Olav Aleksander Bu: Blummenfelt schedule, following the science

Kristian Blummenfelt is set to start what could be a momentous 2022 season at IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai on March 5.

The Norwegian followed up his Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 by adding the WTCS title in Edmonton, and then set the fastest-ever time for the Ironman distance on debut in Cozumel.

His focus over the next 12 months will be at long-distance, with the IRONMAN World Championship events in St George and Kona the main targets, as well as an attempt at Sub7.

Blummenfelt next race and more

In a wide-ranging interview with TRI247, his coach and sports scientist Olav Aleksander Bu, who has done so much to help Norway dominate the triathlon landscape, gave us the latest news from his training camp at altitude in Sierra Nevada with Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden:

• Blummenfelt wants to have his first race in Dubai, at 70.3 distance, followed by another training block in Sierra Nevada with his Sub7 team and then St George.

• Iden, who himself powered to victory on his full-distance debut soon after being crowned 70.3 World Champion for a second time, “isn’t sure” he’ll do another long-distance race this year after May, but Blummenfelt’s sights in the second half of 2022 are locked in on Kona.

• Their latest testing has shown both men are already “stronger” than they were before the Olympics.

Next week we’ll be looking in depth at all those areas with Olav – as well as his own background, his driving of the tech revolution which continues to push the boundaries in the sport and the time he feels Blummenfelt could achieve on his own if everything were to go perfectly in an IRONMAN race…