Kristian Blummenfelt underlined his position as full-distance triathlon’s greatest talent on the men’s side with an astonishing performance to win IRONMAN Texas.
The Norwegian great was in the front pack on both the swim and bike – despite a slow puncture – before his ability to maintain an unmatched pace on the run ultimately proved decisive.
He came into the race on the back of 1:06 and 1:07 half marathons to triumph at IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong and 70.3 Oceanside and here a 2:30:47 marathon saw him overhaul Marten Van Riel to claim another win.
‘Now I have the two fastest times’
His overall time of 7:21:24 put to bed any debate about who holds the fastest full-distance time – his 7:21:12 from IRONMAN Cozumel in 2022 was the quickest but a down-current swim there led some to suggest that Magnus Ditlev’s 7:23:24 from Challenge Roth in 2024 should be seen as the record.
And referencing that Cozumel time, he said: “People said it was a down-current swim so it doesn’t count but now I have the two fastest times so I’m quite stoked with that!
“But first of all, it means a lot to take the win against what was a World Championship field.”
‘In the hurt box’
Talking through his race, it was obvious how deep he had to dig: “I was really battling out there with Jonas (Schomburg) and Jelle (Geens), going out like rockets on the run.
“Then Marten was really putting on the gas and I was in the hurt box there, five, 10, 15 seconds behind him on the second lap (of three).
“Out there on the final lap, I felt like I had to put pressure on and do whatever I can do to bridge up. If I am not on the gas, I will go backwards on course.
“The final 5k is always hard but that momentum boost that you get when you pass someone was really kicking in there.”
Focus now all on Hawaii
Blummenfelt has already raced four times this season, starting with IRONMAN New Zealand in early March.
And asked if it was time for a break, he added: “Definitely! It’s been a really optimistic six weeks featuring four races.
“Some people might say it’s been a bit too optimistic, especially when I came out of it on the wrong side in New Zealand (where he had a mechanical on the bike as well as nutrition issues).
“I was really questioning whether I went for the right strategy in building up my season but now with having three wins I’m really stoked with that and now I can take two weeks as a sort of off-season break before building it up again for the big day in October in Hawaii.”
Latest Pro Series standings
Blummenfelt’s latest victory cements his position at the top of the IRONMAN Pro Series, which he is looking to win for a second year in succession.
| Rank | Name (Country) | Total IRONMAN Pro Series Points (Max Top 5 events) | Total Eligible Races Scored | Eligible IRONMAN Races Scored | Eligible IRONMAN 70.3 Races Scored |
| 1 | Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) | 14,142 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Matt Hanson (USA) | 8,989 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Casper Stornes (NOR) | 7,244 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Jonas Schomburg (DEU) | 6,950 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Gustav Iden (NOR) | 6,568 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
