An 80-Year-Old Woman Has Set a New Ironman World Championship Record
Natalie Grabow has become the oldest woman to complete the Ironman World Championship after finishing the 2025 race in Kona, Hawaii, at 80 years old.
The heat and humidity knocked out more than 60 competitors, but Grabow pushed through and finished strong. This wasn’t her first attempt, either. Grabow has a long history in endurance sports, and her latest achievement is the result of years of dedication.
She Completed the Race at 80 Years Old
Just two months after turning 80, Natalie Grabow made it through the finish line at the Ironman World Championship. This led her to earn the title of the first female finisher in the 80–84 division. The championship demands a 2.4‑mile swim in open ocean water, a 112‑mile bike ride across scorching lava fields, and a marathon through heat and steep elevation.
Grabow clocked a time of 16:45:26 and stayed under the 17‑hour cutoff. She pushed through a minor hamstring injury and even fell moments before the end. She stood back up, continued forward, and completed the final steps to loud cheers. When she crossed the line, she was greeted by Cherie Gruenfeld, the previous record holder at age 78.
She Began Competing Later in Life
Grabow didn’t enter her first triathlon until her late fifties. She had been a consistent runner, but injuries made her reconsider how she trained. In 2005, she started learning to swim and entered her first sprint triathlon that same year. The following year, she made her first appearance at Kona. The event would eventually become central to her life as an athlete. Learning to swim at 59 was a significant shift for her. She prepared consistently and improved across all three disciplines—swimming, cycling, and running.
Her approach didn’t rely on elite workout programs or state-of-the-art facilities. Instead, she swam at her local YMCA, biked indoors on a trainer, and ran at the local high school track. By 2025, she had participated in the Ironman World Championship in Kona 11 times. She also competed in Ironman 70.3 events and steadily improved her performance over time. She qualified for this year’s event by winning her age group at Ironman Maryland.
Her Competitive Drive Has Never Slowed
Image via Pexels/Ricardo Sobrinho
Since 2022, the athlete has won every competition she entered in her age group, including her first-place finish at Ironman Maryland, which secured her spot in the 2025 championship. She also came in second in Kona in her age group in 2022. Her results are impressive, but her mindset is just as notable.
Coach Michelle Lake said she studies not only her age-group competitors but also male athletes in the same bracket. She looks for ways to improve and push her own limits, even when her field is small.