Yvonne van Vlerken

Yvonne van Vlerken winning silver at the 2008 Ironman world championship
Personal information
Nickname	The flying Dutchwoman
Born	(1978-11-05) 5 November 1978 (age 45) Krimpen aan de Lek, Netherlands
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)[1]
Sport
Country	Netherlands
Club	Tri Team Lustenau
Team	Endurance Team Austria[1]
Turned pro	2007
Coached by	Frank Senders Stapsport [2] Mark Allen[1]
Medal record Women's triathlon Ironman World Championships 2008 Kailua-Kona Individual Women's duathlon ITU Long Distance Duathlon World Championships 2006 Individual 2007 Individual 2008 Individual Powerman Duathlon European Championships 2006 Individual 2009 Individual 2005 Individual 2008 Individual 2007 Individual

Yvonne van Vlerken (born 5 November 1978) is a Dutch triathlete and duathlete, twice winner of Quelle Challenge Roth, who in 2008 set a world record for Ironman-distance triathlon races.^[3] She is one of a small group of female triathletes to have recorded three or more sub-9 hour times over the Ironman distance.^[4]

Early life

Yvonne van Vlerken was born in the small town of Krimpen aan de Lek near Gouda on 5 November 1978. Her father was an "excellent" football player, and she also became a footballer, playing for the South Holland team. After attending high school she graduated from a fitness-specific school with a degree in fitness coaching, professional aerobic instruction and sports massage therapy.^{[citation needed]} Van Vlerken worked in her home town for over 13 years. Her clients included school children for dance education and older people for fitness coaching.^[5]

Athletic career

On 13 July 2008, van Vlerken set a then new world record of 8:45:48 for Ironman-distance races at the Quelle Challenge Roth, more than five minutes faster than Paula Newby-Fraser's world record time of 8:50:53, which had stood for 14 years. The race took place in wet and cold conditions with non-stop rain and wind.^{[citation needed]} Yvonne van Vlerken broke the old record with the then second-fastest female Ironman-distance marathon time of 2:54:22. Her record stood for a year, until it was again broken in Roth by Chrissie Wellington, who lowered it by 13 minutes and 49 seconds, in dry and perfect conditions.^[6][7]

Yvonne van Vlerken's other accomplishments include:

• Recorded a sub-9 hour finish (8:51:55) at her Ironman-distance debut in Roth 2007.^[4]
• The only female athlete in history^{[citation needed]} who has held the world record for both the half-Ironman distance (4:07:29 at 2006 Ironman 70.3 Antwerp) and the full Ironman distance (8:45:48 at 2008 Challenge Roth)^[8]