The Embrunman is a long distance triathlon held on August 15 each year around Embrun in the Hautes-Alpes, France. It is an equivalent triathlon consisting of a swim of 3.8 km, a 186 km cycle ride and running a marathon (42.195 km), but is not affiliated with the World Triathlon Corporation which owns the brand Ironman, so is not promoted as such. The French newspaper Le Dauphiné libéré described it in 2012 as the hardest triathlon in the world.[1] The men's record time for the event is 9 h 28m 18 s by the Frenchman Léon Chevalier on August 15, 2021 and the women's record is held by Carrie Lester from Australia at 10 h 46 m 26 s. The men's record number of victories in this event is held by spanish triathlete Marcel Zamora Pérez with six wins (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017), and women's record by Briton Bella Bayliss Commerford with 3 victories (2002, 2008, 2009).

Embrunman
DateAugust
LocationEmbrun, Haute Alpes, France
Event typeTriathlon
Distance 3.8 km
186 km
42,195 km
Established1984
Course recordsMen: 9h 26m 18s Léon Chevalier (2021) Women 10h 26m 26s Carrie Lester (2016)
Official siteembrunman.com
Participants3500 Professionals and amateurs in all events, 1500 in long distance event.

The Embrunman is the culmination of a multi day series of events dedicated to the sport of triathlon with an Olympic distance triathlon (1.5 km swim, 43.5 km bike, 10 km run) and events reserved for youth and beginners.

History

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Beginnings

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The first event was held on the 19 August 1984, but was only a hint of what it would become. It had a 750 m swim, 30 km bike and 10 km race walk. However, the first bike ride included the steep climb up the Cote de Chalvet (indeed the competitors had to tackle it twice) and which still features today at the end of the bike stage - triathletes today still call it "The Beast"

In 1985, the event was given the organisation of the standard distance triathlon championship of France. The route was adapted by lengthening the distance to 1,500 m swim, 70 km bike and 21 km run on a difficult circuit. 280 triathletes participated in the event, backed by 200 volunteers and 20,000 supporters.

A long distance event

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In 1986 the Embrun triathlon became a long distance event with a 4 km swim, 131.5 km bike and 42.2 km run. The organisers claimed at the time that among all categories of triathlon it was the most difficult in the world. In 1987, the distances were increased to 5 km swimming, 180 km cycling and 42 2 km of running. A larger climb was introduced of 2600 m on the bike course and 400 m in the marathon. The event's popularity increased with 420 competitors, 480 volunteers and a large audience attending the event. In 1989, the swimming distance of long-distance triathlon was reduced to 3800 m, to meet the specifications of the French Triathlon Federation (FFTRI). In 1990, the route was changed for the last time with the introduction, in the bike portion, of the ascent of the Col d'Izoard. This new route of 186 km in one loop is characterized by increased difficulty: 3600 m of climbing.

In 2008, despite the competition of the Olympic Games in Beijing, the event see a record of number of participates with 1260 registered on the long route and 600 on the short. Despite awful weather the race is held, although there are over 110 dropouts during the descent of the Izoard. In 2010, the event supports the twinning of the town of Embrun with the Thai island of Ko Samui with the creation of a long-distance triathlon on the island. The planned first event in 2011 was canceled due to natural disasters, but an event took place on 22 April 2012.

The short distance triathlon

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In 1988, in addition to the long-distance triathlon, an Olympic distance triathlon (triathlon M) was started, with 1.5 km swim, 43.5 km bike, and 10 km run. 520 competitors, 600 volunteers and 40,000 spectators participate in this event. In 1991, the Embrun short distance triathlon became a stage of the World Cup triathlon , a competition with 11 stages and held across 5 continents. For this event, the bike course was totally changed, with greater technical challenge and a vertical climb of 1,200 m located mainly on the first part of the course. 1,260 triathletes participated in the various formats as well as 1,000 volunteers and nearly 100,000 spectators. As part of its tenth event in 1993, Embrun hosts a stage of the World Cup triathlon for the third consecutive time. The attendance increased, to a record with 1,500 triathletes involved in various formats, 1300 volunteers, and over 100,000 spectators. It was not until 1997 that the short distance triathlon Embrun was a stage of the World Cup triathlon again, and for the last time. To date, with these 4 appearances, Embrum is the French triathlon which has most often hosted a stage of the World Cup circuit.

The Current Embrunman

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The 30th staging of the Embrunman in 2013 saw several events spread over five days of racing:

  • Long Distance Triathlon: 3.8 km: swimming, 186 km cycling, 42.2 km of running. The bike ascent is more than 3600 m and 400 m ascent in the run.
  • Short Triathlon : 1.5 km swim, 43.5 km bike, 10 km of running
  • Triathlon Sprint: 750 m swim, 18 km bike, 5 km run
  • Aquathlon : 1 km swim, 5 km run
  • Duathlon : 5 km Running, 19.1 km bike, 2.5 km run. The bike ride has a climb of 245 m
  • Run & bike : 22.5 km for a team of two competitors with one bike for a total vertical climb of 730 m.
  • A triathlon reserved for juniors with specific distances for each age class.

3500 triathletes, amateurs or professionals, juniors and veterans participated in these competitions, including 1000 registered on the short-distance triathlon and 1500 inscribed on the long distance triathlon.[2]

Long distance event winners

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Male winners

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Year Winner Time
1984   Gérard Honnorat
1985   Alain Dallenbach
1986   Dirk Aschmoneit
1987   Yves Cordier
1988   Yves Cordier
1989   Klöczl Gabor
1990   Klöczl Gabor 10 h 31 min
1991   Scott Molina 10 h 19 min
1992   Pim Van den Bos 10 h 09 min
1993   Philippe Lie 10 h 08 min 01 s
1994   Yves Cordier 10 h 10 min
1995   Philippe Lie 10 h 08 min
1996   Floris Jan Koole 10 h 24 min 48 s
1997   Philippe Lie 10 h 28 min
1998   Yves Cordier 10 h 19 min 51 s
1999   Yves Cordier 10 h 14 min 49 s
2000   François Chabaud 10 h 01 min 49 s
2001   Félix Rubio Martinez 9 h 57 min 37 s
2002   Félix Rubio Martinez 10 h 07 min 41 s
2003   Cyril Neveu 9 h 59 min 21 s
2004   Félix Rubio Martinez 10 h 02 min 43 s
2005   Félix Rubio Martinez 9 h 59 min 32 s
2006   Hervé Faure 9 h 54 min 31 s
2007   Hervé Faure 9 h 48 min 58 s
2008   Xavier Le Floch 10 h 06 min 35 s
2009   Marcel Zamora Perez 9 h 39 min 45 s
2010   Marcel Zamora Perez 9 h 38 min 49 s
2011   Hervé Faure 9 h 34 min 10 s
2012   Marcel Zamora Perez 9 h 39 min 23 s
2013   Marcel Zamora Perez[3] 9 h 42 min 20 s
2014   Marcel Zamora Perez 10 h 2 min 32 s
2015   Andrej Vištica 9 h 44 min 45 s
2016   James Cunnama 9 h 35 min 45 s
2017   Marcel Zamora Perez 9 h 43 min 13 s
2018   Diego Van Looy 9 h 45 min 54 s
2019   William Mennesson 9 h 48 min 6 s
2021   Léon Chevalier 9 h 26 min 18 s

Female winners

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Year Winner Time
1985   Odile Lagarde
1986   Nadia Cédolin
1987   Rita Keitmann
1988   Chantal Malherbe
1989   Marion Van Boven
1990   Dominique Damiani 13 h 33 min
1991   Dominique Damiani 13 h 26 min
1992   Tracey Ellingham 12 h 01 min
1993   Anne Marie Rouchon 11 h 37 min
1994   Gail Watson 12 h 27 min
1995   Barbara Alber 12 h 25 min
1996   Gail Watson 12 h 24 min
1997   Catherine Houseaux 12 h 40 min
1998   Barbara Alber 12 h 23 min
1999   Pascale Lafosse 12 h 46 min
2000   Bianca Van Djik 12 h 10 min
2001   Isabelle Mouthon-Michellys 11 h 55 min
2002   Bella Bayliss Commerford 11 h 41 min
2003   Catherine Houseaux 11 h 55 min
2004   Estelle Patou 12 h 26 min
2005   Estelle Leroi 12 h 17 min 25 s
2006   Estelle Leroi 11 h 56 min 37s
2007   Audrée Cléau 11 h 57 min 39s
2008   Bella Bayliss Commerford 11 h 26 min 06s
2009   Bella Bayliss Commerford 11 h 02 min 48s
2010   Teresa Macel 11 h 20 min 09s
2011   Erika Csomor 11 h 15 min 40s
2012   Jeanne Collonge 11 h 07min 09s
2013   Jeanne Collonge[4] 10 h 56 min 43s
2014   Eimear Mullan 11 h 29 min 36 s
2015   Emma Pooley 10 h 57 min 56 s
2016   Carrie Lester 10 h 46 min 26 s
2017   Tine Deckers 10 h 51min 14s
2018   Carrie Lester 10 h 51 min 43 s
2019   Judith Corachan Vaquera 10 h 54 min 7 s

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Article in Le Dauphiné.com, 15 August 2012 : « Hervé Faure, le tenant du titre, le dit lui-même : "C’est le triathlon le plus dur au monde, car il dure deux heures de plus que les autres ironman." [...] Établi l’an dernier, le record est détenu par le Français Hervé Faure (9h34’08). » Source : http://www.ledauphine.com/hautes-alpes/2012/08/15/une-histoire-de-fous
  2. ^ "La rétro sport DCI". Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  3. ^ "L'info sur e - briancon". Archived from the original on 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  4. ^ "Trimag l'Esprit du Triathlon: Embrun Man (F) - la victoire et le record pour Collonge". www.trimag.fr. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
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