Embrunman
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, 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.
The men's record time for the event is 9 h 34 m 10 s by the Frenchman Hervé Faure on August 15, 2011 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, and women's record by Briton Bella Bayliss Commerford with 3 victories.
The Embrunman is the culmination of a multi day series of events dedicated to the sport of triathlon with an Olympic distance triathlon and events reserved for youth and beginners.
History
Beginnings
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 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
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. 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
In 1988, in addition to the long-distance triathlon, an Olympic distance triathlon 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
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.
Long distance event winners
Male winners
| Year | Winner | Time |
| 1984 |  Gérard Honnorat | |
| 1985 |  Alain Dallenbach | |
| 1986 |  Dirk Aschnoneit | |
| 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 | 9 h 42 min 20 s |
| 2014 | Marcel Zamora Perez | 10 h 2 min 32 s |
| 2015 |  Andrej Vistica | 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 |
Female winners
| Year | Winner | Time |
| 1985 | Odile Lagarde | |
| 1986 | Nadia Cédolin | |
| 1987 | Rita Keitmann | |
| 1988 | Chantal Malherbe | |
| 1989 | Marion Van Bouen | |
| 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 | 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 |