The other day, we looked at the fastest times in the pool of some the leading swimmers in the women’s WTCS. To follow up on that, we wanted to check what kind of times the fastest men are capable of throwing down in the water.
Where possible, we will try to stick with the long course 800m to keep it consistent with the women’s field.
A quick disclaimer before we start: a lot of the best swimmers in the WTCS do not have times available for comparison. As such, this is not designed to be a comprehensive overview of the men’s WTCS but rather an indicator of what it takes to be a part of the top tier of swimmers in the field.
Let’s start with the daddy of the swim.
Richard Varga of Slovakia has led out more swims than can be counted. It would therefore be reasonable to expect him to have a fast 800m personal best.
His time does not disappoint as he has produced an 8:32.09. However, it should be noted that that time came in 2009 during the “super suit” era. It still stands but Varga’s next best time is 8:41.11 and may be a better point of comparison.
Varga’s supremacy in the water was challenged by Henri Schoeman of South Africa. The Olympic bronze medallist from 2016 and Commonwealth champion from 2018 was a regular at the front of the field. In 2008, he swam 8:31.77 for the 800m. Technically 2008 was also in the super suit era, however Schoeman does not have any comparable results outside of 2008.
We then come to an armada of French swimmers.
On current form, Vincent Luis might just be the best swimmer in the field. Márk Dévay would contend with that statement but has no times to compare.
In 2009 Luis produced an 8:42.99 800m (50m). Three years before that he was 8:44.08. Luis’ swim really took off again in 2021 after injury forced him to cut back on running to focus on the pool.
Dorian Coninx also came into triathlon from a swimming background and swam a time of 8:43.78. Moreover, his compatriot Pierre Le Corre has a personal best of 8:53.98.
If we look beyond France, we can find another exemplar in one of the legends of the sport. While Javier Gomez Noya does not have long course results available for the 800m, he swam an 8:15.40 in the short course version of the event. It is a good point of comparison and, converted, would certainly rival Varga and Schoeman.
At the other end of the spectrum, we can see swim talent in the guise of two up and coming athletes. Both Alessio Crociani (2001) and Nicolo Strada (2000) have produced some noteworthy times in their young careers that are solid benchmarks for emerging triathletes.
Strada swam 8:41.05 in the 800m (25m) in December 2016. Meanwhile, in 2018, he swam 4:12.46 in the 400m (25m).
In 2017, Crociani swam 4:18.76 in the 400m and 8:46.12 in the 800m (both 25m).
As young athletes, it would be reasonable to expect some progress over the past few years so in the long course 800 we could probably forecast them at around 8:40-8:50 nowadays. Of course that is only an informed guess and if more athletes would care to swim some official times that would solidify the level it takes to be a leading swimmer in the WTCS.
The first big takeaway from the above times is that the best female athletes are closer to some of the front pack male athletes than expected. With Jolien Vermeylen and Lizeth Rueda Santos possessing sub-9 minute 800m (50m) times, they are only about 15 seconds away from the likes of Luis and Coninx. Of course, peak Varga, Schoeman and Gomez are a different kettle of fish.
This indicates that there is plenty of room for growth in the men’s swimming in the WTCS. While standouts like Varga and Schoeman have pushed the pace, it is telling that there have been so few men to join them in the 8:30 region. If any athlete wants to transform how the men race, the swim offers some low-hanging fruit.
The second big takeaway pertains to what it takes to make the front group. At this point, it is on balance fair to say that an athlete will need to be able to hit 8:45 or better to cement themselves in the front group. Sub-9 minutes would be cutting it fine but it could be enough on a good day.
To be at the very front of the field, an athlete would realistically need to be in 8:30-35 territory.
