Who are the fastest swimmers in triathlon at the Olympics?

There will be 110 athletes from 42 nations lining up on the pontoon in the men’s and women’s triathlons in Paris knowing that while the 1,500m swim is always important in standard-distance racing, it could prove more critical in these Olympics for a number of reasons. 

Firstly, comparatively fewer world-class triathletes line up than in a leading WTCS race due to the way qualification spots are awarded to athletes from developing nations. This means gaps between the leading swimmers are often greater and the advantage of any draft in the water is reduced.

Secondly, while many of the athletes have the experience of last year’s test event, the two-lap downstream-upstream swim in the Seine is subject to the fast-flowing current, meaning details such as where athletes line up on the pontoon and what lines they take to the buoys can prove crucial. The straightest line isn’t always the quickest.

Thirdly, judging by the Paris test event on the same course last year, we could be in for the slowest Olympic swim yet, which – with a fast bike and run to follow – means it takes up a greater proportion of the race. 

Ranging from a few seconds to more than a minute, the leading time in the men’s test event was slower than all six previous Olympic Games, while the swim in Beijing 2008 was the only women’s Olympic swim leg to be slower than last summer.

With this in mind, let’s look at some of the fastest swimmers lining up on the pontoon…

Who are the fastest female triathlete swimmers racing in Paris?

Bianca Seregni will be hoping for a repeat of the test event swim. The young Italian lined up on the far right of the pontoon but managed to get her line to the first buoy perfect, establishing a lead and emerging first into T1 in 19:42. Seregni is rarely far from the front of the swim, but struggled thereafter and finally finished 36th.

Home favourite Cassandre Beaugrand was third out of the water in the test event and has long been recognised as one of the most accomplished swimmers in the sport. Beaugrand will be hoping for better fortune than the last Olympics, one of the few times she has struggled in the water and came out 73secs behind swim leader Jess Learmonth before dropping out on the bike.

Second on to dry land that day to Learmonth was Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes. The 27-year-old, whose mother swam in the Pan American Games and cousin at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was also fourth into T1 in the test event and produced the second fastest swim in Cagliari WTCS in May. 

Ahead of Lopes in Sardinia was Holland’s Maya Kingma, who also returns for her second Olympics. Kingma was back in the pack in the test event and will be hoping for a better performance, with a breakaway on the bike her best chance of a medal.

Of potential medal contenders, USA’s Taylor Knibb is rarely off the pace, although was outside the top 20 fastest swimmers in the test event, which did throw up a few surprises in the water. Knibb’s team-mate Taylor Spivey, France’s Emma Lombardi and defending Olympic champion Flora Duffy are also regularly among the fastest swimmers in the sport.

How will Team GB’s women swim in Paris? 

There is little to choose between Beth Potter, Georgia Taylor-Brown or Kate Waugh and while it’s rare to see any of them lead the swim (not necessarily preferable anyway given the extra energy cost), they are all consistently well positioned mounting the bike. 

A recent example was the Cagliari WTCS, where Potter was seventh out of the water and 7secs off the front, with Waugh and Taylor-Brown just 8secs and 10secs respectively behind the Scot. 

There is always room for improvement, though. While Taylor-Brown was absent from the test event, both Potter and Waugh were in the main pack 35secs down. Both will be hoping to be in advance of that on 31 July.

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Which female triathletes were first out of the water in past Olympics?

Tokyo 2021: Jess Learmonth (GBR) 18:24

Rio 2016: Carolina Routier (ESP) 19:01

London 2012: Lucy Buckingham (GBR) 18:16

Beijing 2008: Laura Bennett (USA) 19:48

Athens 2004: Loretta Harrop (AUS) 18:37

Sydney 2000: Sheila Taormina (USA) 18:36

Who are the fastest male triathlete swimmers racing in Paris?

Four of the fastest five male swimmers from last year’s test event have missed out on selection for Paris, meaning there will be some different names at the front of the field heading into T1.

Vincent Luis was the fastest in the water at both the last Olympics and the test event (18:12), but the Frenchman missed selection for the hosts. Neither will Hungary’s Mark Dévay return, the second fastest swimmer in the test event having also lost out in a close decision to Bence Bicsák.

Times have moved on since it was all but guaranteed that Slovakian Richard Varga would be leading out the swim as he did in almost every big race, including London 2012 and Rio 2016. And with the top 44 swimmers all within a minute of the lead swimmer in the Seine last summer, it looks wide open as to who will lead out the water. 

Jonas Schomburg was the last German selected but shouldn’t be far off the pace having been in the front five in both the test event and first two WTCS races this year.

Spain’s ever-consistent swimmer Javier Gomez has moved on, but Alberto Gonzalez Garcia, who won a Hong Kong World Triathlon Cup in March, also led out of the water in Cagliari WTCS and should be contention. 

The French trio of Léo Bergere, Dorian Coninx and Pierre Le Corre were all within 16secs of the lead in the test event, and it’s rare to see any of them have a poor swim either.

The same goes for Matt Hauser, who won’t just be hoping to emerge with the leaders out of the water but be there at the finish too to become the first Australian male to win an Olympic medal.

The Italian Alessio Crociani may be one of the lesser known triathletes racing, but has also shown his speed in the water, leading out in Napier and Wanaka in February. 

Just behind him in Napier was New Zealand’s Dylan McCullough, who will be working as a pilot for Hayden Wilde in Paris, giving him extra incentive to get on the bike early and be ready to support.

Hungarian No 1 and former Under-23 world champion Csongor Lehmann is renowned for his swimming ability and with his first WTCS podium in Sardinia is an emerging threat overall. 

Finally, while South Africa’s Henri Schoeman has struggled for form and fitness in recent years, he is still one of the better swimmers on the circuit and will be headed to Paris alongside another specialist in 21-year-old teammate Jamie Riddle.

How will Team GB’s men swim in Paris? 

The swim could be the catalyst for Alex Yee to have the race of his life or suffer for the next hour plus. 

While Yee has worked relentlessly on his get-out speed and trying to become a front pack swimmer, he admits he struggles in the colder water – especially when it is just above the wetsuit-legal limit – which could have a knock-on effect to the rest of his race. 

Last year’s WTCS Grand Final in Pontevedra was an example of where Yee suffered, but he showed in Cagliari – with the fastest second 750m in the field – that he has the ability.

Sam Dickinson will be going hard in the swim to fulfil his likely role of helping Yee on the bike. His last Olympic-distance race was in Cagliari where he was already in domestique mode – 1sec and one position ahead of Yee in 15th out of the water. 

Which male triathletes were first out of the water in past Olympics?

Tokyo 2021: Vincent Luis (FRA) 17:39

Rio 2016: Richard Varga (SVK) 17:18

London 2012: Richard Varga (SVK) 16:56

Beijing 2008: Shane Reid (NZ) 18:00

Athens 2004: Andy Potts (USA) 17:49

Sydney 2000: Craig Walton (AUS) 17:17

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