Kristian Blummenfelt is officially back at the top of his game after Saturday’s sensational victory at IRONMAN Texas – but it was not all plain sailing for the Norwegian superstar.
The 31-year-old former Olympic champion, former IRONMAN World Champion and former IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion endured a miserable 2024 season when he failed spectacularly to achieve his big goals.
‘Big Blu’ finished only 12th at Paris 2024 as he defended the Olympic title he had won three years previously in Tokyo. Then he finished only 35th in Kona after a spectacular bout of vomiting on the bike leg left his chances cooked.
Blummenfelt then tagged 2025 ‘comeback season’ as he looked to get back to the summit of the sport, concentrating on the IRONMAN Pro Series with its $1.7m bonus pool. But the year did not start auspiciously when a flat tyre saw him finish only 15th at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside.
‘Big Blu’ back to his best
On Saturday at The Woodlands though, we saw the old Blummenfelt again as he roared to a brilliant victory in a course record time of 7:24:20.
Kristian topped the win off with a superb 2:34:03 marathon, surging clear of Spaniard Antonio Benito Lopez on the run course to clinch the win.
While it appeared to be a flawless exhibition of Ironman racing from Blummenfelt, he revealed afterwards that it did not come without a scare. Notably when he was cramping in his quads at the end of the bike leg.
Cramping of course is an issue Blummenfelt has had in the past, most recently during that bitterly disappointing PTO US Open defeat by Jan Frodeno in 2023.
This time though Blummenfelt was able to fight through the issues and produce a trademark blistering marathon. His run form appears to be right back to his best – even in that miserable outing at Oceanside he bounced back with a stunning 1:07:19 run to smash the course record.
Cramping, and getting through it
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s win, he admitted: “It felt super good, especially the first 25K, the last 7-8K it started getting really tough. I was feeling stable even with the heat.
“I was pleased with I was able to get through how I felt at the end of the bike, because I started cramping in the quads.”
Pro Series the aim for Kristian
Blummenfelt is bent on winning the IRONMAN Pro Series in 2025 – and scooping up the $200,000 bonus that goes with topping the end-of-year standings. After the pain of Oceanside, this success got him back on track.
“If you look away from the puncture in Oceanside, I felt my shape was ok, but just a bummer to not take away the points.
“To be able to take 5,000 points today, I think that is more crucial because you can always do another (IRONMAN) 70.3, but to back it up with another IRONMAN is more challenging. I super happy with today’s win.”
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