Despite being the other side of her 30th birthday before turning pro, Ruth Astle is quietly amassing a series of Ironman successes that have landed her among long-distance royalty.
Who is Ruth Astle?
For someone who only became a professional triathlete in her thirties, Ruth Astle has reached a serious altitude in the sport.
Her achievements among the elite corps are even more remarkable bearing in mind she still holds down a two-days-a-week corporate job in the City.
Astle – then competing as Ruth Purbrook – first took up triathlon in 2013 while training for the Berlin Marathon.
A little bored with just running, an invitation through her work at Lloyds Bank to take a charity place at the London Triathlon took her life down a route she never expected.
Bitten by the bug of multisport competition, Astle swiftly developed an ambition to compete for her country, but soon realised she didn’t have the speed either in the water or on the run to compete for an international slot in short-distance racing.
Instead, her gaze fell on longer-course competition.
Her impact was almost immediate, becoming an age-group Ironman 70.3 European champion before a double dose of full-distance success at Kona, taking gold in both the F25-29 and F30-34 categories.
Sitting on top of the amateur world was the fuel for Astle to cut down her hours in the office and go pro, a move she’s never regretted since.
Last season found Astle truly finding her stride, with wins at both Ironman Mallorca and Ironman South Africa before she travelled to Utah for her first world championships as a pro this spring.
Her fifth place there confirmed that the Londoner has truly earned her place at the top table of Ironman racing.
How old is Ruth Astle?
Ruth Astle was born on July 7 1989, making her 33 years of age.
Ruth Astle’s career highlights
August 2016: An age-grouper European title
Although her pro compatriots Jodie Swallow, Emma Pallant and Vanessa Raw finish comfortably ahead of her at the Ironman 70.3 European championships in Wiesbaden, Astle (then racing as Ruth Purbrook) takes 16th place, making her the fastest in the F25-29 age group.
The result replicates her age-group finish at Ironman 70.3 Mallorca three months earlier.
September 2016: A world championship medal
A month later at the Ironman 70.3 world championships in Mooloolaba in Queensland, Astle enjoys further age-group success, securing bronze in, again, the F25-29 category.
May 2017: Astle makes her Ironman bow
Astle goes full distance for the first time to good effect, the third F25-29 finisher at Ironman Lanzarote.
She returns to the island little more than three months later to take an age-group win at 70.3 following similar successes at Ironman 70.3 UK and Ironman 70.3 Jonkoping.
October 2017: A silver on her Kona debut
In her first appearance on the start line in Hawaii, Astle takes age-group silver behind Australia’s Emily Loughnan.
October 2018: An age-group world title
After topping the F25-29 category at Ironman France in June, Astle goes one better than her Kona debut 12 months earlier, taking age-group gold and knocking more than half an hour of her 2017 time.
October 2019: A second Kona triumph
Having moved up to the F30-34 age group, Astle claims a second successive world crown in Hawaii, in the process finishing top female age-grouper overall. Another quarter of an hour is sliced off her PB.
September 2020: Second place in Cumbria’s mountains
By now competing as a pro (albeit part-time during the uncertainty of the pandemic), Astle takes second at ever-challenging Helvellyn. Her scalps include India Lee, Lucy Buckingham and Lucy Gossage.
November 2020: Fourth home at Ironman Florida
Astle truly announces herself on the international Ironman pro stage with fourth place at Panama City Beach where she sets a new bike course record.
Astle is only beaten by the well-established, A-list likes of Kat Matthews, Skye Moench and Meredith Kessler.
October 2021: Maiden Ironman win as a pro
Astle heads off to the Balearics where she registers her first-ever pro Ironman victory in Mallorca. It’s a double notable performance; she clocks a sub-9hr Ironman for the first time.
November 2021: Victory at Ironman South Africa
The following month, Astle confirms her standing among the elite Ironman ranks with victory in Port Elizabeth. Her race times continue to drop too. Here she breaks the tape in a highly impressive 8:38:50.
May 2022: Top-five finish at the World Champs
After the 2020 Ironman World Championships were cancelled (and the 2021 version rescheduled) because of the pandemic, this is Astle’s first experience of Ironman’s greatest race as a pro.
Held in Utah rather than her happy hunting-ground of Kona, Astle nonetheless takes fifth place, helped by posting the day’s second-fastest bike split.
August 2022: Bronze in Swansea
Finishes third behind Lydia Dant in second and Matthews in first at the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Swansea.
October 2022: Top-15 in her first Kona as a pro
As she admits on her Instagram feed post-race, this was not the day she wanted or had hoped for. Her 9:20:36 finish time is enough for 14th but it's also 30secs slower than her 2019 age-group-winning race.
November 2022: Takes her third Ironman win
Heads to Israel and makes up for her Kona disappointment with a solid victory. Her 8:41:12 winning time is also 9mins clear of second place Daniela Bleymehl.
Ruth Astle in quotes
On focusing on long-course racing: “Representing GB became my aim, but it soon became obvious that my swim and run weren’t quick enough to be competitive at the Olympic distance, so I then started doing longer races. I did my first Ironman in 2017.”
On balancing a part-time job in the City with life as a pro triathlete: “To fit it all in, you have to be efficient and motivated. Luckily, I enjoy both my job and my training. Exercise is a way to de-stress after work and the job is a distraction from the aches and pains.”
On her chances at her first Ironman world championships as a pro (where she would finish fifth): “I’m not necessarily aiming to win it yet. If I compare myself to the main contenders, I think I still have some way to go. But it’s an Ironman and anything can happen. If I have a good race, I would hope to be in the top five or on the podium.”
On her Kona debut as a pro in 2022: "That was a seriously brutal day… out on the Queen K was thinking of all the reasons not to step off the course and dnf… Onwards and upwards. . . Taking lots of motivation from watching a great race play out yesterday to come back better next year."
What’s next for Ruth Astle?
Adding the world crown to her age-group Kona titles will mark the denouement of an extraordinary career path.
Top image credit: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images for Ironman
