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by Chelsea White/ITU Media
While the new year is in full effect, the anticipation for the upcoming 2019 Triathlon season is rapidly approaching! However, before we dive too deep into the year and we start gearing up for all of the action that is expected to unfold, we want to take a look back into the 2018 season and honour all of the impressive accomplishments, stats, moments and performances that made the year so epically thrilling!
We present the Best of 2018, the time of the year where we showcase the noteworthy, the remarkable, the powerful, the inspirational and the just down-right outstanding individuals that made us all fall in love with swimming, biking and running more than we already did.
So drumroll please, the first category is…. BEST SWIMMER!
Men’s Best Swimmer: Vincent Luis (FRA) in WTS Edmonton – 00:08:50, 750m
Vincent Luis had one of the best swim seasons of his career in 2018. Not only did he have the fastest split time in a sprint distance race, which was in WTS Edmonton when he swam 750 metres in 8 minutes and 50 seconds, but he also led out of the swim a total of three WTS races during the year. He also was the leader in the water in WTS Hamburg and in WTS Gold Coast.
Henri Schoeman (RSA) in WTS Montreal – 00:17:08, 1500m
The 2018 season was not the first time that Henri Schoeman dominated the men’s field in the swim. He regularly can be seen near the front of the pack in the water and is known for being one of the top consistently. But his swimming techniques helped him collect some wins in 2018, including winning the first WTS race of the season in Abu Dhabi. He led out of the swim in Abu Dhabi and went on to carry that lead into the bike and run to win the whole race entirely. He then followed suit in Bermuda and once again earned the top split time in the men’s race. It was then in Montreal that he was so fast, even he second-guessed himself. It was in Montreal that he had the fastest 1500 metre swim of the year with a time of 17:08. It was during that swim where he stopped midway through to stop and look back to see why he was so far ahead. You can check out that moment here
Women’s Best Swimmer – Jessica Learmonth (GBR) in WTS Abu Dhabi – 00:09:06, 750m & in WTS Leeds – 00:18:02, 1500m
This is the second year in a row that Jessica Learmonth has earned the honour of being the top women’s swimmer. She once again dominated in the water, leading in four WTS races and collected the top split times in both the sprint and standard-distance. She started the WTS season in Abu Dhabi and swam the 750 metres in 9 minutes and 6 seconds. Then on the 1500-metre swim course, in her home nation in WTS Leeds, she had a time of 18 minutes and 2 seconds to be the fastest woman of the day in the water. She also led in the women’s field in WTS Hamburg and WTS Montreal.
Other Best of 2018 Swim Stats:
Fastest World Cup Standard 1500m
M: Richard Varga (SVK) – Karlovy Vary – 00:16:29**
F: Lucy Hall (GBR) – Karlovy Vary – 00:18:04
Fastest World Cup Sprint 750m
M: Richard Varga – Chengdu – 00:06:14**
F: Emma Jeffcoat (AUS) – Chengdu – 00:6:34
**No surprise that Varga had top times in the World Cup series, he is also one of the best men’s swimmers in the field. In the WTS this season he led in 2 races (WTS Yokohama and WTS Leeds). In his career he has led in the swim during a WTS 35 times!
The 2018 Glasgow European Championships had an average 100m pace of 00:01:11.667 for the women and 00:01:06.867 for the men.
The fastest average swim pace in the women’s field during a World Cup was in Antwerp with 00:01:09.067/100m.
The fastest average swim pace in the men’s field during a World Cup was in Mooloolaba with 00:01:01.200/100m.
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