There are several common triathlon distances, and of course, a good triathlon time will depend on the specific triathlon distance event.
Because there are so many factors that impact a good triathlon time, it is virtually impossible to specifically give good triathlon times that have much transferable meaning from course to course or even individual to individual.
There are no official standards as to what constitutes a good sprint triathlon time, good Olympic distance triathlon time, good 70.3 triathlon time, or good Ironman triathlon time because of the multitude of factors that impact how difficult the course is.
However, looking at good triathlon times by age and sex for each distance is the closest we can get to trying to ballpark a “good triathlon time.”
In this guide, we will look at average triathlon times by distance, age, and sex so you can see how your own triathlon performances stack up to the good triathlon times!
Let’s dive in!
Factors That Impact a Good Triathlon Time
Aside from the distance of the triathlon race, other factors can have a big impact on a good triathlon time for a given race or athlete.
Here are some of the top factors that can impact your triathlon performance time:
- Distance of the triathlon race
- Experience level with triathlon races, which can impact your technique (triathlon swim technique, cycling power and technique, etc.), speed, transition times, etc.
- Fitness level and training level for the triathlon event that you are participating in
- The gear that you have, particularly the type of triathlon bike (for example, an actual triathlon bike with aero bars versus a regular road bike, hybrid bike, or even heavy mountain bike for recreational triathletes)
- Whether you wear a wetsuit for the swim
- How hilly the course is, particularly for the bike but also for the run
- Whether it is an open water swim or a pool swim as well as the conditions of the water (current, visibility, etc.)
- The weather conditions and wind speed (headwind vs tailwind on the bike, for example), heat, humidity, rain
- Your age
- Your sex
- Body weight
- Fueling strategy
What’s A Good Triathlon Time? Average Triathlon Times By Age, Sex, and Race Distance
Even here, there are no official standards for triathlon times for women or men by age for each distance.
Rather, triathlon gurus and triathlon data crunchers have analyzed triathlon race results across different distances.
Although all of these respective analyses are somewhat different, we can look at the average triathlon times by age and sex for each of the major triathlon distances by comparing the “average triathlon time for women” and “average triathlon time for men“ by age from each of these various triathlon data sites.
What’s a Good Sprint Triathlon Time?
According to TriGearLab, the overall average sprint triathlon time is 1:40 across all sexes and ages.1Jones, R. (2023, October 2). Triathlon Times: What’s a Good Triathlon Time Across Age Groups and Distances? — TRIGEARLAB. Trigearlab.com. https://trigearlab.com/triathlon-times/
The average sprint triathlon time for men across all ages is 1 hour and 36 minutes, and the average sprint triathlon time for women is 1 hour and 46 minutes.
Here are the average sprint triathlon times by sex and age group:
| Age Group | Average Sprint Triathlon Time Males | Average Sprint Triathlon Time Females |
| 18-24 | 1:25:25 | 1:37:54 |
| 25-29 | 1:27:11 | 1:35:09 |
| 30-34 | 1:29:22 | 1:37:13 |
| 35-39 | 1:30:27 | 1:38:33 |
| 40-44 | 1:31:47 | 1:39:41 |
| 45-49 | 1:32:12 | 01:41:22 |
| 50-54 | 1:32:24 | 01:43:47 |
| 55-59 | 1:33:30 | 01:47:31 |
| 60-64 | 1:35:22 | 01:49:54 |
| 65-69 | 1:37:25 | 01:52:16 |
| 70-74 | 1:46:02 | 01:56:48.7 |
What’s a Good Olympic Distance Triathlon Time For Men?
According to Triathlete, the average Olympic distance triathlon time for men is 2:53.2Cox, R. (2023, May 11). What’s A Good Triathlon Time? Triathlete. https://www.triathlete.com/training/whats-a-good-triathlon-time/#section_1
A “good Olympic distance triathlon time” for men is 2:35, as this represents finishing in the top 20% across all age groups.
Men in the youngest age group are the fastest, with an average Olympic triathlon time for men being about 2:47 in the 18-24 age group.
A “good Olympic distance triathlon time” for men in this age group is 2:23.
The slowest average Olympic triathlon time by age for men is seen in the oldest group—age 75-79—where the average men’s Olympic distance triathlon time is 3:29.
What’s a Good Olympic Distance Triathlon Time For Women?
The average Olympic distance triathlon time for women is 3:07.
A “good Olympic distance triathlon time” for women is 2:49, as this represents finishing in the top 20% of women across all age groups.
Like men, women in the youngest age group are the fastest, with an average Olympic triathlon time for women being about 2:36 in the 18-24 age group.
A “good Olympic distance triathlon time” for women in this age group is 2:43 (top 20%).
The slowest average Olympic triathlon time by age for women is seen in the oldest group—age 70-74—where the average women’s Olympic distance triathlon time is 4:05.
According to TriGearLab, the average Olympic distance triathlon time by age and sex is as follows:
| Age Group | Average Olympic Triathlon Time Males | Average Olympic Triathlon Time Females |
| 18-24 | 2:43:25 | 2:55:27 |
| 25-29 | 2:39:04 | 2:51:11 |
| 30-34 | 2:40:11 | 2:53:10 |
| 35-39 | 2:42:19 | 2:54:15 |
| 40-44 | 2:44:15 | 2:56:53 |
| 45-49 | 2:45:55 | 2:59:36 |
| 50-54 | 2:46:25 | 3:02:17 |
| 55-59 | 2:50:13 | 3:06:22 |
| 60-64 | 2:55:00 | 3:13:04 |
| 65-69 | 3:00:34 | 3:19:32 |
| 70-74 | 3:21:24 | 3:28:28 |
What Is a Good Half Ironman Triathlon Time?
Different sources report slightly different average half Ironman triathlon times, but according to a RunTri analysis of more than 67,000 finishers in 40 Half Ironman triathlons:3How Much Time Does it Take to Finish a Half Ironman 70.3? Average Half Ironman Finish Times. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2023, from https://www.runtri.com/2011/06/how-much-time-does-it-take-to-finish_27.html
The average Half Ironman finish time is about 6 hours, with the 1.2-mile swim segment time being approximately 45 minutes, the 56-mile bike segment in 3 hours, and the 13.1-mile run portion in 2:15.
There are also highly detailed Half Ironman finish time analyses conducted by Voyage and Venture and MyTriWorld.4Corey, A. (2021, April 5). Average Half Ironman Time: Breakdown of Ironman 70.3 Times Across All Categories. Voyage & Venture. https://www.voyageandventure.com/average-half-ironman-time/
We totaled the segment portions to determine the average transition time (time remaining) and represented each segment of the race in a percentage of the overall triathlon.
Average Half Ironman Times for Amateur Men
| Triathlon Leg | Voyage and Venture | Percentage of Race | MyTriWorld | Percentage of Race |
| Overall Average Half Ironman Triathlon Time for Amateur Women | 5:51:25 | 100% | 5:58 | 100% |
| Average Half Ironman Swim Time | 38:51 | 11% | 40 | 11% |
| Average Half Ironman Bike Time | 2:54:38 | 49% | 3:02 | 50% |
| Average Half Ironman Run Time: | 2:04:16 | 25% | 2:11 | 36% |
| Average Transition Time | 13:40 | 4% | 12 | 3% |
Average Half Ironman Times for Amateur Women
| Triathlon Leg | Voyage and Venture | Percentage of Race | MyTriWorld | Percentage of Race |
| Overall Average Half Ironman Triathlon Time for Amateur Women | 6:18:13 | 100% | 6:28 | 100% |
| Average Half Ironman Swim Time | 40:39 | 12% | 43 | 11% |
| Average Half Ironman Bike Time | 3:10:44 | 51% | 3:14 | 50% |
| Average Half Ironman Run Time: | 2:13:06 | 37% | 2:00 | 36% |
| Average Transition Time | 13:44 | 4% | 12 | 3% |
According to TriGearLab, the average Half Ironman finish times by age group are as follows:
| Age-Group | Male | Female |
| 18-24 | 6:13:41 | 6:39:38 |
| 25-29 | 6:16:07 | 6:39:48 |
| 30-34 | 6:13:49 | 6:41:08 |
| 35-39 | 6:15:00 | 6:44:53 |
| 40-44 | 6:19:48 | 6:50:14 |
| 45-49 | 6:25:59 | 6:55:13 |
| 50-54 | 6:35:48 | 6:58:28 |
| 55-59 | 6:43:57 | 7:06:30 |
| 60-64 | 6:54:44 | 7:20:27 |
| 65-69 | 7:05:35 | 7:25:30 |
| 70-74 | 7:22:12 | 7:42:56 |
Finally, according to Voyage and Venture, the average Half Ironman finish times for professional triathletes are around 3:50-4:05 for men and 4:20-4:35 for women.
What Is a Good Ironman Triathlon Time?
According to RunTri’s analysis of more than 41,000 finishers in 25 Ironman triathlons, the average Ironman time across all ages and sexes is 12 hours and 35 minutes.5How Much Time Does it Take to Finish an Ironman Triathlon? Average Ironman Finish Times. (n.d.). https://www.runtri.com/2011/06/how-long-does-it-take-to-finish-ironman.html
This breaks down to the average segment times as follows: 2.4-mile swim: 1:16; 112-mile bike: 6:25; and 26.2-mile run: 4:54.
According to TriGearLab, the average Ironman time for men is 12 hours and 38 minutes and the average Ironman finish time for women is 13 hours and 35 minutes.6Jones, R. (2023, October 2). Average Ironman Time: How Much Time Does it Take to Finish an Ironman Triathlon? — TRIGEARLAB. Trigearlab.com. https://trigearlab.com/average-ironman-time/
When breaking down the triathlon into each discipline, the analysis reports that the average swim time is 1 hour and 19 minutes, representing approximately 10% of the race.
The average Ironman bike time is 6 hours and 19 minutes, constituting about 50% of the total finish time. Finally, the average Ironman run time is 4 hours and 50 minutes, which is about 40% of the total race time.
Finally, TriGearLab7Jones, R. (2023, October 2). Average Ironman Time: How Much Time Does it Take to Finish an Ironman Triathlon? — TRIGEARLAB. Trigearlab.com. https://trigearlab.com/average-ironman-time/ reports that the average finishing time at the Ironman World Championships8IM World Champ. (n.d.). Www.ironman.com. https://www.ironman.com/im-world-championship in Kona, Hawaii Kona is 11 hours and 31 minutes.
This breaks down as an average segment finish times of 1 hour and 13 minutes for the 2.4-mile swim, 5 hours and 51 minutes for the 112-mile bike segment, and 4 hours and 14 minutes for the 26.2-mile run.
The main reason the average Ironman finish time at Kona is significantly faster than the average Ironman triathlon time overall is because Kona is the World Championships, where age-group leaders compete, so the average performance level is higher.
According to MyTriWorld, the average Ironman time is 12 hours and 49 minutes, with women finishing in 13 hours and 35 minutes on average and men completing the 140.6-mile event in approximately 12 hours and 38 minutes.
Although these average Ironman finish times differ slightly from those reported by TriGearLab, the percentage of time spent on each segment of the race was essentially identical in both analyses.
MyTriWorld reports that the average swim is also 1 hour and 19 minutes (10% of the race), the average bike time is 6 hours and 19 minutes (again, 50% of the race), and the average run is 4 hours and 54 minutes (38%) of the race with the remaining 17 minutes (2%) constituting the transitions.
According to TriGearLab, the following is a breakdown of the average Ironman triathlon finish times by age and sex:
| Age-Group | Average Ironman Finish TImes for Men | Average Ironman Finish TImes for Women |
| 18-24 | 12:32:22 | 13:01:50 |
| 25-29 | 12:24:24 | 12:57:38 |
| 30-34 | 12:25:18 | 13:05:49 |
| 35-39 | 12:27:51 | 13:13:08 |
| 40-44 | 12:41:24 | 13:22:02 |
| 45-49 | 12:55:46 | 13:33:51 |
| 50-54 | 13:15:30 | 13:50:32 |
| 55-59 | 13:33:36 | 14:01:59 |
| 60-64 | 13:48:08 | 14:39:48 |
| 65-69 | 14:13:06 | 14:59:58 |
| 70-74 | 14:28:52 | 15:23:26 |
Looking to shave down your triathlon PR? You can check out our guide to strength training for triathletes here and our triathlon training plan database, here!
