It was back on July 24, 2022 when Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt last filled the top two spots on a triathlon podium.
That was at the PTO’s Canadian Open when it was Iden who came out on top, and he would go on to win that season’s IRONMAN World Championship in Kona as well, with ‘Big Blu’ back in third.
Between them, the pair have won pretty much every middle and full-distance race that matters – but the focus over the last 12 months has been Blummenfelt’s attempt to defend his Olympic crown. Iden meanwhile has been battling back from a long-term injury as well as personal tragedy following the death of his mother.
But the Norwegian greats were back together in race action on Sunday in the unlikely setting of Uzbekistan for the second edition of Challenge Samarkand.
And against a small but select field it was Blummenfelt, who followed a 12th-placed finish in Paris with an incredible victory at IRONMAN Frankfurt, who claimed a clear-cut win.
‘Slightly better than expected’ – Iden
Iden though did exceed his own lowly pre-race expectations by overhauling reigning IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen on the run to take second, just under three minutes behind his fellow Bergen racer.
It was an encouraging performance from Gustav – though Blummenfelt said he felt “flat” – and both will now begin the final countdown to a return to Kona in seven weeks time on October 26.
“I was really pleased with my performance, said Iden afterwards. “At times I was struggling but at other times I felt a bit more comfortable. I was ready to fight for third on the run but then suddenly I saw the possibility to take second.
“I’m still three minutes behind Kristian. But I’m training with him and I know exactly how good he is, so to come three minutes behind him is slightly better than expected I would say.
“Neither of us had amazing days – I think I probably had a slightly better one than Kristian – so in the end I’m really happy it was a Norway one and two, it’s like the good old days!”
Kona up next
For his part Blummenfelt added: “It’s obviously a different dynamic when it is a small field. But I felt quite flat at times on the bike, I didn’t have too much energy, so I just had to stay a little behind and hope that I had something for the run.
“I went out in a steady pace for the first 10k, but it seems like people were sort of overheating. So I was able to catch Rico without running too fast.
“I haven’t had the best stomach the last few days, so I felt quite flat on energy. So pace wise, I was able to settle into my rhythm and I wasn’t under pressure there. Ideally, I would have preferred to run a bit faster.”
Next up for the pair is a training block at altitude before they look to regain the IMWC title which Sam Laidlow – who split them the last time it was held in Kona – won 12 months ago in Nice.
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