As with the women’s WTCS, 2022 saw members of the men’s field record splits that were among the best in WTCS history.
How fast are the fastest? Some of the splits in the past 13 years have been nothing short of mind-boggling.
Olympic distance
Alistair Brownlee continues to be the owner of the fastest run split in the WTCS courtesy of his 28:43 in London in 2009. However, in 2022 Alex Yee gave that time an almighty scare with his 28:50 at WTCS Yokohama.
But for a series of cramps that reduced him to hobble at times, Yee may have gotten even closer to Brownlee’s mark later in the year at WTCS Cagliari. Having raced internationally on the track, it would be fair to expect Yee to take another swing at Brownlee’s mark in 2023.
The only other two men to have dipped under 29 minutes are still Stefan Justus (28:54) and Mario Mola (28:59). One of the challengers for the world title in 2022, though, was very close to joining that elite group.
Hayden Wilde ran to a brilliant 29:03 in Yokohama, the 7th fastest run of all time. While Sebastian Rank (29:01) and Javier Gomez Noya (29:02) still lie ahead of him, it would be a relatively safe bet to expect to see Wilde break under 29 minutes next season.
Wilde’s compatriot, Kris Gemmell, is next in the all-time rankings with a 29:04 while Brownlee and Gomez round out the top-10 with 29:04 and 29:06 splits.
It will be a special day when all ten of the fastest men’s splits the WTCS are under 29 minutes. With the likes of Yee, Wilde and Morgan Pearson, it could well happen in the next few years.
Sprint distance
In a similar story to Gwen Jorgensen in the women’s field, three-time world champion Mario Mola has dominated the Sprint distance rankings. His 13:55 split in 2015 is the fastest ever and he has the joint second fastest with a 13:59 from 2018.
Javier Gomez Noya also has a 13:59 from Stockholm in 2012, although Mola has five of the six best times in history. Richard Murray and Jonathan Brownlee are tied for 7th with 14:05 splits, both of which came from 2012. It is clear that the London Olympics in 2012 had a galvanising effect on the men’s field as some of the fastest Sprint times ever come from the build-up to the Games.
It is then that we come to the newcomer from 2022.
One again, it is Wilde that has broken into the top ten. His 14:07 in Hamburg this year narrowly made the cut. By a quirk of history, that matches Alex Yee’s 14:07 from Abu Dhabi in 2019. As a result, both men are currently tied as 9th fastest of all time over the run in the Sprint distance.
With both Yee and Wilde being so close to that sub-14 minute barrier, we might just see them break under it in 2023 or 2024.
