The Tools of the Top 10 Pro Men Swim Splits at the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship

There were 53 pro men who started Sunday’s IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France. The non-wetsuit swim saw just 11:20 separating the fastest from the slowest swim of the day; that’s a two minute tighter spread than the 2023 men’s championship held here. The fastest time was also over 2.5 minutes faster than from 2023.

Sailfish had the most top swim splits, with three athletes wearing their swimskins. Deboer and Blueseventy also had multiple athletes wearing their suits, with ROKA, Huub, and TYR all with a single athlete appearing. Perhaps most interestingly, despite nearly all athletes wearing sleeved kits, all of the top swimmers sought the additional flexibility that comes from a sleeveless swim skin.

As always: you had to finish the entire race in order to be counted in this breakdown of splits and swim gear. Here’s how it shook out:

1.) Andrea Salvisberg – 45:11

Swimskin: deboer Tsunami 4.0
The fastest man in the water used the latest version of deboer’s swimskin. The key feature of the Tsunami 4.0 is a proprietary fiber called Tridium, which has a hexagonal 3D texture to it. deboer claims that it “leverages the boundary layer phenomenon to delay laminar flow separation, significantly decreasing drag – the most effective way to increase your speed in the water.” They also re-tailored the fit over the prior iteration. The Tsunami 4.0 costs $399.99 USD.

2.) Jonas Schomburg – 45:12

Swimskin: Huub Pinnacle
Huub partnered with one of triathlon’s all-time leading swimmers, Andy Potts, to develop the Pinnacle. The suit features a high-degree of compression around the core, along with hydrophobic fabrics to reduce drag. Huub says that the suit improves body positioning in the water and can reduce times by upwards of 4.5 seconds per 100 meters. It runs £249.99.

3.) Jamie Riddle – 45:15

Swimskin: deboer Tsunami 4.0
Riddle, too, wore the new Tsunami 4.0. He’d use that front-pack swim as a launching pad for his 10th place performance overall.

4.) Marten Van Riel – 45:17

Swimskin: ROKA Viper X.3 Custom
Van Riel wore a one-off all white version of ROKA’s latest swimskin (the retail version comes in, as you can probably guess, any color you like so long as it is black). The focus on the Viper X.3 is core stability and trying to keep good body positioning in the water. ROKA says it makes swimmers feel “freest” and “most comfortable” out of their swim skins. The Viper X.3 retails for $425.

5.) Finn Große-Freese – 45:17

Swimskin: sailfish Rebel Pro Plus 1
Große-Freese wore the top-end swimskin from Sailfish. It, too, has a textured fabric for drag reduction. sailfish says that its compression layers are targeted to enhance blood flow. It’s also a fully seamless construction, and has an inverse back zipper (similar to Blueseventy’s wetsuits). Cost: $395 USD.

6.) Jan Stratmann – 45:18

Swimskin: Blueseventy PZ4TX
No, Stratmann did not go completely bare torso for the swim, despite this photo. He was one of the fastest to get his swimskin off of his shoulders — thanks in no small part to Blueseventy’s use of premium fabrics and a locking zipper that makes it a speedy suit to transition out of. It’s also one of the least expensive of the swim skins worn this year — coming in at $330.

7.) Wilhelm Hirsch – 45:19

Swimskin: sailfish Rebel Pro 3
Hirsch used a slightly more flexible suit compared to the Pro Plus 1, at least in the shoulders. The rest of the suit is highly compressive, which I can personally attest to. It also makes it fast. According to sailfish, this is basically the suit that founder Jan Sibbersen wore for the old IRONMAN Hawaii swim course record, just updated with modern materials and construction. It’s also the “bargain” of the swim skins, coming in at $325.

8.) Casper Stornes – 45:21

Swimskin: sailfish Rebel Pro Plus 1
The 2025 IRONMAN World Champion started off his day making up the end of the lead swim pack. He opted for the Pro Plus 1’s fit over the Rebel Pro 3.

9.) Kacper Stepniak – 46:02

Swimskin: Blueseventy PZ4TX
Stepniak was another man wearing the PZ4TX. Using the same materials as Blueseventy’s pool racing suits, it’s got some of the fastest fabric in the water.

10.) Rudy Von Berg – 46:04

Swimskin: TYR (non-retail)
Von Berg, who wore an ARK branded swimskin last year in Kona, wore a TYR branded one this year. However, the cut and fabric patterns don’t match any of TYR’s current or past products. Regardless of the brand, Von Berg’s been at or near the front for the last three IRONMAN World Championships.

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