Enter the water temperature and see whether a wetsuit is mandatory, optional, optional with no awards, or banned under the IRONMAN and World Triathlon age-group rules.
Race officials measure it on the day and their reading decides.
Wetsuit
Wetsuit legal, your choice
You can race in a wetsuit and still be eligible for awards. Most athletes wear one.
For age-group athletes, a wetsuit is allowed in water up to and including 24.5 °C (76.1 °F). Below 16 °C (60.8 °F) it is mandatory. Above 24.5 °C and up to 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) the organiser may, at its own discretion, offer a separate non-competitive wetsuit wave: athletes in it are not eligible for age-group awards or World Championship slots. Above 28.8 °C wetsuits are banned. These limits do not change with swim length.
The age-group table depends on swim length and age. For athletes up to the 55 to 59 category, a wetsuit is forbidden at 22 °C and above on swims up to 1,500 m, and at 24.6 °C and above on longer swims. For the 60 to 64 category and older it is forbidden at 24.6 °C and above at every distance. For everyone, a wetsuit is mandatory at 15.9 °C and below.
Officials take the temperature one hour before the start, at 60 cm depth, in three places on the course. When the water is 22 °C or colder and the air is 15 °C or colder, the water value is adjusted downward before the table is read, so a cold, windy morning can make a wetsuit mandatory at a water temperature that looks fine.
The reading that counts is the official one on race morning, and the race director can adapt wetsuit rules for weather. Your event may also apply local rules, such as the national federation's. Treat the result as a planning guide and check the athlete guide for your race. If a wetsuit is likely, add it to the packing list, and look up your race in the race directory.
The pace converter turns your swim pace into a leg time, and the taper calculator plans the weeks before the race.
Age-group athletes can wear a wetsuit up to and including 24.5 °C (76.1 °F). Between 24.5 and 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) the organiser may allow a separate wetsuit wave with no age-group awards. Above 28.8 °C wetsuits are banned.
Under IRONMAN rules it is mandatory below 16 °C (60.8 °F). Under World Triathlon rules it is mandatory at 15.9 °C (60.6 °F) and below, for every age group and distance.
A wetsuit is forbidden at 22 °C and above for swims up to 1,500 m and at 24.6 °C and above for longer swims, for athletes up to the 55 to 59 category. For the 60 to 64 category and older the limit is 24.6 °C at every distance.
Race officials do. Under World Triathlon rules it is measured one hour before the start at 60 cm depth in three places on the course, and the decision is announced to athletes. A number you read online days earlier does not count.
Yes, as long as the water is within the legal limit for your rule set. In an IRONMAN optional wetsuit wave above 24.5 °C you are not eligible for age-group awards or World Championship slots.
