming is different to setting fast times in a pool. Nevertheless, the times seem to be a good indicator.
The second point we can take from the above times is they indicate that Vermeylen should be a part of most front packs entering T1. While she was off her best in Antwerp recently, she still demonstrated a level of speed that few in the women’s field can match.
Vermeylen made the jump to triathlon a little later than most. She only started in the WTCS in 2019 and then lost 2020 to the pandemic. As much as she is an experienced swimmer, she is therefore relatively new to the washing machine of open water WTCS swimming. With a couple more seasons of experience now under her belt, she will likely be better able to deploy her speed this season and will be one to watch in the water.
The third and final point to take away is that the level of swimming ability at the front of the women’s WTCS has progressed by leaps and bounds. There are a number of brilliant swimmers that can push a fast pace and break up the field. It is therefore no surprise that the women’s race has trended towards breakaways so frequently.
The question is, how many women will join Rueda Santos and Vermeylen in the sub-9 minute club?
