A typical Irish Wolfhound tops out around 21.3 mph in Fast CAT. The fastest one on record ran 29.26 mph. 1.4 mph slower than the typical dog (22.7 mph). The fastest Irish Wolfhounds outrun Usain Bolt's top speed by 1.5 mph.
Based on the best Fast CAT run of 363 Irish Wolfhounds, a typical Irish Wolfhound tops out at 21.3 mph, and half of them run faster than 22.4 mph. That makes the Irish Wolfhound the 126th fastest of the 226 breeds that have run Fast CAT.
Only 2 Irish Wolfhounds have ever broken 30 mph, and 76 have topped 25 mph.
Among the most popular Hound breeds, the typical Irish Wolfhound is faster than 2 of 8. The Greyhound is the quickest of the bunch at 32.9 mph, and the Beagle (19.7 mph) runs closest to the Irish Wolfhound. Over Fast CAT's 100 yards, the 11.6 mph gap to the Greyhound is about 3.37 seconds.
Lions Heart Queen Isabeau holds the fastest consistent run by any Irish Wolfhound: 29.26 mph at the Utah Sighthound Racing and Coursing Club in Utah on May 4, 2019. That's 100 yards in 6.99 seconds.
AKC's results also show Farris's Arkwright Evergreen at 30.26 mph, but that dog's next-best run is 27.35 mph. A jump that big is usually a timing or typing error, so we flag it rather than crown it.
Not lately. The typical Irish Wolfhound ran 23.5 mph in 2018 (34 dogs) and 21.8 mph in 2025 (124 dogs). As more everyday pets join in, the average moves around.
New York has the most Irish Wolfhound runs, 538 of them, followed by Colorado, Wisconsin, New Jersey. The fastest Irish Wolfhound run in New York is 29.22 mph.
Irish Wolfhounds are sighthounds, built for exactly this: a straight sprint after a lure. Most catch on in a run or two. Any AKC-registered Irish Wolfhound over 12 months old can enter, and the only real training is a reliable finish: have someone your dog will run to waiting past the line.
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Speeds from AKC Fast CAT results. Photographers: spotted your work? Tell us at [email protected] and we'll credit it or take it down.