About the book

It started with a blog in January 2008 and led to a story ‘Assault on the World Record’ in the June 2008 issue of Triathlete magazine. Weeks later, seven women went Sub Nine, with three of them breaking the 14-year-old record of Paula Newby-Fraser. And the idea for a book was born. 

The book profiles each of the 22 women who have finished an Iron-distance triathlon in less than nine hours. 

An Iron-distance triathlon consists of a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike and a 42.2km run.

The first woman to accomplish this feat was Thea Sybesma of the Netherlands at a race in Roth, Germany in 1991.